Seattle Commute Viability
 

I was wondering if anyone with experience going down to seattle could tell me if my groups proposed itinerary is viable.

6:45am leave Richmond for Seattle
Wait until the premium outlets open
Shop from 10am till 2 or 3pm
Drive from the outlets to either factoria for Nordstrom Rack or Alderwood Shop for another 2 hours or so
Then Drive into downtown seattle to go to Pikes Place Market for dinner and snacks
After dinner drive out to bellevue mall for more shopping.

Is this all doable in one day? or is the traffic really that bad

It's safe to assume outlet to alderwood will take you 40 minutes, then alderwood to pike's place would take another 40 minutes. Don't forget to factor in parking in downtown seattle as well.

Is pike's place even worth checking out that late? I've only been there during the day. By the time you get there, it'll be dark. Not sure if it'll be a good experience.

I would recommend skipping pike's place altogether, and just go to the Bellevue cheesecake factory instead. Awesome food, plus it's literally right next to the mall.

6:45 should be early enough that border wait times are minimal.

Dunno if you have time to hit Bellevue. Traffic around D/T Seattle gets pretty bad on I-5, and street traffic in town is kinda brutal. I went with my relatives in Lynnwood (where Alderwood is), to Southcenter Mall, Google Mapped at 30 minutes from there. It took an hour to reach Southcenter with all the traffic, especially around the time you bank on getting to Bellevue.

Alderwood is pretty good on stores, so you can possibly hit Seattle and then head home. Outlets to Alderwood is maybe 20-25 minutes tops, its only ~17 miles between the exits. Consider going to Southcenter in place of Bellevue.

PS. Parking downtown is scarce and expensive as SHIT.

+1 for bellevue free parking and they have almost everything within a small radiius. TBH premium outlet is shitty unless you know for sure what you're going to get. You can definitely finish there in about half the time you allotted for it, especially in the morning it is relatively quiet. I went on a thursday morning and it was pretty dead haha.

Usually when I go downtown Seattle I park at Westlake IIRC it's not too expensive, there's a cheesecake factory about 2 blocks away and lots of shopping in a 3 block radius. Barney's, Mario's and all the typical american shops are there. If you have a place in mind for dinner in downtown seattle then don't bother with bellevue.

I had dinner at a place called campagne by pike place but quick google search tells me it's temporarily closed? hmm. It was not bad though. The area is actually pretty nice at night similar to yaletown

You don't really need 4-5 hrs at the outlet, I'd say 1-2hrs and you should be done.

Like the others said, go to Bellevue, it has almost everything there, free parking and is only about 20min away from the outlet. I agree with CorneringArtist, parking in DT Seattle is so damn expensive. I had to pay like almost $20 to park.

If you want to do everything you listed it is doable because I went to the outlet, Alderwood and Bellevue all in a day and was home before 8pm.

Leave at 4 am. Lots of time shop and do it all.


OK, maybe a little too early 5:30?

Thanks all for your pointers :)

I've never been to Bellevue since I do most of my shopping at Alderwood (and my relatives know of surrounding stores). What's so good about it in terms of stores?

Bellevue Square and Cheese Cake Factory.

http://www.bellevuecollection.com/

I have been with people that have said that as well, but in reality it always is around 4 hrs.
Why?
1. Depends on wait times at cash registers
2. Depends on what you are shopping for (ie. looking for something vs. looking at anything), if its a bunch of guys, no problem with 2-3 hrs, girls = 5ish

Option 1: If you want to maximize your high end shopping.

Reverse the order...

Leave 7am - if you can even wake up that early...
Drive straight down to Bellueve - Arrive at around 10am, factoring in the border waits (Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Macy's, general mall stuff...)
Drive across to Downtown Seattle - Parking will be a bitch, but you can eat lunch at the Market if you wish
Drive back to Premium Outlet, arrive there at about 7pm - you can finish the day off with whatever money you are left with, or if you are not satisfied with going higher end stores. 202 closes at 9pm M-S

Eat at Ivar's behind exit 202 (google it)


Option 2: If you want to sightsee and shop for cheap deals. Or if you have some first-timers.

