Day Trips from Seattle by Train, Bus and Ferry (No Car Needed)
by Wanderu
Leaving Seattle without a car is easy. You walk onto the ferries at Pier 52, and Amtrak Cascades runs the I-5 spine from Vancouver, BC to Eugene. The Sounder and Link cover the close-in suburbs for a few dollars, and the intercity buses board a block from Lumen Field.
Below: 16 day trips, grouped by travel time, then three that need a night. Ferries, Sound Transit and Metro show the agency’s own fare, and everything Wanderu sells shows a live one. Amtrak Cascades is also the first route in the country to get Amtrak’s new Airo trainsets, from September 30, 2026.
Back in 2018, this page listed eight places you could reach from Seattle for under $20. That list aged badly. Of 3,119 departures booked from Seattle in the past year, 1.6 percent came in under $20. Bellingham, $13.67 on the old list, sold 396 tickets last year and not one of them under $20.
Mount Vernon, on the other hand, held: the Amtrak Thruway bus ran about $17. So we started over from September 2026’s fares and let the ferries and the light rail carry the cheap end.
| Destination | Travel time | From |
|---|---|---|
| Tacoma, WA | About 45 minutes by train | $13 Amtrak$9 Bus$5.25 Sounder S Line, weekdays |
| Everett, WA | About 45 minutes by train or bus | $8 Bus$12 Amtrak |
| Bainbridge Island, WA | 35 minutes on the ferry | $11.35 Washington State Ferries walk-on |
| Bellevue and Redmond, WA | About 25 minutes to downtown Bellevue on the 2 Line | $3.00 Link 2 Line |
| Edmonds, WA | About 30 minutes by train | $10 Amtrak$23 Bus |
| Olympia and Lacey, WA | From about 1 hour 20 minutes by train to Lacey, 1 hour 45 by bus to Olympia | $15 Amtrak to Lacey$12 Bus to Lacey$14 Bus to Olympia |
| Bremerton, WA | 30 minutes on the fast ferry, about an hour on the state ferry | $13.00 Kitsap Fast Ferry, Seattle to Bremerton$11.35 Washington State Ferries walk-on |
| Centralia, WA | About 1 hour 40 minutes on Amtrak | $19 Amtrak |
| Snoqualmie Falls, WA | Light rail plus a bus; allow 90 minutes or more | $3.00 Link 2 Line$3.00 Metro Route 215 |
| Mount Vernon, WA | About 1 hour 30 minutes by bus or train | $15 Bus$15 Amtrak |
| Bellingham, WA | About 2 hours on Amtrak, 1 hour 35 to 2 hours 15 by bus | $18 Bus$20 Amtrak |
| Portland, OR | From about 3 hours 10 minutes by bus, 3 and a half on Amtrak | $29 Amtrak$22 Bus |
| Vancouver, WA | About 3 hours on Amtrak | $29 Amtrak$22 Bus |
| Leavenworth, WA | About 3 hours 20 minutes by bus or train | $45 Bus$51 Amtrak |
| Vancouver, BC | About 4 hours by bus or train, border included | $34 Bus$37 Amtrak |
| Port Angeles and Sequim, WA | About 3 and a half hours by bus, ferry included | $40 Bus to Port Angeles$38 Bus to Sequim |
| Spokane, WA | From about 5 hours 10 minutes by bus, longer on the train | $36 Bus$59 Amtrak |
| Wenatchee, WA | About 4 hours by train or bus | $40 Amtrak$64 Bus |
| Eugene and Salem, OR | About 5 hours to Salem, 6 and a half to Eugene, by train | $47 Amtrak to Eugene$45 FlixBus to Eugene$40 Amtrak to Salem$34 Bus to Salem |
Where the trains, buses and boats leave from
- King Street Station: every Amtrak train (Cascades, the Coast Starlight, the Empire Builder) and both Sounder lines, at the south end of downtown by the stadiums.
