The Northwest is an often overlooked area when compared to other places on the coast. Beaches and other flashy destinations get all the shine.
However, areas like Seattle actually have a lot to offer (and won’t break the bank). In this post, I’ve included a lot of information you can use to create your own weekend trip to Seattle.
Affordable Pacific Northwest Trip (with itinerary and restaurants)
Ideal time of year: May-October
There’s a lot of debate online about AirBNBs vs hotels. Although each has their pros and cons, I personally think in 2024 that hotels are more cost effective in general (at least when it comes to short trips). Unfortunately, AirBNBs often have a lot of sneaky hidden fees. If you can find a good AirBNB, then that is fantastic. Just do some research before you book it and see what the reviews are saying about it.
Random helpful tip: If you book a hotel, I recommend you book directly through the hotel’s website. There are a multitude of reasons for this. It’s usually cheaper as there aren’t hidden fees. Also, they often have deals on their own website. If you have to make any changes to the reservation (and you booked through a 3rd party website), then you’re going to be completely at the mercy of that 3rd party website. Communication is going to be more difficult because there is a middleman involved.
Food Recommendations
Breakfast recommendations: Fat’s Chicken and Waffles or Geraldine’s Counter
Lunch and dinner recommendations: Un Bien (Caribbean sandwiches/cuisine), Serafina (Italian), or Buddha Bruddah (Asian/Hawaiian-style plates). There is also a place called Beecher’s Handmade Cheese which has insanely good mac-n-cheese. Consider going there if you’re a big cheese fan.
Marination Ma Kai (Hawaiian-Korean food), Dick’s (fast food burgers), and Salumi (sandwiches) are also good.
Visit Pike Place Market: This is a farmer’s market that has tons of locally sourced, artisan, and specialty foods. Tons of options for snacks, lunch, or dinner. I highly recommend Piroshky Piroshky Bakery. Oftentimes there is a line, but it’s worth it.
Things To Do
Pier 57 is a place worth going to. It’s a touristy area with lots of shops, restaurants, a carousel, and an arcade. You can also walk along the water front as the sun sets. The Seattle Great Wheel (a ferris wheel) lets you get great views of the city.
Be sure to purchase the Seattle CityPASS if you’re interested in the activities below. Adults (13+) cost $127 and children (5-12) cost $97.
With this, you get:
-Admission into the Space Needle
-Admission into the Seattle Aquarium
-And you can pick three from this list:
- Chihuly Garden and Glass
- Argosy Cruises Harbor Tour
- Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP)
- Woodland Park Zoo
- Pacific Science Center
You have to make reservations in advance for some of these activities. So, keep that in mind. I’ll link more information about the Seattle CityPASS here.
Finally, Olympic National Park is around 2 and a half hours away from Seattle. So, it might be worth it to work that into your vacation. It is a truly stunning place. It’s consistently one of the top ranked National Parks in the US. There are glacier-capped mountains, forests, a long coastline, and a rainforest- all in one place. I’m not going to go in depth on Olympic National Park in this article, but I’ll link a good resource here if you’re interested.