4 Ways to Save Money as a
Seattle Washington Tourist



Seattle is not known as a cheap town, and being a Seattle Washington tourist can take a hit on the pocketbook if you're not careful. That being said, there are always ways that you can save money when visiting the city, and by incorporating some of these techniques and tips into your travel plans, you can save money and maybe even have some left over.

1) Use a Coupon Book
If you're the kind of Seattle Washington tourist that likes to do all of the tourist things when visiting a city, you'll definitely want to invest in a coupon/discount book. Rather than paying full price to visit the Seattle Space Needle, take a tour of Safeco Field (home of the Seattle Mariners), or check out the bugs at the Seattle Bug Museum, you can buy a coupon book and do these things for much cheaper. One of the best coupon/discount books you'll find for your visit is the Go Seattle Card.

It's a card that will allow you to visit each of the following attractions for one price. Depending on how active you want to be, and how many days you want to use to visit all of these locations, you can save up to 45% off the cost you would spend if you decided to do each of these things separately. Besides the things I mentioned above, the GoSeattle Card also gives you free access to the following attractions:

....and tons and tons of other attractions.

2) Stay in a Cheap Hotel
Probably the biggest cost for a family visiting as Seattle Washington tourists is staying in a hotel. Let's say that you get one room in a nice hotel for a week. If the room costs $200 a night, that will easily add up to $1400, just for a hotel! That's going to take a big chunk out of your tourist funds, which could be much better spent buying some of the many handmade goods at the Pike Place Market.

So instead of staying at one of the nicer hotels in the city, be sure and look at some of the cheaper discount Seattle motels out there. You can use the form below to find some cheaper hotels in Seattle that will help you save money as a Seattle Washington tourist. By staying in a hotel that only costs $70 a night, you will save almost $1000. Totally worth it in my opinion. And if you can find a hotel with a pool, and a free continental breakfast, even better.

If you're a bit more adventurous, or don't like being cooped up inside a hotel in the middle of a huge city, but still want to take advantage of the wonderful scenery that Washington state is known for, you might want to consider camping, instead of staying at a hotel. Camping can be a great way to enjoy the outdoors and really see what makes the great Northwest so great.

The city of Seattle is a nice place to visit, but there's something to be said for going out and enjoying the trees and fresh air. If this is something that interests you, one place that our family really loves is the Olympic National Forest. Check out the camping there and you'll be in awe.

3) Take Public Transportation
I know, it's not in style, and most Seattle Washington tourists these days would never take the bus, but if you really want to look at all the options you might have for saving money, taking public transportation could very well save you money over renting a car. While not as convenient as a car, this can be a good option if the only places you'll be visiting are in the city.

If you want to check out the Space Needle, Experience Music Project, and the Seattle Science Center, for example, you can take the bus and visit all those places on one stop.

Not only is it cheaper to take the bus, you won't have to worry about finding a parking spot and driving around in the horrible Seattle traffic. Even if you are planning on visiting places outside the city, like the Seattle Tulip Festival, you can always just rent a car for that day only, while saving on the cost for the other days. Not only will you save on rental car fees, you will also cut down on gas money you would have to spend.

One thing I like about the public transportation in Seattle, specifically the King County Metro System, is that kids under five ride free with a fare-paying adult. In addition, Seattle has a free-ride area, where riders can take the bus free anytime between 6:00 AM and 7:00 PM. Not a bad way to save money, that's for sure. If you want to find out more, go ahead and check out the webpage of the King County Metro System for some good information on how to ride, where to catch the bus, museums you can visit that are within the free ride area, and other important information for any Seattle tourist.

4) Limit Eating Out
If there is one thing that my wife and I love to do, it is eating food. And not just any food. Wonderfully good tasty food. And the thing about Seattle is that there are a ton of tasty places to eat both in and around the city that will satisfy the taste buds of any Seattle Washington tourist.

If we had all the money in the world, we would make it a mission to try every single restaurant in the city. However, this is not an option for most people, and especially for those families who are traveling with children to Seattle. Taking a family of three, four or five people to a restaurant can quickly add up and after doing that for a whole week, you can see that eating out definitely has a drag on how much money you have left in your wallet at the end of the trip.

For example, when our family goes out to eat to a typical sit-down type restaurant that isn't very expensive, we easily walk away having spent around $50 or $60. What's more is that Seattle tends to be more expensive than other parts of the country, so if you're used to paying a certain amount back home, expect to pay a bit more on your trip.

So what can you do? Well, I'm not going to tell you to never eat out, and that instead you should limit yourself to homemade peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (although this IS a great way to save some money). Instead, realize that there are a ton of different types of restaurants, including ones that have different price ranges. Some of our favorite places to go as a family are places that tend to be on the cheaper end of the scale, but yet we have a great time and our kids love the food, so it's a big win all the way around because we are also saving money over going to a more expensive location to eat.

Looking for some great hamburgers and milkshakes? Dicks Hamburgers is the place for you to go.

Would you rather have some fish and chips? Forget any of the expensive sit down fancy restaurants. Head over to Alki and eat at Spud Fish and Chips for some great food.

These are just some ways that you and your family can save money when visiting the Northwest as a Seattle Washington tourist. Doing these will not only keep some money in your wallet, but give you more funds to spend at a place like Pike Place Market, which has all sorts of fun things to buy.

Return from Seattle Washington Tourist to Seattle Touirst.

Have a Great Money-Saving Idea?

Do you have a great idea about this? Share it!