Seattle Waterfront and Water Taxi

I’m going to be totally honest here, the Seattle Waterfront is really not my favorite. It’s so touristy, dirty, and for me it’s just not authentically Seattle. Now that the viaduct is down I hope this will improve a bit. But there are a few things that make the trip worthwhile – whether it’s just your family on a random Saturday, a mom/kid’s playdate on a Tuesday, or if you have visitors in from out of town, this day trip is a good way to explore the Seattle Waterfront.

General Itinerary:

10:00 – Arrive at Waterfront and find parking somewhere along the waterfront (with all the construction the parking situation down there is a bit of a moving target…)

10:00 – Explore Aquarium

11:30 – Catch Water Taxi from Pier 50 to West Seattle

12:00 – Lunch at Marination Ma Kai

1:00 – Ride Water Taxi back to Seattle

1:30 – Ride Seattle Great Wheel

2:00 – For little kids: head home | For big kids: ride Wings over Washington

3:00 – Head up into Pike Place Market: Gum Wall, treat, wander

Bring:

Stroller – this trip is very stroller friendly, but there are a few times you will be leaving your stroller unattended (aquarium, Ferris wheel, on the water taxi) so plan accordingly
‘Transit Go’ app for purchasing your Taxi tickets
Sunscreen/Hats for a hot day
Extra layers on a cool day
Pennies for an easy souvenir from the Aquarium Penny Press (plus others along the waterfront) – remember your $0.50 for the fee
Gum for the gum wall
Reusable shopping bags if planning to shop at the market

Don’t Bring:

Cash – you can do this whole day cash free
Lunch – Marination is so yummy, don’t even think about skipping that bit!

Weather:

Best on a dry day, but any time of year

Details:

The first time we ventured on this day trip our kids were 5, 3, and almost 1. So we were still heading home for afternoon naps. I’ll add some ideas at the end for how to extend this day if you’re not in that boat. Another note on this trip, it’s not the most economical outing. For our family of 5 it cost us approximately $375 for the entire day. Just something to consider. If you took out a few stops you could adjust this to more like $150 – read on to see how.

The parking along the waterfront is an ever-changing mess right now with all the construction happening in response to the viaduct coming down. I don’t have a specific favorite spot anymore, so just drive around until you find something that works.

Because of the age of my kids, we still get a kick out of the Seattle Aquarium. Like a few other Seattle area institutions, I wish either some local rich guy (Bezos, are you listening???) would throw some money at this place, or they would lower the price for admittance. The pricing is somewhat tiered based on the day of the week, but generally it’s about $38 ($35 for locals) per adult and $27 ($24 for locals) per kid (4 & up), which is insane for what you get here. We used to live in Chicago and every time we go back we visit the Shedd Aquarium – it’s awesome. Their admission is $40 per adult, but if you’re a local it’s only $20… maybe the Seattle Aquarium will match that spread someday… If you’ve got some out of town visitors in tow, you might consider doing a City Pass. Also, do the math on the membership – depending on the ages of your kids, if you go to the Aquarium more than 2 times per year it might make sense to get a membership. Maybe that’s their ploy…

Regardless of what you do, grab your tickets online prior to your visit and select a widow of time for your reservation. Do this the day before if you want one of their earliest spots.

Regardless, it’s a cute little aquarium that you can do in an hour. It does have some interesting things to see: octopuses are a hit, touch pools, seals, otters. Hit the penny press (located just next to the river otters exhibit on the way to the gift shop) for a cheap souvenir. It’ll cost you $0.50 plus the penny, of course.

You can actually make a little game out of these penny presses by looking for the machines throughout the waterfront. There’s a couple in Ye Olde Curiosity Shop (don’t forget to look at the fleas in dresses while you’re there!). See the link below for a scavenger hunt, but make note that this is from 2014 so might be a bit outdated.

At some point during your time at the Aquarium, hop on your ‘Transit Go’ App to purchase your tickets for the Water Taxi to West Seattle. There are ticket kiosks at the dock, but the first time we went they were so slow we almost missed the ferry. This App allows you to buy tickets for the Monorail, Streetcar, Light Rail and the Water Taxi, so I use it frequently enough to take up space on my phone. You can also pay cash at the dock, but you need exact change. Taxi prices are:

Ages 0-18: Free
Ages 19-64: $5.75
Ages 65+: $2.50

Tickets are one-way, so you’ll need to purchase again for your ride back. You can buy both trips all at once if you’d like.

