The quickest (most of the time) yet not the cheapest way to get to Bainbridge Island from Seattle is via the Seattle-Bainbridge Island Ferry that leaves downtown Seattle. It’s about a 9 mile trek across the Puget Sound and ran me $18.20 for one person and one vehicle under 22′ in length. The 9 mile trip takes about 35 minutes once you leave the dock but its a great ride. I really enjoyed it.
Once aboard and parked you can wander around the ferry and sightsee. In fact you don’t even have to have a car in order to board the ferry. There are plenty of walk ons and bicyclists that jump on the ferry daily.
The view from the middle of the Puget Sound is awesome. I’m sure the locals don’t think anything of it but me as a tourist, I loved it! It was a bit chilly and windy but that was to be expected.
The view of downtown Seattle from this vantage point is a sight to see. I’m very curious to see how it looks at night.
While the ferry is in motion you’re free to roam around the ship. There are restrooms on board and a enclosed seating area in case the weather is bad. I even noticed a family on board that had obviously been on board for several hours. They had lunch packed and they were sitting together working on a 1,000 piece puzzle with a window view of the sound. Cool idea!
I was on the Tacoma. Ferries run one direction about every hour and no reservations are needed. Some ferries in other parts of the Washington state do require a reservation. Ask me how I know. Lol.
There’s a ton of room for vehicles onboard. The largest ferries in the fleet (the Tacoma is one) can carry up to 2500 passengers and 202 vehicles. Wow.
So if you’re in the Seattle area and need to get to Bainbridge Island be sure to consider a ferry ride across the Puget Sound. It’s a much more relaxing ride than driving the long way around.
Location: Seattle Bainbridge Island Ferry