- 503 S Royal Brougham Way: FlixBus and Greyhound board curbside by Lumen Field, with the Stadium light rail station out front and a ticket window open from 5 a.m. to midnight. The Amtrak Thruway buses leave from King Street Station.
- Pier 52: Washington State Ferries to Bainbridge Island and Bremerton.
- The downtown waterfront: Kitsap Transit’s fast ferry to Bremerton (no cars aboard), 30 minutes across.
- Downtown and SeaTac: the Dungeness Line to the Olympic Peninsula picks up at both.
Under an hour
Tacoma, WA
About 45 minutes by train
- Seattle to Tacoma trainsfrom $13
- Seattle to Tacoma busesfrom $9
- Sounder S Line, weekdays$5.25
Of the routes on this page, Tacoma had last year’s cheapest ticket ($11.98), and it has a $5.25 commuter train. Amtrak Cascades does it in about 45 minutes; its typical fare last year was $23, and about one in seven of those Amtrak tickets came in under $20.
The Sounder S Line is weekdays only, but it’s more than a commute shuttle. On the timetable that runs through March 28, 2027, the 7:55 a.m. train out of King Street is at Tacoma Dome by 8:50, with trains back at 10:25 a.m., 4:06, 4:30 and 5:15 p.m. Weekends it runs only for stadium events (Seahawks, Mariners, Sounders FC, the odd concert), so check Sound Transit’s event calendar before you build a Saturday around it.
The Museum of Glass on Dock Street runs live glassblowing in its Hot Shop all day, Wednesday through Sunday. That’s exactly the right amount of ambition for a 45-minute trip.
Everett, WA
About 45 minutes by train or bus
- Seattle to Everett busesfrom $8
- Seattle to Everett trainsfrom $12
Everett was the cheapest fare on the 2018 list at $10.42, and on paper it still is. The Amtrak Thruway bus sold for a typical $14 last year, and 85 percent of Everett tickets came in under $20. The problem is volume: we sold 13 Everett tickets all year, and as of September 2026 none since April.
If the bus has no fare listed, Amtrak’s 8:30 a.m. Cascades from King Street (in Everett at 9:21) gets you there. Skip the $5.00 Sounder N Line, a commuter train pointed at Seattle. It runs toward Everett only from 3:45 p.m., so from this end it only works if you’re staying the night.
The 1 Line has run to Lynnwood since August 30, 2024, but it stops short of Everett. Once there, the Port of Everett’s Waterfront Place has the marina and the restaurants. The beach is Jetty Island, reached by the Port’s summer ferry.
Bainbridge Island, WA
35 minutes on the ferry
- Washington State Ferries walk-on$11.35
Start here. Walk on at Pier 52 and pay $11.35, the September 2026 fare, collected only on the Seattle side, so the ride back is free. The crossing is 35 minutes, and you step off in Winslow with the skyline behind you.
It’s the easiest car-free day trip on this page. Sit on the deck going out. Come back at dusk for the city lights.
Bellevue and Redmond, WA
About 25 minutes to downtown Bellevue on the 2 Line
- Link 2 Line$3.00
New since March 28, 2026: the 2 Line runs across Lake Washington on the I-90 floating bridge, the first light rail to do it. It links International District/Chinatown to Bellevue and on to downtown Redmond for a flat $3.00.
The timetable puts International District/Chinatown to Bellevue Downtown at 22 minutes and Downtown Redmond at 41. It’s a shopping-and-dinner day trip more than a scenic one, but it’s $3 and it runs all day, every day.
Edmonds, WA
About 30 minutes by train
- Seattle to Edmonds trainsfrom $10
- Seattle to Edmonds busesfrom $23
Edmonds barely registers, with two tickets sold last year, at $12.48 and $15. Don’t plan a day around the fare.
The station sits on Railroad Avenue by the water, with the Edmonds waterfront, Brackett’s Landing, the marina and the Cascadia Art Museum all a short walk away. It’s also where the Dungeness Line’s ferry leg to Kingston starts, on the way to Sequim and Port Angeles.
