Thinking about doing a trip next September on the CZ to the CS to Seattle to see the Huskers VS the Huskies play. Wouldn't mind catching a Seahawks game to if they are in town. What would be the best place to stay in Seattle for two people who have never been there and good proximity to mass transit? Also, what is the mass transit name in Seattle? Do they have a website that helps you figure out how to get from point A to point B? Thanks!
If I were going to do that trip, I would stay in the central or northern part of downtown, which is convenient for transit and close to shopping, and is a short walk to the Pike Place Market. I previously have suggested
the Mayflower Park Hotel at 4th Avenue and Olive Street as a nice place that looks like a good value, and NeilM says he has stayed there several times and highly recommends it. But there are many other hotels in that general area: The Westin, the Andra, the Warwick, the Max, the Grand Hyatt. On game day, you could walk two blocks south on 4th Avenue and catch
the 43 bus on Pike Street at 4th Avenue and it would take you right to Husky Stadium. If you wanted to see the campus, you could take
the 71,
the 72, or
the 73 to University Avenue on the opposite side of campus and stroll east to the stadium. You'd catch those three routes in
the transit tunnel, the Westlake Station of which is one block from the Mayflower Park. The fare is currently $1.75, but is supposed to go up next year, so it might be $2.00 or $2.25 by the time you get here. If the Seahawks game worked out for your trip, there are many potential bus rides down to Qwest Field, and all of them would be free assuming (a) you rode before 7 p.m., and (b) you got off at or before Jackson Street.
And, I have written this before, but I will write it again: When you arrive in Seattle, if you don't mind toting your luggage a couple of blocks, you can walk from King Street Station over to the bus stop on 4th Avenue at Jackson Street, next to Union Station, and catch any northbound bus for free into downtown (assuming it's before 7 p.m., when the free ride service cuts off). Save that cab fare and spend it on oysters. I don't have all the transit routes memorized, but I know the 19, 24, and 33 would all take you from 4th & Jackson to a stop across the street from the Mayflower Park and one block from the Westin and the Andra, and the next stop is across the street from the Warwick.
You can figure all your transit routings out using the Trip Planner on the
Metro Web Site.
(To address a question previously raised: Metro is King County's transit agency, and it runs buses and Seattle's miniscule new streetcar. Sound Transit was formed to set up cross-county transit in and between King, Pierce [Tacoma], and Snohomish [Everett] Counties, and it runs buses on longer-distance routes, light rail [Link], and heavy rail [sounder]. To confuse the unwary, Metro and Sound Transit buses charge different fares and have different fare structures -- Metro charges peak and off-peak fares, with zone fares applying during the peak time, while Sound Transit does not have peak fares but charges zone fares at all times. Transfers are honored between the two agencies, but the value Sound Transit places on a Metro transfer will not cover the full value of the ride on the Sound Transit bus you transfer to. And Link charges by distance, so the fare is different between each origination-destination pair. So, carry lots of dollar bills and quarters if you are going far afield -- but the rides from downtown to Husky Stadium I described are all on Metro and should be straightforward.)
