Seattle, From a Pioneer Square Waterfall to the Ballard Locks
A three-hour shuttle loop of Seattle with five photo stops, the Ballard Locks the longest, and most other sights seen from the bus.
Seattle's sightseeing list fits into one afternoon here, on a shuttle bus that leaves the Hyatt Regency on Howell Street at 1:00 PM every day and runs three hours. Five stops get you off the bus, and in the listing's schedule they add up to 48 of the 180 minutes. The rest you see through the window. The longest stop, by a wide margin, is the Ballard Locks.
The company is Seattle's Best Tours, which used to trade as Puget Sound Tours. The listing's contact line still uses the old name, so either one may show up on your paperwork.
Every booking needs at least one adult, and both the listing and the operator's own page start at age two. Booking closes an hour before the 1:00 PM start and confirms on the spot. One person can book through this listing, but the operator's own booking system will not open a departure for fewer than two, and the listing can cancel a tour that runs short of travelers. The listing's own description adds that veterans may book at the senior rate.
Seattle City TourA shared three-hour shuttle tour that picks up at the Hyatt Regency Seattle at 1:00 PM. Bottled water is included; gratuities are not.www.viator.comThe Ballard Locks Get the Longest Stop
Of the five stops, the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks get 25 minutes in the listing's schedule, more than the other four put together. Locals call them the Ballard Locks.
The wildlife is the part that depends on the calendar. The listing says salmon show up at the right time of year, climbing back toward the lakes where they were born, and seals or a sea lion may turn up. The operator's own page lists the fish ladder as a bonus in summer. The listing also promises pterodactyls from March to July, which the operator's page owns up to being blue herons, nesting high in the trees. The listing adds that eagles sometimes hunt along the water.
Kerry Park and the Floating Homes Are Photo Pauses
Kerry Park on Queen Anne Hill is the listing's pick for a view of the Space Needle with downtown behind it, and on a clear day Mount Rainier shows up in the same frame. The schedule gives it eight minutes.
The floating homes on Lake Union get five, a stop the listing ties to Sleepless in Seattle, where Tom Hanks's character lived on one. There is one more five-minute pause outside the Museum of Pop Culture beside the Space Needle. Entry to either building is not part of the ticket.
Pike Place and the Troll Are Window Views
Most of Seattle's famous names pass by the window: Pioneer Square, Lumen Field, Chihuly Garden and Glass, the Amazon Spheres, the Lenin statue in Fremont, and a drive through the Chinatown-International District. Pike Place Market is on that list too. The listing says it is too busy to stop at, since it takes at least a couple of hours to see, and offers to let you off there when the tour ends.
The Fremont Troll is not a promised stop: the listing says the bus pulls over only when there is parking and the group wants to. The street under the bridge is tight and, in the listing's words, watched by traffic police and neighbors. The listing also says it will point out where Boeing's first airplane took off.
Who Runs the Bus
Seattle's Best Tours was started by Earl Alexander, who came to Washington with the Air Force, earned a BFA in acting from Cornish College of the Arts in 2000, and went on to voice work for Microsoft, Boeing and video games, according to the company's About page. The listing is written in the same joking voice, trolls and pterodactyls included. The company says it is slowly adding a small team of guides, so your afternoon may be led by someone else.
📍 The bus loads on the 8th Avenue side of the Hyatt Regency Seattle, 808 Howell Street, at the charter bus zone near the corner of 8th Avenue and Howell Street. The operator asks you to be there five minutes before the 1:00 PM start. One line further down the listing sends light-rail riders to the Westin's valet zone on Westlake Avenue; the listing's meeting-point section, the operator's tour page and its booking notes all name the Hyatt, so go to the Hyatt.
- Bottled water is always on board; soda and beer sometimes, never promised.
- Gratuities are not included, and neither is entry to the Space Needle.
- The first restroom break comes about an hour and ten minutes in, so go before you board.
- The tour runs in any weather. Dress for it.
- Full refund when you cancel at least 24 hours before departure.
At the end you choose where to get off: back at the Hyatt, at Pike Place Market, or at the Space Needle, with the rest of the afternoon free for the market the bus only drove past.