One to two hours
Olympia and Lacey, WA
From about 1 hour 20 minutes by train to Lacey, 1 hour 45 by bus to Olympia
- Seattle to Lacey trainsfrom $15
- Seattle to Lacey busesfrom $12
- Seattle to Olympia busesfrom $14
Amtrak’s stop for the capital is Centennial Station, out on Yelm Highway in Lacey. The ride is quick, but budget a hop into town from there. About a quarter of last year’s Amtrak Cascades tickets to Lacey came in under $20, with a typical fare of $27.
The bus goes to Olympia itself, but we sold only four of those all year, so check the fare before you plan on it. Either way, come for the Legislative Building on the hill.
Bremerton, WA
30 minutes on the fast ferry, about an hour on the state ferry
- Kitsap Fast Ferry, Seattle to Bremerton$13.00
- Washington State Ferries walk-on$11.35
Two boats, two prices. Kitsap Transit’s fast ferry (no cars aboard) crosses in 30 minutes for $13 westbound and $2 coming back. It keeps a commuter’s calendar, though: weekdays with a gap in the middle of the day, Saturdays only from May through September, never Sundays.
The Washington State Ferries boat runs every day and takes about an hour, $11.35 walk-on. Bremerton is a Navy town first. The Puget Sound Navy Museum on First Street is free, and the harbor is the rest of the show.
Centralia, WA
About 1 hour 40 minutes on Amtrak
- Seattle to Centralia trainsfrom $19
Centralia was $18 on the 2018 list. Last year’s typical fare was $42, the cheapest ticket we sold was $20.50, and not one came in under $20. Like Bellingham, it repriced.
A quarter of tickets went for $29 or less. It’s still a good stop: the Northern Pacific’s 1912 red-brick depot on Railroad Avenue, the Centralia Historic District a few blocks away, and the Corbet Theatre for an evening.
Snoqualmie Falls, WA
Light rail plus a bus; allow 90 minutes or more
- Link 2 Line$3.00
- Metro Route 215$3.00
The bus route toward the falls changed on August 29, 2026. King County Metro replaced Route 208 with Route 215, which runs from the 2 Line’s Mercer Island station through Issaquah Highlands to Snoqualmie and North Bend. It comes about every 90 minutes at the far end, seven days a week, where the 208 skipped Sundays.
Take the 2 Line from downtown to Mercer Island, then the 215, $3 apiece. The 215 stops on Snoqualmie Ridge and in downtown Snoqualmie (Railroad Avenue SE and SE Northern Street), not at the falls themselves. Check Metro’s Route 215 map for anything closer before you go, and give it the whole day.
Mount Vernon, WA
About 1 hour 30 minutes by bus or train
- Seattle to Mount Vernon busesfrom $15
- Seattle to Mount Vernon trainsfrom $15
The 2018 route that still holds up, on real volume. The Amtrak Thruway bus to Mount Vernon sold for about $17 last year, and the typical fare stayed there whether you booked the night before or two weeks out.
Amtrak Cascades stops at the same Skagit Station, where its typical fare last year was $39, so the bus was the better buy. The reason to go is the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, every April, when the fields around town go primary-colored. Getting from the station to the fields without a car is your own puzzle.
Two to four hours
Bellingham, WA
About 2 hours on Amtrak, 1 hour 35 to 2 hours 15 by bus
- Seattle to Bellingham busesfrom $18
- Seattle to Bellingham trainsfrom $20
Bellingham sold 396 tickets last year, our third-most from Seattle, and the old page headlined it at $13.67. Let’s bury that number. Last year’s typical fare was $26, the cheapest ticket was $21, and the Amtrak Thruway bus at a typical $25 was the cheap option, with FlixBus and Greyhound running higher.
