<p>Washington Ccers- I am trying to figure out the fastest way to get from Seattle Airport to Anacortes Marina. I know we can take a traditional shuttle but that makes many stops. I have a time frame that I am working with. Have to be at the marina before the charter office closes for the day. Also I need transportation the reverse direction about a week later.
Also how long should the trip take if we are arriving mid-day on a weekday? The return trip will also be a weekday but late afternoon for an early evening flight. Rush hour traffic?</p>
<p>Would it be easier to fly into Bellingham?
Much closer.</p>
<p>A shuttle is probably the best choice if you aren’t going to rent a car. It’s a ways to Anacortes from SeaTac and no public transportation options.</p>
<p>Mid-day going north through town can be ok if mid-day is 1:30 pm when the express lanes are open northbound, and the real commute hasn’t started. Traffic can be heavy northbound through town up til 12:30 or so. It is fine after that til you get to Everett. Again, depending on the time of day, you can get caught up in the Boeing commute. Before 2-ish is usually ok.</p>
<p>There are days when the signs at 4:30 say 90 minutes from Everett to Seattle, then add another 25 minutes plus to get to SeaTac. Maybe 2.5-3 hours total just to be careful? I forget how long it takes to get from I-5 to Anacortes.</p>
<p>Agree w/EK. Any chance of flying into Bellingham?</p>
<p>We stayed in Seattle then up to Anacortes for whale watching. We drove to Everett to tour the Boeing plant, then checked into a Fairfield Inn that evening in Burlington/Mount Vernon. Test drove over to Anacortes that evening to check timing to make sure we didn’t miss the boat the next day. Clocked it at half an hour from the Burlington/Mount Vernon Fairfield to Anacortes marina for our whale watching cruise. Even ate in Anacortes that night in a seafood museum on the water as a harbor seal looked on. After our wonderful whale watching cruise with Island Adventures, we drove the short half hour drive back to our Fairfield Inn to crash after an exhausting but amazing whale watching trip. I remember that there was a good burger joint right by the hotel to satisfy our sea hunger. The next day, we drove from our Fairfield over Deception Pass and through Whidbey Island to stay at an airport Seattle Hotel the night before our long flight home to New Orleans. I hope you have a wonderful trip. I am so jealous! I can’t wait to go back to Anacortes and go whale watching again! We rented a car for the week, which we used to drive from Seattle up to Burlington and back down to Seattle again. You may get some good weekly rates at Hertz, and even if you have to keep the rental car parked in the hotel for a few days, it might be worth it to make the best use of your time and not be dependent on a shuttle’s time line. Just check with the hotel to see if it’s okay. I’ve had to do this for round trips for a few days, and the hotel has been very amenable to it. If you’re a Marriott Reward member, it may help. But I do remember that the staff at the Fairfield Inn Burlington/Mount Vernon were very, very accommodating and nice. The area is safe, so your car would probably be okay.</p>
<p>Bellingham would have been a better flight option but the tickets were booked by someone else and can’t be changed.
We land at SeaTac at 11 15 am. Would like to be at the marina around 3. We are sleeping the first night on the boat in Anacortes and also on the last night so we will not be needing a hotel. The flight out leaves Seattle at 5 pm which is probably a terrible time.
