Seattle Weekend Trip Guide
We just came back from a trip to Seattle this summer and explored the area for a weekend! Here is our Ultimate Seattle Weekend Trip Guide with all the best places to hike, neighborhoods to explore, what to eat, drink, and do!
I was so surprised by Seattle in all the best ways! It is such an eclectic city with a wonderful blend of cultures with the cherry on top being the fresh ocean breeze and impressive food and drink scene.
When you think of Seattle you often think of the throwing of the fish in Pike Place and the original Starbucks but it is so much more than that. We just fell in love with the bustling city with a killer food and beer scene and wonderful hiking with such diverse cultures making it the best weekend trip! You can easily extend your weekend trip into a week with all the trails, neighborhoods to explore, local shopping, and markets.
If possible I would recommend flying or driving to Seattle Thursday night so you can hit the ground running Friday because there are a TON of things to do.
Check out our google maps with all the locations in this guide! Better yet get our mobile guide with all the infromation from this blog and locations as well for only 5.00!
How to get to Seattle?
First, things first you will get to Seattle by flying into the Seattle Tacoma Airport. Our favorite sites for finding great flight deals are WayAway, Kayak, Going (previously Scott’s Cheap Flights), and Sky Scanner. Way Away is a great option for affordable flights, you can also get a membership that helps you earn cash back on purchases. We also tend to look at Southwest website because these flights tend to be cheaper as well if you are flying domestically.
You can easily drive into Seattle as well. A great website to help you plan your trip is RoadTrippers, they help plan your routes as well as unique and fun stops to make on your road trips.
Where to stay in Seattle?
Next, you need to book your home for the weekend. We stayed in Pike Pine District and loved staying in this fun vibrant area. It was a very walkable area with lots of restaurants and shops. Another great neighborhood to stay in is Capital Hill, which is located right next to Pike Pine. Staying in either neighborhood will give you access to both areas which are so much fun to explore.
I will say Seattle is expensive for accommodations. We ended up staying at an older hotel just outside Pike Pine District, about a ten minute walk into Pike Pine and it worked perfectly. It was more budget friendly for us while still being close to Pine Pike, which is such a fun lively area of town. We stayed at the Baroness Hotel.
Due to higher prices in accommodations I would recommend booking as early as possible to keep prices lower.
Friday- Mt. Rainer National Park
Mount Rainer Hiking
Hopefully you are waking up in Seattle and ready to explore. The BEST thing we did in Seattle was visit Mount Rainer National Park, it was just epic!
First, go get coffee and a snack. We went to Lula Coffee, an adorable pink coffee shop with clouds floating from the ceiling and such funky vibes. They had unique coffee drinks and great healthy food to grab and go for your drive to Mount Rainer National Park.
It is about 1 hour 45 minutes to around 2 hours to Mount Rainer National Park. I would recommend renting a car for your drive if you do not have your own car with you. You can rent from a rental car company such as Budget car rental or better yet Turo– which is basically the airbnb for cars. You are renting a car from a person but insurance and all that is included to let you rest assured you are covered for anything. Turo tends to be much cheaper and is so easy, you just book through the Turo app. The drive will be worth it! Mount Rainer National Park has been by far our favorite National Park.
We were able to see the breathtaking Mount Rainer with snow caps, beautiful lakes, thick enchanting forests, and we even saw a black bear up close! Be sure to bring bear spray with you to be prepared for anything, which of course is unlikely but as a good ethical and safe traveler you want to be able to protect yourself if needed while leaving the bear unharmed.
Although I would recommend you stay longer in Mount Rainer National Park if possible because there are so many amazing trails. But even for a day trip you can easily pack in a couple trails and have a great experience. It is so worth it, even for a quick trip.
I would highly recommend leaving early so you have most of the day to hike and drive home. Get yourself plenty of time to drive back before it gets dark because some of the roads by the park can be very curvy and not well lit.
Although this is sure to be an exhausting day and will probably be the best part of your trip if you are a nature lover. I know it was for us! We did Mount Rainer has a day trip and found it to be an impressive experience.
Head to Ballard or Pike Pine District
Next, head back and shower from your day hiking (or not, you do you) and go grab a bite and maybe a craft beer. You earned it!