The train pulls into Fairhaven Station on Harris Avenue, in the Fairhaven historic district and a short walk from the cruise terminal where the Alaska ferry leaves. Last year, Bellingham bus fares didn’t fall with notice: $26 at every lead time.
Portland, OR
From about 3 hours 10 minutes by bus, 3 and a half on Amtrak
- Seattle to Portland trainsfrom $29
- Seattle to Portland busesfrom $22
Cascades is the one worth paying for here: it’s one of the most scenic Amtrak routes in the country. From September 30, 2026, the first Airo trainsets run the morning Seattle to Eugene train, which calls at Portland. They bring USB-C at every seat, bigger windows and a proper cafe car, and the rest of the eight-train fleet arrives through 2027.
Portland ranks second from Seattle, 590 tickets last year, and the 2018 page called it $18.25. The typical fare last year was $45 on Amtrak Cascades and about $41 on FlixBus, with the cheapest ticket of the year at $22. Both reward planning: booked two weeks out, the bus ran about $36 against $43 the day before, and the train about $41 against $62.
Vancouver, WA
About 3 hours on Amtrak
- Seattle to Vancouver, WA trainsfrom $29
- Seattle to Vancouver, WA busesfrom $22
Portland’s Washington-side neighbor is an Amtrak stop of its own, 159 tickets last year at a typical $46, almost all of them on Cascades. Stop for Fort Vancouver National Historic Site: the reconstructed Hudson’s Bay Company fort, the Vancouver Barracks and the Pearson Air Museum on one campus. It’s also the trick for a busy Portland weekend, since it’s one stop short and sometimes cheaper; booked two weeks out the train ran about $34.
Leavenworth, WA
About 3 hours 20 minutes by bus or train
- Seattle to Leavenworth busesfrom $45
- Seattle to Leavenworth trainsfrom $51
Leavenworth is the Bavarian village in the Cascades, and you can get there without a car. The Amtrak Thruway bus over Stevens Pass ran at a typical $47, and last year’s 169 bookings carried 348 travelers, the biggest travel parties we saw. That’s what Oktoberfest and Christmastown do to a bus.
The Empire Builder stops at Icicle Station once a day each way and ran a typical $75, so the train makes it an overnight while the bus makes it a day. Our full Leavenworth guide covers the timing and what to do once the lederhosen wear off.
Vancouver, BC
About 4 hours by bus or train, border included
- Seattle to Vancouver, BC busesfrom $34
- Seattle to Vancouver, BC trainsfrom $37
Bring a passport. Amtrak’s US preclearance at Pacific Central Station clears you before you board the train home, about ten minutes faster than the old border stop. The morning train north is one of the first Airo runs, from September 30, 2026. Our guide to free things to do in Vancouver fills the day without touching the exchange rate.
Vancouver, BC is our biggest route from Seattle: 828 tickets last year across FlixBus, Greyhound, Quick Shuttle, Amtrak Thruway and Amtrak Cascades. The typical fare was $59, and this is the corridor where planning pays. The bus ran $47 booked two weeks out and $59 the day before, and last year it cost the most in summer.
Port Angeles and Sequim, WA
About 3 and a half hours by bus, ferry included
- Seattle to Port Angeles busesfrom $40
- Seattle to Sequim busesfrom $38
The Dungeness Line runs from downtown Seattle and SeaTac to Sequim and Port Angeles, with the Edmonds to Kingston ferry crossing built into the ticket. It makes two round trips a day, plus a daily direct express between Port Angeles and SeaTac, added in 2026. Typical fare last year: about $55, on a handful of bookings.
Hurricane Ridge is 17 miles above Port Angeles, and Clallam Transit runs a summer shuttle up from downtown. That puts Olympic National Park in reach without a car. It’s a long day there and back.
Make it a weekend
Portland and Vancouver, BC reward a hotel. These three require one.
