Seattle: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
Seattle is a city of 780,995 people in United States (Washington), 56 m (184 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA), 18 km (11 mi) from the centre. It has 2 railway stations on record, including King Street Station. It is a port city: Port of Seattle. Our booking partner lists 661 places to stay.
Key facts
Daylight in Seattle runs from about 8 h 29 min a day in late December to 16 h 3 min in late June (computed for 47.61° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
Seattle is served by 5 airports with scheduled flights within 100 km. The closest large one is Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA), 18 km (11 mi) from the centre, whose 11,901-ft runway is long enough for long-haul wide-body aircraft. The alternatives are King County International Airport - Boeing Field (BFI, 9 km), Seattle Paine Field International Airport (PAE, 34 km), Tacoma Narrows Airport (TIW, 42 km), Olympia Regional Airport (OLM, 83 km).
Flights to Seattle: every airport, routes and times
By rail: stations on record include King Street Station, Union Station. Trains to Seattle
Buses to Seattle · Driving and car hire · Ferries
Where to stay
Our booking partner lists 661 places to stay in Seattle. Of the 466 with a star rating, the largest group is 3-star (198), and 8 are five-star. Across 148 properties with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 8.5 out of 10. Guests have left 150,199 reviews in total.
Hotels in Seattle: the full picture, and book
What people come for
| Sight | Visitors a year | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle Public Library | 6,015,702 | 2015 |
| Seattle Art Museum | 797,127 | — |
| Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park - Seattle Unit | 13,003 | 2020 |
| Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park | 297 | 2020 |
The busiest is Seattle Public Library at 6,015,702 visitors in 2015. At that volume, anything with a gate is worth a timed ticket or an early start.
Tours, tickets and day trips from Seattle
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- Vancouver, 192 km (Canada) — flights · trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Portland, 233 km — flights · trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Surrey, 171 km (Canada) — flights · trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Victoria, 119 km (Canada) — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Burnaby, 190 km (Canada) — flights · buses · car rental · tours
- Tri-Cities, 282 km — flights · buses · car rental · tours
- Spokane, 367 km — flights · trains · buses · car rental
- Tacoma, 40 km — trains · buses · car rental · ferries · tours
- Richmond, 184 km (Canada) — flights · buses · car rental · tours
- Vancouver, 220 km — flights · trains · buses · car rental · tours
Twin towns and sister cities: Beersheba, Bergen, Cebu City, Chongqing, Christchurch, Daejeon, Galway, Gdynia, Haiphong, Kaohsiung, Kobe, Mombasa, Limbe, Mazatlán.
Common questions
Which airport serves Seattle?
Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA), 18 km (11 mi) from the centre, plus 4 other airports with scheduled flights within 100 km.
How big is Seattle?
About 780,995 people live in Seattle, across 369 km² (GeoNames and Wikidata).
What time zone is Seattle in?
America/Los_Angeles, currently UTC-7.
What currency is used in Seattle?
The Dollar (USD). Traffic drives on the right.
How many hotels are there in Seattle?
Our booking partner lists 661 places to stay in Seattle, bookable on this site.
Which cities are near Seattle?
Vancouver (192 km), Portland (233 km), Surrey (171 km), Victoria (119 km), Burnaby (190 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 13 September 2026. Hotel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.