Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Transportation
ARRIVING IN SEATTLE
Seattle is served by the Sea-Tac International Airport (SEA; www.portseattle.org/Sea -
Tac), located 13 miles south of downtown Seattle. It's one of the top 20 airports in the US
with numerous domestic flights and good direct connections to Asia and a handful of
European cities, including Paris and London.
Three railway arteries converge in Seattle from the east (the Empire Builder from Ch-
icago), south (the Coast Starlight from Oregon and California) and north (the Cascades
from Vancouver, Canada). These land-based journeys through the watery, green-tinged,
mountainous Pacific Northwest landscape are spectacular and often surprisingly cheap.
Seattle's main road highway is mega-busy I-5 that flows north-south along the west
coast. Points east are best served by cross-continental I-90 that crosses the Cascade
Mountains via Snoqualmie Pass. Regular boats arrive in Seattle from Victoria, Canada.
It's also possible that you may arrive on a cruise liner.
Sea-Tac International Airport
Sea-Tac International Airport, shared with the city of Tacoma, is the arrival point for 33
million people annually. The options for making the 13-mile trek from the airport to down-
town Seattle improved drastically with the completion of the airport light-rail line in 2009
(it's soon to be extended beyond downtown to Capitol Hill and the U District). It's fast and
cheap and takes you directly to the heart of downtown as well as a handful of other stops
along the way.
There are baggage storage ( http://kensbaggage.com ; suitcases, duffels & backpacks
per day $6-10) facilities in the airport as well as currency-exchange services. Car-rental
agencies are located in the baggage-claim area.
 
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