What you should know before hiring a car in Seattle
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Distance from Seattle city centre |
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Car hires in Seattle: practical information
Where to rent a car in Seattle
Welcome to the west coast! This part of the United States is beautiful and best explored by car. Pick up your Seattle car hire from Sea-Tac Airport as soon as you arrive on your flights to Seattle. You can find a dozen car rental companies including National, Hertz, Fox Rent A Car, Payless and others, in the airport’s Rental Car Facility.
If you don’t hire a car at the airport, there are a handful of rental agencies in the city centre like Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise and Hertz.
Driving in Seattle: parking and other tips
Driving in the city centre can be pretty tricky. Traffic is awful but having a rental car is invaluable if you want to explore further to neighbourhoods like Georgetown and Ballard.
Don’t be intimidated by driving in Seattle. While the freeways may fill up with traffic, the city’s streets and roadways are generally quite good and a GPS will help in your navigation. Just be aware that Seattle parking fines can be quite hefty and are strictly enforced. Why not book a hotel in Seattle with free parking instead?
Road trips from Seattle: what to do, what to see
Everett
Get out and explore the surroundings! Everett is only a 25 mile drive north of Seattle and is home to the Boeing factory. There really is nothing like a tour of this place where ginormous 747s, 767s, 777s and 787s are built. It’s more than likely that the plane you travelled on was built in this very facility!
Snoqualmie Falls
Snoqualmie is just east of Seattle and the waterfall here is beautiful and very scenic. Its around 90 metres in height. If you’re up for a little hiking, head to Snoqualmie Pass following the I-90 east for fantastic views of the region.
Olympic Peninsula
This is really a place that deserves a couple days to explore. The Olympic Peninsula features beautiful Pacific Ocean beaches, Cape Flattery (which is the most north-western point of the USA) and the only temperate rain forests in the lower 48 states. Also, check out Crescent Lake and Hurricane Ridge.