Spokane, WA
From about 5 hours 10 minutes by bus, longer on the train
- Seattle to Spokane busesfrom $36
- Seattle to Spokane trainsfrom $59
Spokane is a long day on the bus (Northwestern Stage Lines and FlixBus, a typical $56 last year) or a night on the Empire Builder (a typical $78). Spokane needs the weekend, and last year the bus fare barely moved with notice. Riverfront Park downtown has the falls, the Numerica SkyRide gondola over them, and the old Expo grounds around it.
Wenatchee, WA
About 4 hours by train or bus
- Seattle to Wenatchee trainsfrom $40
- Seattle to Wenatchee busesfrom $64
Wenatchee has two ways in, and last year they priced differently: the Empire Builder at a typical $66, cheaper with notice ($50 two weeks out), and Northwestern Stage Lines, which held at a typical $71 however early you booked. The train is once a day each way, so an overnight is built in. Pair it with Leavenworth, one stop back toward Seattle on the same line.
Eugene and Salem, OR
About 5 hours to Salem, 6 and a half to Eugene, by train
- Seattle to Eugene trainsfrom $47
- Seattle to Eugene busesfrom $45
- Seattle to Salem trainsfrom $40
- Seattle to Salem busesfrom $34
Eugene and Salem sit at the south end of the Cascades line. Eugene ran a typical $72 on Amtrak Cascades and $52 on FlixBus; Salem, the state capital, about $71 on Cascades and $47 on FlixBus. Eugene’s train fare dropped with notice last year, from $88 last-minute to $60 two weeks out.
Eugene is TrackTown: Hayward Field, the University of Oregon and a brewery scene that rewards the long ride.
Three more stops worth knowing
Kelso sits on the Cascades line between Centralia and Vancouver, WA, at a typical $34 last year. Ellensburg is Northwestern Stage Lines’ direct bus over Snoqualmie Pass, 1 hour 45 minutes (our typical ticket was $56). Yakima is bus only, at a typical $38 last year.
- Kelso, WAfrom $25
- Ellensburg, WAfrom $27
- Yakima, WAfrom $28
Two famous trips we can’t sell you
Mount Rainier has no bus or train we can book. You’ll need a car or a guided tour. Victoria, BC is reachable without either: the Victoria Clipper crosses from the waterfront in about 3 hours out and 2 hours 45 minutes back. One-way fares start around $160 to $190, though, so it’s a splurge, not a cheap day out.
What’s still under $20 (the honest list)
The 2018 page counted eight places under $20. On last year’s bookings, this is the list, ranked by how many tickets came in under $20:
- Mount Vernon: 58 percent overall, 100 percent on the Thruway bus
- Everett: 85 percent, on 13 tickets
- Tacoma: 24 percent overall, one in seven on Amtrak Cascades
- Lacey: 22 percent overall, about a quarter on Amtrak Cascades
Nothing else cleared the bar on a real sample; Edmonds went two for two, on two tickets. The local fares are the loophole: $5.25 on the Sounder to Tacoma, $3 on Link, $11.35 for a ferry round trip. For cities where $20 still stretches further, see our under-$20 guides.
What the 2018 list lost
None of the eight routes died outright. What died was the price. On last year’s bookings, Portland went from $18.25 to $41 to $45, Bellingham from $13.67 to $26 with not one ticket under $20, Centralia from $18 to $42.
Stanwood is technically alive, two tickets last year at $25 and $38, which is less a route than a rumor. BoltBus, the cheap bus of the 2018 era, shut down in 2021 and was folded into Greyhound, which FlixBus runs on one network today. The one-dollar fares went with it.
How to pay less (what 3,119 tickets say)
We looked at every Seattle departure booked on Wanderu between September 2025 and September 2026. Four things held up:
- Mount Vernon and Everett held most of last year’s under-$20 tickets. About 1.6 percent of all tickets came in under $20. Amtrak Thruway seats to Mount Vernon or Everett made up most of them. On last year’s bookings, most trips here cost $25 to $60.
