When I first entered Seattle from the I-5, I knew this wasn’t a city I wanted to explore in a car. Fortunately, I was relieved to discover that getting around Seattle with public transportation, even as a tourist, was a cinch! Whether riding streetcars, trains, buses, or the monorail, I found plenty of options to shuttle us easily between all the city’s top attractions and beyond.
Want to ditch the car and experience more of the Emerald City without a fuss? Navigate Seattle like a local with this complete public transportation guide for first-time visitors!
Let’s meet Seattle’s main public transport options
Light Rail (Link Light Rail)
My first Seattle transport experience was traffic, traffic, and more traffic. But for many first-time visitors, light rail is their first brush with public transportation in the city.
Operated by Sound Transit, the Link Light Rail is one of the most convenient ways I’ve found to get around the area. The 1 Line is particularly handy for travelers. It runs from the city of Lynwood in the north to Angle Lake in the south, with intermediate stops in many of my favorite neighborhoods in the city.
Many tourists will start exploring the 1 Line with a ride between Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) and Westlake Station in Downtown Seattle. The trip usually takes only 40 minutes. Depending on the time of day, trains depart every 8 to 15 minutes.
The 1 Line also swoops us from downtown to other cool neighborhoods in a jiffy. My favorite routes include:
- Pioneer Square (2 stops, 3 minutes)
- Seattle Chinatown-International District (3 stops, 5 minutes)
- Capitol Hill (1 stop, 3 minutes)
- University District (3 stops, 10 minutes)
In 2025, the Link Light Rail also plans to open up a brand-new line extension that connects Seattle Chinatown-International District Station to Redmond Technology Station.
Link Light Rail fares for the 1 Line are set at $3 per ride. A day pass for unlimited rides is just $6.
Buses (King County Metro)
Although I generally always find traveling by rail more convenient on my trips, buses serve many areas around Seattle that would otherwise be impossible to reach without a car. Known as the King County Metro, the bus system stretches across the entire city and the whole of King County.
On my trips, I’ve found several convenient bus routes to travel to some of my favorite Seattle tourist attractions. Some of the most useful routes for travelers include:
- Route 1: Connects Seattle Chinatown-International District to the Seattle Center via downtown and Belltown in about 16 minutes. Route 1 also gets travelers close to Kerry Park in Queen Anne to enjoy dramatic sunset views over the city.
- Route 8: Runs from Capitol Hill to Seattle Center in about 11 minutes.
- Route 33: Use this route to go from downtown to Discovery Park in Magnolia in about 28 minutes.
- Route 40: Get to Ballard from downtown via South Lake Union and Fremont in about 32 minutes.
- Route 49: Runs from Westlake Center to Volunteer Park in Capitol Hill in about 14 minutes.
King County Metro also runs a couple of special transit services:
- RapidRide: A collection of eight bus routes, operating in bus-only lanes for a quicker, more convenient ride between destinations. These routes tend to ply between the city center and farther-flung destinations around Seattle and throughout King County, including West Seattle, Redmond, Bellevue, Green Lake, and Westwood Village. Check RapidRide route information here.
- Trailhead Direct: A seasonal pilot service co-run by King County Metro and King County Parks that transports hikers to some of Seattle’s top hiking destinations along the I-90. The service only runs on select weekends and holidays during the Seattle high tourism season between May 24th and September 1st. Find information on the current season’s routes here.
For information on all the available routes and timetables, check out the King County Metro Transit Trip Planner.
King County Metro bus fares are just $2.25 per ride or $6 for a one-day pass. Riders can pay for fares with exact cash, Transit Go Tickets, or an ORCA Card. (More on that later!)
PRO TIP: King County Metro appears to have ditched its mobile app for a clunkier web-based trip planner. For a more seamless mobile experience, I would recommend downloading the third-party TransitApp to get instant, on-the-go transit route information to help plan your trip.
Seattle Streetcar
One of my favorite ways to travel around Seattle is by using the convenient Seattle Streetcar. Although service is limited, it’s a fun and easy way to scoot between city center neighborhoods like South Lake Union, Pioneer Square, Seattle Chinatown-International District, and Capitol Hill.
The current Seattle Streetcar system consists of two lines:
- South Lake Union Line: The system’s first line, opened in 2007, shuttles passengers 1.3 miles between Westlake & Olive in downtown and Fairview & Campus Drive (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center) in South Lake Union in just 13 minutes. From downtown to Lake Union Park, it’s just 10 minutes.