I’d recommend heading to the Ballard District for a beer or the Pike Pine District for lots of food and drink options.
When in Pike Pine District I highly recommend grabbing a bite to eat at Oddfellows. They had the BEST food, it was all very fresh and such a unique blend of flavors. It is located in a historic building and has a gorgeous patio in the back and a great outdoor space in the front too.
Eating anywhere in Pike Pine is sure to be a delight, there are so many wonderful places!
Saturday- Pike Pine, Capital Hill, Fremont Neighborhoods Exploring
It is a Saturday and a great day to explore a fun neighborhood in Seattle. Pike Pine, Capital Hill, and Fremont are all fun bustling areas of town to explore. You can pick one or even all of these adorable areas to explore.
Looking for coffee? We loved Overcast Coffee, it was a cute coffee shop that shared their space with a bike shop, how Seattle is that. And it had great coffee too! Now that you’re fueled up start exploring your favorite neighborhood or maybe 2 or 3 of them.
Pike Pine Neighborhood
Pike Pine- We stayed in Pike Pine and this was the neighborhood we explored the most in Seattle. Be sure to take the time to venture on your own and hop in and out of different shops and eat from one of the many wonderful options for just about any type of food you can dream up.
Some of our favorite stops were
Mamnoon, which is a Syrian, Lebanese, Persian food. We went to the window take and go and the mint lemonade was to die for! Unicorn is a unicorn themed bar that is just too fun for the unicorn lover in your life. The Gemini Room is also a funky bar with retro vibes and great cocktails.
Capital Hill Neighborhood
Capital Hill- Capital Hill is located right next to Pike Pine which makes it super easy to explore both areas of town easily. Capital Hill is a known for its gay community, student population, eclectic shops, nice restaurants, and all around fun energy. This is such a fun area to go out at night or enjoy during the day too.
Some of our favorites were Oddfellows, Optimism Brewery, Hot Cakes for food and Standard Goods for shopping. Oddfellows as we listed above was our favorite meals in Seattle and the ambiance and atmosphere was so inviting and lovely. Optimism is a great brewery that we have hear nothing but rave reviews about and will be heading there next time we are in Seattle. Hot Cakes serves molten cakes, warm cookies and ice cream, and other warm treats such as grilled cheese that are sure to leave you in awe. Standard Goods was a great local shop with tons of great Seattle locally made goods and tons of retro inspired clothing.
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- Standard Goods
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- Oddfellows Delicious Meal
Fremont Neighborhood
Fremont is an eclectic area of town full of indie shops, antiquing and vintage shops, trendy bars, and hip restaurants.
When in Fremont be sure to check out Fremont Vintage Mall, one of the biggest and best stop for all your vintage shopping while in Seattle. Another unique stop is the Fremont Troll, which is a giant troll under a bridge. Fremont Brewery is a great place to stop for a cold beer.
Ballard Neighborhood
Now that you have eaten next up is the breweries in Ballard. The Ballard neighborhood is a great stop for breweries, they all made such great craft beer! I would recommend having someone drive or taking an uber there. We walked part of the way here and it is not a super great area to walk around at night so I would avoid that in the future.
Ballard- Some great Breweries to put on your brewery tour are Stoup Brewery, Urban Family Brewery, and Obec Brewery. Serious Pie is a great local pizza place right across from Obec Brewery. These breweries are all right next to one another and all within walking distance. If you want to go to more breweries that are tons of other breweries a short drive away.
Party the night away at Capital Hill or Pike Pine. They are both great to jump around to different bars or restaurants. This area is so easy to wander because it is easily connected with so many bars and restaurants, each looking better than the last. Follow the neon lights and the energy of the people and find a place that looks like the perfect fit. You just can’t go wrong and when you’re done grab a Seattle Dog from one of the hot dog stands.
Sunday- Pike Place
Now if you are planning a Seattle Trip I’m sure you have heard about the famous Pike Place, the market located on the pier. It is MASSIVE to say the least and has the most remarkable food. You can get almost any kind of food you want and it makes for the perfect food tour.
