Summer Travel Guide to Seattle on a Budget

Seattle, Washington is a beautiful city, full of all sorts of small town charm housed in a big city. There are many things to see and do in Seattle. Regardless of your budget, you will find that Seattle, Washington is a highly appealing city.

For places to lodge, our last visit marked perhaps our most affordable lodging ever, as we stayed with friends. However, there are a number of highly affordable hotels in and around Seattle. The area around the airport, though perhaps a bit noisier than other areas of Seattle, has some of the more affordable hotels. With prices ranging from $40 to $90, depending on time of say and type of hotel, the SeaTac area offers many options. There is a Ramada Inn, Howard Johnson and Days Inn that all offer a pool and high speed Internet for those who like brand name hotels. However, one of the highest ranked (according to Travelocity) hotels is the SeaTac Valu Inn. Although this hotel doesn't have a pool, it offers high speed Internet and cozy lodgings.

Like many large cities, Seattle is a food lover's paradise. Whether you prefer large chains or small mom and pop restaurants, you'll find something wonderful in Seattle, regardless of your price range. For the more budget-minded consumer who like chains, check out Trader Joe's for groceries-we became permanent fans of their wholesome, organic yet inexpensive array of foods-and Johnny Rockets for burgers. If you like to go for food that you can't find in your hometown, Pike Place Market offers the widest array of restaurants at a variety of budget levels. The Athenian Inn has great seafood and a beautiful view, with the added benefit of being one of the locations Tom Hanks visited in Sleepless in Seattle. Off Pine Street is the Dragonfish Asian Café, which offers a wide array of Japanese food. That's Amore, Cutters Bayhouse, and Baja Fresh Mexican Grill are other good options for inexpensive dining. Finally, there's no way to avoid drinking copious amounts of coffee when you go to Seattle, so check out Seattle's Best Coffee or one of the many Starbucks here at it's creation city.

Just walking the streets of Seattle can provide countless opportunities for things to do. We particularly enjoy looking at the boathouses, which are quite different from anything we normally see. Public transportation is easy to navigate and truly inexpensive, so those on a budget could easily spend at least a couple of days just exploring the city. Seattle integrates art into the city so completely that it's almost like a scavenger hunt trying to find the coolest pieces of art. Of course, as interesting as this is, you may wish to check out some of the sites, just to say you've done so! Pike Place Market can be as cheap or expensive as you wish, as the site to stores on all levels of the budget scale. The Fish Market at the entrance on Pine Street is a good place to stand and watch some really interesting interactions for free.

Many large cities offer a discounted form of tickets known as CityPass. Seattle is no exception. Their CityPass program changes as of April 1^st of 2009, which is so soon that I'll only reference that program in this description. At $54 for adults, $39 for kids, Seattle CityPass allows the bearer to check out everything from the Space Needle to the Aquarium at as much as a 50% discount. Of particular interest to us when we went were the Seattle Pacific Science Center, the aquarium, the Space Needle (it's nearly impossible to go to Seattle and avoid going to the Space Needle), Woodland Park Zoo, and the Argosy Harbor Tour. As with any CityPass, it's important to note that the estimated discount level is dependent on visiting every site listed as part of the ticket. If you only wish to go to one or two of these, you'd be better off buying individual tickets.

For those interested in sports, WNBA team Seattle Storm provides inexpensive enjoyment. This team often does quite well, and is a great way to check out what the women's side of the NBA is up to. The Seattle Mariners also play, though it's a bit more of a hike outside of Seattle, and are a bit more costly than some of the other items I have mentioned here.

Regardless of what you are interested in, Seattle has a variety of options. These are just a few of the sites and places to see for budget minded travelers to Seattle, Washington.