- Book ahead, bus or train. Vancouver, BC by bus dropped from $59 booked the day before to $47 two weeks out, Portland by train from $62 to $41, Eugene by train from $88 to $60. Bellingham’s bus was the exception at $26 whenever you booked, and Mount Vernon’s Thruway bus held at about $17.
- Vancouver had a summer price last year. The same buses ran a typical $48 in November and $67 to $71 in June and July. November was the cheap month; May through July the expensive stretch. Don’t assume the same for Portland: its months bounce around with no season worth planning.
- Let Sounder, Link and the ferries carry the short hops. None of them changes price with demand. Sounder’s catch is a weekday timetable built around the commute; the ferries’ catch is that they only go where the water goes.
For the version of this advice that works from any city, read our guide to finding the cheapest tickets.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best day trips from Seattle without a car?
Bainbridge Island wins: walk onto the ferry at Pier 52, $11.35 paid only on the Seattle side, 35 minutes each way. After that, Tacoma on Amtrak Cascades or the weekday Sounder, Bellevue and Redmond on the 2 Line, Bellingham and Portland on Amtrak Cascades, and Leavenworth on the Amtrak Thruway bus over Stevens Pass. Every trip here leaves downtown Seattle by train, bus or ferry.
Which island is a good choice for a day trip from Seattle?
Bainbridge Island. The Washington State Ferries crossing from Pier 52 takes 35 minutes, the walk-on fare is $11.35 as of September 2026 and it’s collected only westbound, so the ride home is free. Bremerton is the runner-up: 30 minutes on the Kitsap Fast Ferry for $13 out and $2 back, weekdays plus Saturdays from May through September. The state ferry takes about an hour and runs any day of the week.
What cities are within 2 hours of Seattle?
Under an hour: Tacoma, Everett, Edmonds, Bainbridge Island by ferry, and Bellevue and Redmond on the 2 Line. One to two hours: Olympia and Lacey, Bremerton by ferry, Centralia and Mount Vernon on Amtrak, and Snoqualmie Falls by light rail and Metro Route 215. Bellingham is about 2 hours on Amtrak Cascades and 1 hour 35 to 2 hours 15 by bus, depending on the bus company.
What are some hidden-gem day trips from Seattle?
Mount Vernon, where the Amtrak Thruway bus ran about $17 last year and the Skagit Valley tulips bloom every April. Edmonds, a 30-minute train ride to a waterfront town with an art museum. Centralia, for the 1912 Northern Pacific depot and the historic district. And Snoqualmie, which got Sunday Metro buses on August 29, 2026; the 215 stops in town, not at the falls.
Is the train or the bus cheaper from Seattle?
The bus, on last year’s bookings for the big corridors. To Bellingham, Mount Vernon and Leavenworth the Amtrak Thruway bus was the cheap way, and to Portland and Vancouver, BC the bus won. The train held its own to Tacoma and Lacey and beat the bus to Wenatchee. For the short hops, Sounder to Tacoma at $5.25 and Link at $3.00 beat everything.
What day trips from Seattle are under $20?
On last year’s bookings of the routes Wanderu sells, Mount Vernon was the answer: the Amtrak Thruway bus sold at about $17 all last year, every ticket under $20. Everett’s Thruway bus ran $14 but sold rarely, Lacey dipped under $20 on about a quarter of Amtrak Cascades tickets, and Tacoma on about one in seven. Sound Transit and the ferries cover the rest: Sounder to Tacoma is $5.25 on a weekday, Link is $3.00 flat, and the ferry to Bainbridge or Bremerton is $11.35 with the return free.
The “from” prices on this page refresh from Wanderu’s route data: each is the cheapest fare recently available on that route, the same figure its route page shows. “Typical” fares are Wanderu bookings from Seattle, September 2025 to September 2026, per ticket, the full price paid; ticket counts are bookings, and a booking can cover more than one seat. Sound Transit, King County Metro, Washington State Ferries, Kitsap Transit and Victoria Clipper fares are those operators’ published fares as of September 2026.
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