We were expecting Pike Place to be a bit of a tourist trap but although there are a ton of tourists, it is so worth it. It is a great market for locals and tourists alike. There is a reason it is so busy, it really is that fabulous. There is the inside of the market with lots of stands selling food, and local goods as well as more stands on the outside part of the market. There are also more restaurants and shops in the alleyways the street in front of Pike Place. We were expecting to spend an hour or two, and spent most of our day here.
I would plan 3-4 hours to explore Pike Place. Take the time to wander in and around Pike Place and eat everything!
Be sure to check out the famous throwing of the fish. This is located right at the front of Pike Place right by the pig statue (her name is Rachel). You will see a large crowd gathered around the fish stand so it should be easy to find. The fishermen then begin a chant and throw the fish to one another, it is quite the scene and worth a watch, it’s all part of the fabulous experience that is Pike Place Market.
Be sure to stop and say hi to Rachel and take a picture with her too, after all she is the famous Pike Place pig. And the best part about Rachel? She is a giant piggy bank where you can donate to support all the workers at Pike Place. Rachel and her donations support the social services that support the workers at the market.
Some of our favorite stops we found were Daily Dozen (right around the corner from Rachel), which was a mini donut stand that was just amazing. We loved the maple bacon donut. Another pick we loved was a Eastern European bakery called Piroshky Piroshky that made the best piroshky you’ll find, which is a stuffed pastry with savory or sweet flavors. My favorite was the garlic cheese one. They also have sweet pastries such as a cinnamon braid. There will most likely be a line but it moves quickly. Be ready to order when it is your turn as it moves fast. We also stopped and grabbed some Greek food from a stand and loved that as well.
After you explore Pike Place head to the pier and waterfront. You can explore all the wonderful seafood restaurants and shops. You can walk along the pier and enjoy the fresh breeze and enjoy the scenery. You can even take a ferry from the pier and enjoy the Seattle Skyline from the water. We stopped at Elliot’s Oyster House and split the scallops and the clam chowder which was delicious with nice waterfront views. Although it was a bit pricey. There are other stands to buy food as well which may be a better affordable option. There are a ton of restaurants to chose from right on the pier which was a perfect way to end our day.
Do you have more time to explore?
Seattle Ferry Tour
I would recommend taking a ferry from the Pier. This is a great way to see the Seattle skyline. If you time it right and go at sunset it will be sure to have a magnificent view. There are tons of ferries that leave the pier for short tours or even longer rides.
Seattle Whale Watching
Another fun activity is whale watching. There are amazing tours that will take you for half days or longer and teach you about whales as you search the waters for a whale sighting. Most tours offer a guarantee that you will see a whale if you are there during whale watching season October through July with May being the best month to visit. Viator offers a great half day whale watching tour.
The Space Needle and the Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum
The Space Needle is a good stop if you want a view of the skyline in this iconic Seattle building. The Space Needle offers views all the way around the Space Needle to see Seattle at so many different angles with huge glass windows, glass benches, and even a revolving glass floor. You can also grab a bite to eat or drink with the spectacular views.
Prices range from 30-42.00 for an adult ticket and 25-36.00 for seniors, and 22-32.00 youth tickets. The Space Needle is open between 8 am – 11 pm. Both day and night offer excellent Seattle skyline views.
You can buy combo tickets with the Chihuly Garden and Glass. The Chihuly is a museum of glass sculptures that are pretty magnificent located inside and outside. It is located right next to the Space Needle. If this interests you I would recommend buying the combo tickets to help save you money.
If you want to extend your trip be sure to check out our Oregon Coast Day Trip Guide to Astoria, Oregon.
Seattle was an incredible destination that is way more than just a pier with throwing fish and the Space Needle. We found it to be a grand adventure with so many unique and quirky gems from its lively neighborhood, local shopping, breathtaking nature, dazzling pier, and unrivaled food and drink scene. Be sure to come hungry and take the time to wander and find your own gems. Happy Travels!
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If you are planning a trip extending to Oregon and Canada check out our recent posts for Victoria BC Brewery Tour, Portland Weekend Guide, and Astoria- Oregon Coast Travel Guide!
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Accommodations:
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CheapOair– great search engine for flights, hotels, and rental cars
Avisales– Cheap airfare through reliable agencies.