The Water Taxi is designed for commuters to and from West Seattle but it obviously serves that tourist crowd as well. Schedules adjust slightly depending on the time of year – check the crossing schedule before you head out for the day. But typically on a weekend the Taxi departs Pier 50 hourly, on the 1/2 hour (8:30, 9:30, 10:30) and departs West Seattle hourly, on the hour (9:00, 10:00, 11:00). It runs a little quicker weekdays.

You don’t need to be in line for the ferry too early – we got there at 11:25 and walked right on for the 11:30 crossing. You can roll your stroller right onto the ferry (no need to collapse) and park it in the bike racks along the stern (back) of the boat. There’s a nice deck with seats just above the bike racks and the bow (front) has standing only outdoor space. There’s also plenty of inside seating. We like to sit in the stern to enjoy the views of Seattle on the way there, and brave the wind on the bow for the way back to grab the same views. Crossing time is about 15 minutes.

As you start to get closer to West Seattle head down to the bike racks and get up close to the starboard (right) side of the boat where the exit will be. You really want to be the first one off the boat, and therefore the first one in line at Marination – a good chunk of the people on that boat have the exact same plan as you!

Marination Ma Kai is a Hawaiian-Korean fusion restaurant that started as a food truck in 2009 and morphed into restaurants 5 years later. If you’re thinking Hawaiian-Korean, what????!?!?! Just stop, get over it and get your booty over there! It’s amazing. We love the Sliders with kalua pork and the Miso Ginger Chicken Fried Rice. The kids love their shaved ice and the fish & chips. My kids are not the most adventurous eaters so this choice was understandable to them. Grab a table outside – you may have to hover a bit to wait for one. They have highchairs inside that you can add to your outdoor table, and we had no problem stashing our stroller in the corner of the patio. There’s also a separate bar from the food counter where you can order beer and cocktails.

Head back out toward the taxi dock at about 12:50 to ride the 1:00 taxi back to downtown.

If you wanted to extend your visit in West Seattle take a stroll down the paved trail that curves along the water or explore the beaches along Elliott Bay. The Taxi runs about every hour back to downtown, so just plan accordingly.

When you return to the waterfront head over to the Great Wheel for about a 4-rotation ride. It will cost you $17 per adult, $15 for senior, and $12 for kids 3-11; it takes about 15-20 minutes plus wait time.

Or, if you have older kids you could try Wings over Washington. Wings over Washington is the Washington State version of the Soarin’ ride at Disneyland. Like there, it has a 40” height minimum so leans more towards an older crowd. Ride takes 15 minutes, plus wait times. Prices for Wings over Washington are:

Adult: $18
Youth: $14
Senior: $16

This is a fun experience, especially for locals. I like to purchase our tickets for both the Great Wheel and Wings over Washington before we head downtown. Tickets are general admission so aren’t assigned a time or date for use – they can be redeemed at anytime and never expire.

Of course you can also just wander along the waterfront if that’s more your speed. There are various tee shirt/gift shops and plenty of good views to enjoy.

We used to head home for naps at this point, but now that my kids are older (and if we’ve still got some energy!) we’ll take the 1/2 mile walk up Post Alley and through Pike Place Market. From Waterfront Park between the Great Wheel and the Aquarium walk up Union Street, across Western, and up the Union Street stairwell to Post Alley. Head left and up Post Alley right past the yummy Gum Wall and into the Market.

In the Market, we like to grab a snack at either Daily Dozen donuts or Le Panier bakery. The boys always want to climb on the pig and could spend hours watching them throw fish at Pike Place Fish (although I prefer to buy my fish at Pure Food).

If you’re trying to be more economical, taking out the Waterfront activities (Aquarium, Wheel, Wings) and just doing the water taxi, Marination, and some walking along Alki would also be a fun day and cut your cost down closer to $150.

However you decide to put this day together I hope your trip exploring the Seattle Waterfront is a fun family adventure!

Links:

Seattle Aquarium: https://www.seattleaquarium.org/

Great Wheel: https://seattlegreatwheel.com/

Wings over Washington: https://www.wingsoverwa.com/

Seattle Water Taxi: https://www.kingcounty.gov/depts/transportation/water-taxi/west-seattle.aspx

Marination Mai Kai: http://marinationmobile.com/

Penny Press Info: https://www.parentmap.com/article/downtown-seattle-outing-pressed-penny-scavenger-hunt

Destination Address:

Seattle Aquarium: 1483 Alaskan Way, Seattle, WA 98101