I hadn’t considered renting for a week but it might pencil out if we can get a good price versus the extra cost of doing 2 one way rentals. Will have to see if the marina charges a daily parking fee.</p>
<p>Not to be nosy, but are you doing a cruise out of Anacortes? Would love to hear about it when you get back. You will surely see orcas out of the marina. We did our whale watching tour in mid June two years ago, and 15 minutes away from dock, we were surrounded. Have a great time, and please report back on your trip when you get back!</p>
<p>Another hint. If you’re a Triple A member, you can join Hertz Gold very cheaply. Also, as a Triple A member, you get great rates on Hertz. </p>
<p>I’m in NOLA, but I’ve had to do round trip weekly rates with Hertz lately as I lent my son my car for his summer job, and I’ve gotten weekly rates with promotional coupons of less than $150. I go online and choose the cheapest car, compact, but being a Hertz Gold member, I’ve been getting bumped up to like an Impala, so not too bad! I would just make sure you have a trunk so your belongings aren’t visible from the outside. </p>
<p>Have a great time, and please be sure to post back about your trip!</p>
<p>I went on a cruise out of Seattle about fifteen years ago with my mom & younger D & a friend. Trying to remember if we took one boat up to the San Juans and then another boat around the islands?</p>
<p>We got off in Friday Harbor to look around and so some of the tourists could take the ferry to Victoria BC.</p>
<p>I haven’t been to the islands for a couple years, good reminder to go back when we finish painting the house.</p>
<p>Have a great trip, I hear we are having summer this year!</p>
<p>No fancy cruise, just a private boat charter with H as the skipper. We are meeting up with another boat and exploring around the San Juans for a week. Glad you are having some sun.
Looking at the car rentals and I am amazed at how much of the cost is all the assorted fees.</p>
<p>I think you have to rent a car to do this. If your flight gets in at 11:15, by the time you get your luggage and rental car, it will be 12 or 12:15. It will take 2-3 hrs. to get to Anacortes, depending on traffic. We have some terrible traffic in Seattle. Wouldn’t you want a car anyway so you can shop for food before you leave? </p>
<p>For your return trip, you’ll need to be at the airport by 3 so you can return your rental car, check in, go thru security. Traffic should not be too bad in the afternoon, but allow plenty of time.</p>
<p>I’m sure you know this, but bring WARM clothing. It is quite cold here now and of course colder on the water. We are not getting much above 65 right now and still rainy. Summer starts after July 4 here.</p>
<p>Went with the one way rental. I was able to get an amazing rate through Enterprise using a corporate code supplied by the charter company. It is such a low rate that I can’t believe it is actually correct. Under $50 for a compact car.
Bookiemom- we will need to shop for food. The charter company will take you to the grocery store if you need a ride but own transport is much easier. I am prepared to be cold but still hoping for some decent weather. Living in coastal Ca 72 degrees is considered a nice sunny day to us. The kids would like to go in the water. We have never cruised the San Juans. We have visited Alaska and parts of BC on a boat in summer time. The kids loved the year we went to one part of BC where the water was warm. We are meeting up with family and cousins and it is about being together.</p>
<p>We used to live in Anacortes. I made it to Seatac in 90 minutes a time or two, but that was when we left around 3 am for a flight. It’s going to take you a good two hours minimum.</p>
<p>We moved into our house in Aug and it was 56 degrees. I had the heat on. The water will be cold; even the locals don’t stay in it very long without partial wetsuits.</p>
<p>Both grocery stores are near the marina, so that part is easy.</p>
<p>Also know if you’re flying into SEATAC and renting, that in May they just put all their rentals out of terminal, in a separate building. So bus shuttle to car, etc. Takes a bit more time. </p>
<p>Renting a boat in the San Juans sounds lovely. And summer is supposed to start July 4th, after a chilly, rainy June. Already, it seems a little nicer, according to my D.</p>
<p>Oh, how wonderful. I get daily posts on Facebook from two whale watching companies up there. You are going to see tons of Orcas. Have a great time! And please, please post about your trip when you come back. I live vicariously through you guys. Here in New Orleans, we can only dream of places like the Pacific Northwest.</p>
<p>There is a small airline that does a not-very-expensive flight from Seattle to Anacortes: [Scheduled</a>, Charter, and Scenic Flights from Anacortes, Bellingham, and Seattle to the San Juan Islands and British Columbia! / San Juan Airlines](<a href=“http://www.sanjuanairlines.com/]Scheduled”>http://www.sanjuanairlines.com/)</p>
<p>I’ve flown with them. It was a pleasure.</p>
<p>OOh, thanks for that link. Bookmarking that for future reference.</p>