Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ages 5-12, $34 seniors; dinner cruises: $69 adults, $25 children ages 5-12, $67
seniors). These cruises get our vote for best dinners afloat. Reservations are rec-
ommended for all cruises.
Looking for a quieter way to see Seattle from the water? From May 1 to Octo-
ber 15,
Emerald City Charters,
Pier 54 (
&
206/624-3931;
www.sailingseattle.
com), offers 1
1
⁄
2
- and 2
1
⁄
2
-hour sailboat cruises. The longer excursions are at sun-
set. Cruises are $23 to $38 for adults, $20 to $35 for seniors, and $18 to $30
for children under age 12. Tours operate May 1 to October 15.
VICTORIA EXCURSIONS
Among Seattle's most popular boat tours are day-long excursions to Victoria,
British Columbia. These trips are offered by
Victoria Clipper
, Pier 69,
2701 Alaskan Way (
&
800/888-2535,
206/448-5000, or 250/382-8100 in
Victoria; www.victoriaclipper.com), and operate several times a day during the
summer (once or twice a day in other months). The high-speed catamaran pas-
senger ferry takes 2 to 3 hours to reach Victoria. If you leave on the earliest ferry,
you can spend the better part of the day exploring Victoria and be back in Seat-
tle for a late dinner. Round-trip fares range from $61 (7-day advance purchase)
to $127 for adults, $61 (7-day advance purchase) to $117 for seniors, and $51
to $64 for children ages 1 to 11 (between Oct and mid-May, one child travels
free with each adult paying for a 7-day advance-purchase round-trip fare). Some
scheduled trips also stop in the San Juan Islands during the summer. Various
tour packages are also available, including an add-on tour to Butchart Gardens.
Overnight trips can also be arranged.
You can also fly to Victoria from Seattle in a floatplane operated by
Kenmore
Air
(
&
800/543-9595;
www.kenmoreair.com). Flights take only 45 minutes,
which leaves plenty of time to explore Victoria and still make it back to Seattle
in time for dinner. The round-trip fare is $184 to $216 per person and these
fares sometimes include either a tour of Butchart Gardens, or a meal at the
Empress Hotel. You can sometimes even get these flights for half price at
Ticket/Ticket
(
&
206/324-2744
), which has locations in Pike Place Market
(First Ave. and Pike St.; open Tues-Sun noon-6pm), on Capitol Hill at the
Broadway Market (401 Broadway E.; open Tues-Sat noon-7pm and Sun
noon-6pm), and in Bellevue at the Meydendbauer Center (NE Sixth St. and
112th Ave.; open Tues-Sun noon-6pm).
For more information on Victoria, pick up a copy of
Frommer's Vancouver
& Victoria.
SCENIC FLIGHTS
Seattle is one of the few cities in the United States where floatplanes are a regu-
lar sight in the skies and on the lakes. If you'd like to see what it's like to take off
and land from the water, get in touch with
Seattle Seaplanes
, 1325 Fairview
Ave. E. (
&
800/637-5553
or 206/329-9638; www.seattleseaplanes.com), which
takes off from the southeast corner of Lake Union, and offers 20-minute scenic
flights over the city for $68.
Money-Saving Tip
The
Ticket/Ticket
booth under the big clock at Pike Place Market some-
times has boat tour tickets available at discounted prices. If your schedule
is flexible, be sure to check here first.
Value
