Seattle enjoys a very pleasant climate and beautiful scenery,
and it’s also the birthplace of many world-famous brands,
such as Starbucks and Microsoft.
Seattle is home to plenty of iconic landmarks too,
with the Space Needle and Pike Place Market among the best known.
[Seattle attractions] How to book a car with gogoout
If you want to visit Seattle’s famous landmarks,
the most convenient way is to drive yourself,
since the flexibility of a car adds a lot of convenience to the trip.
For this self-drive trip we used the gogoout website,
where you can search rental companies across US states and compare prices in one go,
and you can also pick up your car at a branch near the airport,
so your trip starts seamlessly the moment you land!
Booking online with gogoout is very simple:
basically you choose your location and the car type you want,
enter your basic details, and the booking is done.
Being able to find rental companies on a map is really handy for planning your itinerary!
We arrived at the airport on day one,
and Seattle happened to be getting its first heavy snow in a long while,
so the snow on the ground made us a little nervous about picking up a car.
After handing over our driver’s license and finishing the basic rental paperwork, we got our reserved car very quickly.
After picking up the car,
we decided to head to Chinatown first for a big dim sum meal a friend had recommended.
The journey to Seattle had left us pretty tired that day,
so in the evening we just took a short stroll around Bellevue and went back to the hotel early to rest.
[Seattle attractions] The Space Needle
Day two was all about exploring downtown.
Besides buses and streetcars,
Seattle has a very unusual monorail with only two stations,
connecting downtown with the area to the south where the Space Needle and nearby attractions are clustered.
We parked the car downtown
and took the monorail south
to see Seattle’s signature landmark, the Space Needle.
Besides the Space Needle,
the Museum of Pop Culture and Chihuly Garden and Glass
—three famous spots in all—are in this same area.
(Space Needle )
The Space Needle looks spectacular from the outside,
and at the top there’s a circular observation deck with 360-degree views of Seattle.
Not only can you see all of downtown Seattle,
you can also spot the Olympic Mountains and the Cascade Range in the distance.
It’s a truly distinctive Seattle landmark,
and the Chihuly Garden and Glass next door displays many works of art as well,
well worth a visit.
(pop culture museum & Space Needle)
The Museum of Pop Culture sits right next to the Space Needle.
The building’s exterior is very striking,
and inside it walks you through the history of music and culture along with countless events big and small.
Highly recommended if you’re interested in music culture!
[Seattle attractions] Pike Place Market: Pike Place Chowder and the Gum Wall
Day three was mainly about visiting the world-famous Pike Place Market,
one of Seattle’s classic must-see attractions,
where a traditional local market gives you a better feel for everyday life here.
It was New Year’s Eve and many shops were closed,
but luckily the most famous seafood chowder place was still open.
Once we arrived, we first went to see the infamous Gum Wall.
It’s hard to understand how this became an attraction,
especially in the age of COVID, which makes it even more cringe-inducing,
but it has still become a distinctive local landmark.
(Behind us is the famous Gum Wall at Seattle’s Pike Place Market)
We wandered around the market at a leisurely pace. Besides the fishmongers and seafood stalls,
Pike Place Market also has plenty of interesting old shops,
well worth taking your time to browse.
Of course, the main event was tasting the market’s most famous Pike Place Chowder seafood chowder
and a lobster roll.
The staff work fast,
so even though there seems to be a long line, you’ll be eating after about ten minutes.
Just thinking about that indulgent combo still makes my mouth water,
it’s really worth trying.
(Seafood chowder and a lobster roll)
Restaurant: Pike Place Chowder
Address: 1530 Post Alley Ste 11, Seattle, WA 98101, USA (Pike Place Market)
[Seattle attractions] City views from Kerry Park and the calming coastal scenery of Deception Pass State Park
On the morning of day four we headed to the famous vantage point Kerry Park to take in the Seattle skyline.
It’s only about a ten-minute drive from downtown,
so it’s very convenient to get there by car.
On the way out, though, because of the heavy snow in the previous days and the fact that some stretches of the hillside road are residential and hadn’t been de-iced, our car slid on a slope,
which scared us half to death.
Thankfully nothing happened and it was just a scare.
(The Seattle skyline seen from the Kerry Park viewpoint,
with the Space Needle and downtown Seattle behind it)
We set out fairly early today,
because we had to drive more than an hour north to the college Eva used to attend,
and then go even farther north to see a beautiful state park.
Skagit Valley College is a community college,
and compared with other American campuses it’s a small area,
without many buildings, but it has everything you need.
A gym, a library, a movie theater and classrooms of all sizes are all there.
Since it was winter break,
the school was very quiet with no students around,
but revisiting an old haunt still felt wonderful, so we walked a loop around the campus
while Eva told me all about her old classrooms
and what each building was used for.
(Skagit Valley College, very quiet during winter break)
After lunch we drove to Deception Pass State Park.
Just before the entrance you cross a large bridge
with a pedestrian walkway and parking areas at both ends.
(The view from the bridge)
We walked onto the bridge, and the view was absolutely stunning!
Because of the heavy snow in the previous days, the other trails were a bit too slippery,
so we didn’t attempt them.
The view from the bridge is one you could admire for hours without getting tired of it!
But the wind was far too strong, so we got back in the car and continued to the state park entrance.
Unfortunately, whether because of the New Year holiday or the snow,
it wasn’t open that day.
So we stopped once more to enjoy the view from the bridge and then headed back.
(The entrance to Deception Pass State Park, unfortunately closed because of the weather)
In the evening we visited Bellevue again for Spanish food,
a lovely way to round off our last night.
Self-service car return
On the last day our flight was a little after 11 a.m.,
so after a lazy start to the morning we headed to the airport to return the car and catch our flight.
Rental companies in the US have different fuel policies,
and ours required us to return the car with a full tank,
so we filled up at a gas station next to the airport before dropping it off.
Further reading:
Returning the car was very straightforward:
park it in the designated spot at the airport,
make sure you’ve taken all your belongings, leave the keys in the car, and you’re done,
a perfect end to our Seattle self-drive trip booked through gogoout.
gogoout’s overall service and the staff we dealt with were great,
and they even offer Chinese-language customer support
to help with all kinds of US car rental questions.
Highly recommended for anyone booking a rental car in the US with gogoout!
Learn more about self-driving in the US:
[US car rental guide] The latest tips and nine things you need to know – gogoout
[US self-drive travel] Driving across America made easy – gogoout
This article was translated by AI from the original Chinese version.
