Seattle: 3 Extraordinary Day Trips to Experience

seattle skyline
Seattle City Sky Line, photo by Lauren S. from Yelp

Take a Vacation to Seattle and See the City from These Three Perspectives

By Christy Bogan

Despite Seattle’s nickname “Rain City”, there is much more to it than just look at the rainy and cloudy skies. Seattle is a vibrant place with lots and lots to do. On a 2022 visit to the city, I found three interesting ways to take a deep dive into Seattle.

Seattle Bicycle (and Walking) Tours

Fremont Troll, photo by Lauren S. from Yelp
Fremont Troll, photo by Lauren S. from Yelp

If it’s your first time in Seattle, taking a tour would be a great way to get yourself familiar with its history, culture, and scenery. And the best way to do that just might be on a bike!

Working with Ibike is the best solution if you want to tour the city. For some of their tours, there is a walking tour available as well, but the biking tours are where they thrive.

Whether you only want a quick 2-hour tour or a full-day biking experience in Seattle, Ibike can fit your needs and desire for what you want to see.

They have a variety of different tours you can attend and follow! Ibike offers two and three hour guided bicycle tours of Seattle. They also offer a longer half-day trip to see a whole lot more of Seattle.

Half-Day Bicycle Tours:

  • Downtown Art, Architecture and History
  • Celebrating the Ethnic Diversity of Seattle
  • Duwamish of the Duwamish
  • Women in the Character and Culture of Seattle
  • Beyond the Crossing Over Place
  • “Est” Tour
  • Interfaith Heritage
  • Labor, Leftists and the Common Folk that Shaped Seattle
  • Popular Culture
  • Seattle’s Historic Neighborhoods
  • Seven Hill of Seattle

Full-Day Bike Tours:

  • Seattle’s Historic Neighborhoods
  • Emerald Necklace
  • Lake Washington Circuit
  • Bainbridge/ Squamish
  • King Country Tours

Each one has its own theme and destinations that they will take you to. A tour guide will lead you through the route and fill you in on the information about each destination you go to.

Even if none of the tours fascinate you and get your gears turning, then maybe making your own route of what you want to see would be better! Ibike will work with you to see if they can make that happen for you and give suggestions.

The cost to do these tours varies on how long you want the tour to be. Taken directly from the Ibike website, here is a detailed listing of their prices.

Information directly from Ibike
Information directly from Ibike

Once your tour is booked, it’s time to prepare for the biking trip!

If you’re a beginner, advanced, or expert biker, Ibike will accommodate you through the whole experience. Even if busy streets and longer routes make you uncomfortable, the tour guide will support you through it all.

Your possible Route! by Lauren S. from Yelp
Your possible Route! by Lauren S. from Yelp

When it comes to clothing, check the weather and plan for rain. Helmets (which are required by law), gloves, and proper footwear are definitely something to keep in mind. Having a backpack with rain jackets, snacks, and water is a must-have for any of the tours.

If you’re going for a longer period of time, meals are not included in the tour outline, but you can make time to stop for food as desired. Ibike will even give recommendations on where you should get something.

Renting a Bike in Seattle

Now for the important part: the bikes. The local bike shops in Seattle will rent out bikes per hour or per day. Ibike also has limited selections of free loaned bikes for clients. If you want one of those, make sure to reach out and ask for the details on how to make that happen.

These scenic bike tours are one of a kind and provide cultural and historical information for you and your group. At Ibike, you’re the one who picks where, when, how long, the level of intensity, and more because Ibike wants to make the experience unique and perfect for you.

So why not? Take a bike tour and see Seattle from the inside and learn about everything the city can offer.

Hot Tub Boats Based in Seattle

It’s a good chance you might be a bit sore and stiff after a long day of biking or walking through Seattle. What would be a better way to relax than a spa day, in the middle of Lake Union taking in the scenery on a hot tub boat?

Seattle's hot tub boats, from hottubboats.com
Seattle’s hot tub boats, from hottubboats.com

Believe it or not, these are a real thing; and Seattle has them. With Hot Tub Boats, it’s all possible! While floating through Lake Union, you and your friends can relax in the warm water of the boat and enjoy the views.

