Washington

Introduction

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Washington State, not to be confused with Washington, D.C., is a state in the extreme northwest of the country, bordering Canada to the north, Oregon to the south and Idaho to the east. Its coastline borders the Pacific Ocean. Covering over 71,000 square miles, around 6 million people live in the state, most of them in cities like Seattle, the capital Olympia or Spokane. Much of the rest of the state is covered by mountains, volcanoes, forests, lakes, rivers, glaciers and waterfalls.

Geography

Cities

• Bellevue
• Everett
• Federal Way
• Kent
• Olympia, the state's capital.
• Seattle, the state's largest city.
• Spokane
• Tacoma
• Vancouver
• Yakima

Sights and Activities

Mount St. Helens

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Mount St. Helens is best known for its catastrophic eruption on May 18, 1980, which caused 57 deaths and many homes, roads, bridges and railroads were destroyed. This volcanic event also caused the summit to shrink by no less than 400 metres. After that eruption, the summit has been replaced by a 1,500-metre-wide volcanic crater. The mountain is located between the cities of Seattle and Portland.

Mount St. Helens is located on the Cascade Range (of which Mount Rainier at 4,392 metres is the highest), which is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire - the most volcanic active part of the world. The volcano is well known for its ash explosions and pyroclastic flows.

• Olympic National Park
• Mount Rainier National Park
• North Cascades National Park

Events and Festivals

Weather

Washington is one of the states with a milder climate. The western parts have a marine climate with generally mild but wet winters (December-March), temperatures averaging around or slightly above zero most of the time. It is comparable to the climate of the southwest of Brisith Columbia, Canada (Vancouver for example). Summers (June to September) are generally warm and dry, averaging between 20 and 25 degrees Celsius, though occasionally more to the south and east temperatures can hit 40 degrees here as well. In the mountains, there is snow in winter and temperatures are lower here.

Getting There

By Plane

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (IATA: SEA, ICAO: KSEA) serves the cities of Seattle and Tacoma and is the main gateway to Washington. Also known as Seattle-Tacoma Airport, it is located south of Seattle, about 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometres) from Interstate 5. The major airlines using this airport are Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and Northwest Airlines. In total, there are about 25 airlines serving the airport, with main destinations being Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, Amsterdam, Paris, Atlanta, Anchorage, Boston, Chicago, Cancun, Dallas, Houston, Denver, Honolulu, Miami, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Washington, D.C., San Diego, New York City, Seoul, London, Beijing, Tokyo, Memphis, Detroit, Osaka, Salt Lake City, Taipei, Reykjavik, Frankfurt, Seoul, Albuquerque, Baltimore, Nashville, St. Louis, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Charlotte.

To/from the airport

• Car: The drive to downtown Seattle from Seattle-Tacoma Airport will take 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the traffic. If you are driving yourself, from the airport to downtown Seattle, start going towards the AIRPORT EXIT on NORTH EXIT WAY, take the WA-518 EAST ramp, merge on WA-518 EAST, take the I-5 NORTH EXIT, merge on I-5 NORTH and head north for 10 miles (16 kilometres). You will see the Seattle skyline approaching as you near downtown. There are several downtown exits; exit 165 will take you to Seneca Street in the heart of downtown Seattle; if you take exit 167 and follow the SEATTLE CENTER signs, this will take you to the Seattle Center and the Space Needle.
• A trip to downtown Seattle from the airport on public transportation takes 30 to 40 minutes. King Couny Metro buses and and Sound Transit regional express buses offer services.
• There is also a scheduled bus service to downtown Vancouver, Canada through Quick Shuttle, with other pick up stops at downtown Seattle, Bellingham International Airport, and drop off stops just inside the Canadian-U.S. boundary and at Vancouver International Airport.
• Rail: There is also now a light rail option for getting to Downtown Seattle from Sea-Tac Airport. This Central Link is operated by Sound Transit.
• Taxis, rental cars and door-to-door shuttle service are available. Rental car options include companies like Hertz, Avis, Budget, Thrifty, Enterprise and Alamo/National.

By Train

The Amtrak Cascades (Multiple Departures Daily, 10 hours 25 minutes) links Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada with Seattle, Tacoma, Portland, Salem and Eugene, thus linking it with the state of Oregon as well.
Other trains to Washington State include:
A number of Amtrak train travel between Seattle and other cities in the USA and Canada. These include:

• The Coast Starlight between Seattle and Los Angeles, via Portland.
• The Empire Builder between Seattle and Chicago.

By Car

By Bus

Greyhound and Greyhound Canada link Seattle with Canadian cities like Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary and many American cities outside Washington State.

By Boat

There are 3 ferries operating between Washington and British Columbia in Canada:

• Coho Ferry: Port Angeles, Washington - Victoria, British Columbia
• Victoria Express: Port Angeles - Victoria
• Victoria Clipper: Seattle, Washington - Victoria

Getting Around

By Plane

By Train

By Car

Many international rental companies have a wide selection of rental cars and these include Hertz, Avis, Dollar, Thrifty, Enterprise, Budget and Alamo/National. Most companies will require you are at least 25 years of age, although younger people might be able to rent cars at slightly higher rates and with some insurance differences as well. A national driver's license is usually enough, but an additional international one is recommended. Also note that it usually costs more to include lots of other extra things. For example extra drivers, GPS, the first full tank, SLI (Supplemental Liability Insurance), PAI (Personal Accident Insurance, usually covered already at home), road assistance/service plan, and drop-off costs for one-way rentals.
If you want to book a car, it is recommended that you book your car before arriving in the USA. This is almost always (much) cheaper compared to just showing up. Also, try and book with a so-called 'broker', which usually works together with a few or many car rental companies and can offer the best deal. Some examples include Holidayautos, Holidaycars and Sunny Cars. Some of the cheapest deals to book from Europe, includes Drive-USA, which also has a German version.

For more information and tips about renting cars and campers, additional costs, insurance, traffic rules, scenic routes and getting maps and fuel it is advised to check the USA Getting Around section.

Washington has a number of National Scenic Byways which offer a great way to explore the state crossing beautiful landscapes. Mostly, there are lots of national parks, state parks or monuments along the way and it's generally a better alternative than the faster but boring Interstate Highways.

By Bus

By Boat

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Hotel and Motel Chains

There are dozens of hotel and motel chains, ranging from budget to top end. Allthough they are not the most charming accommodations, they usually have a very decent midrange service with good rooms and are generally good value. At least you know what to expect and in some cases they are either the only or the best option in the area. Some of them include:

• Motel 6
• Super 8
• Days Inn
• Quality Inn
• Red Roof Inn
• Howard Johnson
• Best Western
• La Quinta Inns and Suites
• Holiday Inn
• Econo Lodge
• Travelodge
• Hilton
• Choice Hotels
• Ramada
• Radisson
• Starwood Hotels
• Marriott Hotels