- First Hill Line: Opened in January 2016, this line operates between Occidental Mall in Pioneer Square and Broadway & Denny in Capitol Hill, with stops in Japantown, Chinatown, Little Saigon, Central District, First Hill, and Pike/Pine. The full 2.5-mile ride from Occidental Square to Capitol Hill is about 25 minutes.
Like other public transportation options, fares for the Seattle Streetcar are quite reasonable. Adults pay just $2.25 for a ride, while the fare for seniors is $1.00.
PRO TIP: If you’ve got a busy day of sightseeing in Seattle, I would recommend picking up an ORCA Regional Day Pass. They include unlimited rides on streetcars, buses, light rail, and foot ferry services in a 24-hour period and cost just $6 for adults and $2 for seniors. (Youth under 18 ride for free.)
Seattle Center Monorail
It might not be the city’s most comprehensive mode of transportation, but I can’t deny that the Seattle Center Monorail is one of the coolest for first-time visitors!
The Seattle Monorail was built in 1962 for the World’s Fair. (Yes, that same fair that brought us the iconic Space Needle!) The 1.9-mile route consists of just two stations—Westlake Center Station and Seattle Center Station. The ride between the stations takes just three minutes.
The first time I took the monorail, I loved soaking in the bird’s-eye view of the left downtown streets while admiring the modern skyscrapers and historic buildings as I rolled through Belltown. It was one of the most memorable rides on my first trip to the city!
The Seattle Center Monorail is one of the pricier public transportation options in the city. A ride costs $4 for adults, $2 for youth under 18, and is free for children under 5 years old.
Check updated schedules and fares on the monorail’s official site.
Water Taxis
I can hardly think of a better way to soak up Seattle’s Pacific Coast vibes in transit than hopping on a water taxi. Services are limited, but for the destinations served—Vashon Island and West Seattle—water taxis are either the only public option or the most convenient one.
Water taxis to West Seattle depart daily from Pier 50 on the downtown waterfront. The taxis depart every 45 minutes or so, with the crossing taking approximately 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the conditions.
First/last departures from Pier 50 to West Seattle are:
- Monday to Thursday + Holidays: 5:55 am / 6:45 pm
- Friday: 5:55 am / 10:45 pm
- Saturday: 8:30 am / 10:45 pm
- Sunday: 8:30 am / 6:30 pm
Check the full Seattle-West Seattle water taxi schedules here.
Water taxis to Vashon Island also depart from Pier 50, sailing only on weekdays and holidays. The sailing times are irregular, but boats generally depart every 60 to 90 minutes from 5:30 am to 6:30 pm. Click here to check the exact schedules.
Fares for the West Seattle water taxi route are $5.75 for adults (or $5 when paying with ORCA) and $2.50 for seniors. For Vashon Island, it’s $6.75 for adults (or $5.75 with an ORCA Card) and $3 for seniors.
Ferries
Add a little more coastal fun to your Seattle commutes with a ride on a ferry. Like water taxis, several ferries leave from Seattle’s downtown waterfront to explore other destinations around Puget Sound.
The most popular ferry route is to Bainbridge Island, one of my favorite day trips from Seattle. Operated by the Washington State Department of Transportation, the 35-minute ferry to Bainbridge Island departs from the Seattle Ferry Terminal about once an hour from 5:30 am to 1:35 am on weekdays and from 6:10 am to 2:10 am on weekends and holidays. See the full sailing schedule here.
You can also hop on a ferry to Bremerton on the Kitsap Peninsula. The service departs every two and a half to three hours, from 7:35 am to 12:35 am. The ride only takes about 30 minutes. (Check the official schedule here.)
Round-trip tickets for both ferries are $10.25 for adults and $5.10 for seniors.
Kitsap Transit also operates a ferry between Seattle and Kingston from Pier 50. The service is for passengers only, with five boats departing on weekdays from 6:15 am to 6:45 pm and a seasonal Saturday service with eight boats departing from 10:10 am to 11:10 pm. (For more info, check the schedule here.)
Round-trip fares for the Seattle/Kingston route are $12 for adults and $7 for reduced-fare riders.
How to pay for public transportation
ORCA Card
One of the easiest ways I’ve found to pay for public transportation in Seattle is with an ORCA Card. These convenient cards are available at vending machines at major transit points all throughout the city, including Westlake Station, Pioneer Square Station, King Street Station, Chinatown-International District Station, and Capitol Hill Station.
