Help me plan my trip to SEATTLE, WA with an almost 3 and a 5 yr old

[ckso]

We're planning to go to Seattle for 3-5 days (haven't quite decided yet) but neither one of us have been there before.

I welcome any ideas of good places to go, sights to see, "must" things to do, restaurants to go to, etc..

Hotel recommendations if you have any would be great too

TIA

[larig]

when will you be here? will you have a car?

[ckso]

when will you be here? will you have a car?

I plan on being their end of July/early August. Also plan on renting a car


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[kaitlyns.mom]

The zoo is awesome for kids, as is the children's museum. Pike's Place market is a must-see. when we stayed there it was paid for by DH's work and the hotel was by the stadium.... I would have chosen differently if we were paying. Traffic is worse than you anticipate. And this is from someone from Southern CA!

[larig]

End of July/early August is the perfect time to come and is when the least likely day for rain occurs! I think if you want to stay downtown, the W is a great hotel.

It is cheaper to rent a car downtown because of local fees/taxes. The hilton has a car rental office in it, when we rent cars, we always rent from them (through costco).

The zoo is lovely. We have concerts there throughout the summer in the evenings.

I think that our children's museum is okay, but not much different than any other children's museum.

The Experience Music Project is exceptional. You won't find that other places, so skip the Children's museum and hit the EMP. http://www.empmuseum.org they have 2 exhibits you might like--the brick by brick lego exhibit and a Nirvana exhibit. Their other stuff is always great too. There's a room you can go in and play instruments, etc. Very hands-on. You can also use your Ikea family card to get a cheap/discounted entrance to EMP through Sept.
http://www.empmuseum.org/at-the-muse...hitecture.aspx

Our Science Center is also a good hands-on place for kids.

the children's museum, sci center and EMP are all on the same campus, under the shadow of the space needle and near the new Chihuily Museum. There is a food court here if you want to make a day of it.

Lots of people like to do the Underground Tour. (I'm not sure how fun it is for young kids, IMO).

For a low-key day, you can hit the aquarium (there are better aquariums in the US, I think, but it's in a nice location on a pier and small enough that kids' don't get bored), walk to the King County Water Taxi, http://www.kingcounty.gov/transporta.../WSeattle.aspx take a short ride across the bay to West Seattle and eat at the AWESOME Marination Ma Kai http://marinationmobile.com/ma-kai (they won one of the national morning shows' Best Food Truck Contest, the kids can have Shave Ice). Then go for a stroll along Alki Beach (you don't want to swim, though, it's pretty cold). http://www.seattle.gov/parks/park_detail.asp?ID=445 (For swimming, you'd want to go to the beach in the Madison Park neighborhood, which is on Lake Washington.) Locals also LOVE Spud fish & chips on Alki--I believe it is one of the oldest fast food places in the city.

If your kids like planes/space stuff, there is the Museum of Flight, which is near Boeing Field.

For seafood you could try Chinooks. It's near the marina where a lot of the fishing boats are docked when they're not out fishing. I like taking kids here, because it's a little loud and no one cares if your kid is loud. http://www.anthonys.com/restaurants/...-at-salmon-bay

[AngelaS]

We just came home from Seattle. My kids are older but they loved Pike's place market and the Ferris wheel. We did the aquarium but it's much smaller than the one we are used to in Chicago. Their touch tanks are super fun tho.

We did a duck boat tour which my girls loved. We did the EMP museum and we mostly thought it was boring, but my teenager loved the science fiction part. The museum of flight was way more interesting, and my husband especially loved it.

We ate at The crab pot and the girls loved the fun of the bibs and them dumping the pots of crab on the table. There are tons of shops down near the pier and we had fun walking around there.

[HannaAddict]

It is Pike Place Market (not Pike's) and if you says Pike's they know you aren't a local!

[SnuggleBuggles]

It is Pike Place Market (not Pike's) and if you says Pike's they know you aren't a local!

Sometimes it's a-ok to wave your tourist flag, especially at a tourist destination.

[HannaAddict]

Just a tip so people know what it is really called since such a common mistake by tourists and even people living here but non-natives. I'd want to know! It is simply named after the street, Pike Street, not a person so not possessive or plural. That helps some folks remember and makes it easy to get there too.

Other ideas: A ferry to Bainbridge, walk on, and the explore the waterfront park right off the ferry, cute business district and even their children's museum is fun too. Quick and scenic ferry ride, 30 minutes each way, and they serve microbrews and decent coffee on that run. Not Bremerton, take Bainbridge ferry. West Seattle is nice, beaches and looks back at Seattle for spectacular night views too. Discovery Park is a huge amazing park less than two miles from the city center. Space Needle is expensive but fun, kids love riding the monorail to the Seattle Center from downtown or reverse or round trip. Fast. The South Lake Union trolley is fun too from the shores of Lake Union with its splash pad and Museum of History and Industry and Center for Wooden Boats, through the hip and new South Lake Union area to downtown. Burke Museum on the gorgeous UW campus is small but has dinosaur exhibit. But small museum. Have fun.