With joystick navigation, controlling the boat is easy for anyone to do. The boat also comes fully equipped with a Bluetooth speaker and coolers for food and drinks.

There are four boats you can rent at a time, and each boat holds six people. Hot tub boats are available are 7-days a week, year-round, in all types of weather.

Before or after your boating experience, there are showers available, fully stocked with shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. There is no cost to use the shower, it’s there to make you feel relaxed and prepared for the day.

Hot Tub Boats also have lockers available if you’d like to keep your belongings there rather than bringing them on the boat. Lockers do not cost extra, it comes with the booking process. When you arrive, your locker will have your name on it and you can store anything you need in there. Staff are also able to hold onto anything else you don’t want on the boat or in the locker.

Even the parking lot is free of charge! It’s open 24/7, so feel free to use the lot for however long you need while there.

If you’re interested in these boats for your trip, it’s $400 for 2 hours on the boats. Rather than paying per person, it’s a time-based rental.

Imagine yourself and friends seeing the city from here, photo from hottubboats.com
Imagine yourself and friends seeing the city from here, photo from hottubboats.com

After booking your boat, maybe you’ll want some add-ons to make the experience better. At the Hot Tub Boats facility, they have a variety of things you can add to make your experience on the boat better than ever. They have Epsom salt, rose petals, other assortments, food, and drinks. If you’re looking for a bit of everything, that is also available for you.

The Hot Tub Boats team is dedicated to giving you a one-of-a-kind experience in Seattle. Book your boat for your trip, enjoy the relaxing experience, and take in the Seattle views.

Snoqualmie Falls and Seattle Winery Tour

After a day of relaxing on a boat, why not take the day to taste wine and see a waterfall!

On the grounds of Chateau Ste. Michelle, photo from TripAdvisor
On the grounds of Chateau Ste. Michelle, photo from TripAdvisor

Last on the list, is a nature and wine tour right outside of Seattle. It’s the perfect way to end a trip, by seeing more of Seattle’s natural beauty and drinking wonderful wine.

Booking this experience can be done right on TripAdvisor or on their website. It costs about $111 per person; there can be added costs depending on what kind of tour you want, where you will be picked up, if you want lunch, and more.

The tour in total is 4-6 hours. It can be longer depending on the different add-ons you choose to include.

When the day comes for your tour, the company will pick you up at your desired location. The best places for them to pick you up are in Seattle’s downtown hotels or airport hotels.

Once they have you, it’s off to the winery! The tour consists of two or more award-winning winery trips. It can be arranged for you to taste the wines directly from the barrel as well! This is one of the special add-ons, but it must be worth it.

Snoqualmie Falls, photo from TripAdvisor
Snoqualmie Falls, photo from TripAdvisor

After drinking wine and seeing how it’s made, the tour continues to Snoqualmie Falls, one of Seattle’s most memorable tourist attractions.

There is a 2-acre park for you to explore that consists of hiking trails, observation decks, gift shops, lush green forests, and most importantly the 272-foot waterfall.

Another add-on that is available is setting up lunch in the historic Salish Lodge. Enjoy lunch while looking out at the waterfall!

When everyone has eaten, taken pictures, and seen everything they wanted, the tour will make its last stop: Boehm’s Swiss Chocolate Factory.

Tour the factory, taste the chocolate, see how it’s all made, and buy some to take home.

The tour ends once you’re dropped off where you were picked up. With that, the tour is over and you have chocolate and pictures to remind you of the unforgettable tour you experienced.

And with that, the list of amazing things to do in Seattle is over, but it’s just the beginning of your own trip to “Rain City” Seattle, Washington.

Explore beautiful Seattle! photo from https://sph.washington.edu/life-seattle
Explore beautiful Seattle! photo from https://sph.washington.edu/life-seattle

From biking in the city, to seeing it from Union Lake, then touring the lush greenery and tasty wines, these three Seattle locations are a whole trip of their own. Start planning, pack your helmets, and prepare for rain, because Seattle has a different experience to offer than other big cities do not.

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