Traveling from Seattle to Forks, Washington

The drive from the Seattle, WA airport to Forks, WA is a beautiful one, but can be a little tricky if you aren’t prepared.  Part of the drive involves taking a ferry from Edmonds, WA, a town just North of Seattle, to Kingston, WA which is just across Puget Sound from the greater Seattle area.  Although the ferry ride is enjoyable and only about 30 minutes long, it can add a lot of time to your drive if you happen to arrive at the ferry terminal at the wrong time.  The ferry schedule can be found at Washington State Department of Transportation.

Although your arrival time at the ferry may be somewhat dependent on when your flight arrives and how long it takes to get your luggage and rent car, it is still helpful to check the schedule so that you know what options you have.  The timing may work for you to take a few minutes for a cup of that famous Seattle coffee or even have lunch!  One thing to be aware of however, is that there are sometimes long lines to get on the ferry boat itself so it never hurts to be there early.  If you are planning to arrive in Forks at a particular time, it can be very important to plan accordingly so that the ferry ride doesn’t cause you to be late.  Especially if you are trying to make it before the Forks Chamber of Commerce closes.

This part of the trip becomes much more critical when returning to Seattle if you have a flight to catch!  Only allowing for the 4 1/2 hour drive can be misleading since there could be a significant wait for the ferry and the timing may not work exactly for your schedule.  My advice?  Plan ahead and allow plenty of time for that drive – it is much more enjoyable if you are not in a hurry!  One nice thing on the return trip is that if you do have to wait for a while, there is an area adjacent to the ferry terminal with several shops and restaurants lining a beautiful little street where you can spend some time actually enjoying the wait.  We had roughly an hour wait so enjoyed fish and chips at the local pub.

Oh and one more piece of advice?  Take your camera and take some amazing pictures while you are on that ferry!!