An ORCA Card costs $3 and can be topped up at select locations around the city, from transit stations to convenience stores, and online. (Find the full list of where to buy and reload ORCA cards here.)
PRO TIP: Make topping up your ORCA Card even easier by installing the myORCA app for iPhone or Android.
To use the ORCA Card to pay for transport, simply tap your card (or Google Pay on an Android device) on the card reader either while boarding buses or at the platform before boarding for streetcars, light rail, RapidRide, Swift, or the Sounder commuter train.
IMPORTANT: On Sounder trains, you also need to tap your card on the way out.
Transit GO Ticket
Another convenient option for commuters is the Transit GO Ticket mobile app. The app allows you to buy tickets using your smartphone, which you can then use to board buses, water taxis, ferries, and streetcars, as well as Link light rail and Sounder commuter trains.
Download Transit GO Ticket for iPhone or Android.
Cash or Tickets
Of course, for the purists, there’s also an option to pay the good ol’-fashioned way: with cash or with physical tickets.
To use cash, pay while boarding, and be sure to have the exact fare ready. Drivers cannot provide change. If you’re riding a bus, don’t forget to grab a paper transfer if you need to catch another bus for your route.
NOTE: These transfers apply only to buses. To switch to a different mode of transportation, you’ll need to pay an additional fare when using cash. This restriction doesn’t apply when paying with an ORCA Card.
Our favorite routes for first-time visitors
With all these options, I totally get that getting around Seattle can feel overwhelming. Let me make it a little easier. To get a primer on the city’s public transportation, I recommend these four tourist-friendly routes:
Westlake Center to Seattle Center (Monorail)
This one’s a no-brainer. I don’t think any first trip to Seattle is complete without this 3-minute ride. Start the morning in Downtown Seattle, exploring Pike Place Market. Then, hop onto the Seattle Center Monorail at the Westlake Center for a trip to the Seattle Center.
On the way, marvel at the modern architecture and historic streets below. Look up on the final approach to see the iconic Space Needle ahead, as the train slides through the tangled metal panels of the distinctive Museum of Pop Culture (MoPop), one of my favorite museums in Seattle.
Wandering around the Seattle Center, don’t miss the chance to get beautiful views of the city from above at the Space Needle’s open-air observation deck. Back on land, make your way to Chihuly Garden and Glass. This whimsical attraction is one of the coolest places to visit in Seattle, and an absolute must-see for first-time visitors!
Westlake Center to Lake Union Park (Streetcar)
This trip is another easy one, taking only about 10 minutes from start to finish. After hitting up the downtown sights, hop onto the South Lake Union Line of the Seattle Streetcar to explore South Lake Union, Seattle’s lakeside tech hub.
Get off at Lake Union Park to dig into Seattle’s maritime heritage at the Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI). Check out The Center for Wooden Boats and rent a historic boat for a relaxing paddle along the Lake Union shoreline.
After a lakeside adventure, duck into the neighborhood itself to explore its eating & drinking scene, including laid-back cafes, trendy restaurants, and hip bars.
Pioneer Square to Capitol Hill (Streetcar)
This route takes in two of my favorite neighborhoods in the city. Start by exploring the historic charms of Pioneer Square before boarding the First Hill Line en route to Capitol Hill. The 25-minute journey is a sightseeing adventure on its own, rolling through the historic Seattle Chinatown-International District and its diverse Asian enclaves (Japantown, Chinatown, and Little Saigon).
Scope out the Jimi Hendrix Statue at Broadway and Pine before taking a breather in Cal Anderson Park. End the evening exploring Capitol Hill’s trendy culinary scene, offering everything from low-key ramen joints to upscale Italian trattorias.
Pier 50 to West Seattle (Water Taxi)
You can’t come to Seattle without a ride on Puget Sound! This water taxi route offers the perfect way to escape the bustle of the city center and enjoy the distinct Pacific Northwest vibes of West Seattle.
Arriving at the West Seattle Water Taxi Pier, soak up the skyline views in the distance before heading over to Alki Beach. One of the most beautiful beaches in Seattle, Alki Beach offers a wonderful change of pace from the big city.
Stick around for a blazing sunset over Puget Sound; I guarantee you won’t be disappointed!