Follow the schedule as you posted, but you won't spend 4 hours at Premium Outlets. Unless it's your first time there.

But go to Bellueve first, then DT Seattle for some Crab Pot.

Edit: To add, be careful between exit 167 to 230ish. Popo camp for BC plates.

Again, if you can take 2 days off - Portland is the place for shopping.

1. Start driving at 7pm at night - border waits are 5-10 minutes
2. Arrive Portland at 1am - sleep
3. All day shopping
4. Half day shopping
5. Start driving home from Portland at 4pm
6. Dinner at Tacoma/Seattle/Tulalip, get home at around 10pm - border waits are 15-20 minutes AND you get $400 duty free per person

Save so much money, more sizes, less fighting with BC drivers.

QFT. Got a ticket on my way down just before you hit the Burlington Outlets going south.

Saw them camped out in the same spot on my way back. 20 mph over the limit will cost you $144. :mad:

I don't think it's necessary to do Alderwood Mall AND Bellevue Square. Pick one or the other - most stores are in both malls but do your homework beforehand (eg. Bellevue Square has a LEGO store).

What's your fuel burn bro? Got your indicated, calibrated and true speeds? What's it going to cost you in wear and tear on your vehicle? Have you notified the border of you intended time of entry and exit of their zone?

Lol actually I did call the border to tell them when I was planning on going in, since my passport situation was not ideal. In terms of vehicle wear and tear, my old 2001 Chrysler Town and Country probably wouldn't see that much of a drop in value :p

Also:
Which restaurant from ppls experience is better the original Ivar's for dinner or Cheesecake Factory?

i love the pike place market, but its best to go around noon.
i probably wouldnt go for dinner unless there was somewhere really specific to eat.
most of the stuff is closed at night.

if you are at pike place area for dinner, just goto the steelhead diner. it was really good when i was there.

make sure you order the caviar pie
http://www.starchefs.com/gallery3/al...80_1_50_50.jpg

recommend: cheesecake factory for desert!

hmm sounds like a perfect weekend :alone:

OP: Pretty sure its doable.

I just went to States on Friday.
Arrived border at 930am...waited an hour lineup...duh!...passed border 1035am.
Arrived at #202 premium outlet by 11:45am...shopped til 1:30pm.
Red lobster in Alderwood (lynnwood) by 1:55pm...ate til 3:15pm...

Drove to Seattle downtown shopping...arrived at 4:20pm (DT traffic/parking)...shopped til 5:45pm since I only wanted to shop at Macys LOL...
Then off to Southcenter and arrived at 6:25pm...and finished at 9PM (closing time)
Off to dinner at Olive Garden and finally got back to border crossing by 12:40am


Shouldnt be a problem if you know where you're going. If time is a factor for you, just keep an eye on your watch. This way, you're not rushing through things and not having ebough time.
Also you said driving from outlet #202 to Nordstrom Rack (Alderwood) takes 2 hours? Or you meant Factoria? Anyways, between #202 to Nordstrom Rack takes only 30 mins...think the exit was #183 or #181 (red lobster).
Have a safe trip!!
By the way, there has been much police cruisers on the highway, saw like 3-4 cars getting pulled over.

traffic there is heaven compared to vancouver. You really don't have to worry about traffic unless its early like 7-8am or 4-6pm.

Rush Hour down there is insane. I remember getting to Seattle area at around 7:30 am. Unbelievable. Thank god, I was in the HOV lane.

i like this place a lot.
had the halibut last time and its very nicely cooked. also the fried cheese curds which are made right down the street.
great restaurant.

like 4 lanes of bumper to bumper, and HOV lane is virtually clear. sucks to see carpooling isn't a priority for so many commuters.

regardless, i'd agree with other posters, go all the way down first to seattle/bellevue, then work your way back towards canada. seattle premium doesnt have much anyways so you shouldn't spend too much time there.

160/bellevue has a cheesecake factory, neimann marcus, free garaged parking. best spot.