Public and Private Transportation to Port Angeles, downtown Seattle, Seattle Tacoma Airport (SeaTac), and Olympic National Park
Experience Olympic provides hiking and wildlife tours on the Olympic Peninsula and does not provide transportation services to or from Seattle.
Driving from SeaTac Airport to Port Angeles, Washington is usually at least a three hour trip.
Consider lodging in downtown Port Angeles - Red Lion Port Angeles, Port Angeles Inn, or Quality Inn Port Angeles - for an easy walk to Clallam Transit buses including the Strait Shot to the Seattle Ferry, Dungeness Line to SeaTac, and the Coho Ferry to Victoria, BC.
Stay in Port Angeles, the gateway city to Olympic National Park
Port Angeles is a national park and international gateway city, providing public bus service to Hurricane Ridge. Paved road access to Hurricane Ridge starts on Race Street in Port Angeles and within 20 miles you can view Mount Olympus. Experience Olympic offers guided epic hikes one-way down from Hurricane Ridge using the public bus service.
Downtown Port Angeles is walkable and includes lodging, restaurants, bus transit center, ferry to Canada, the Discovery Trail, an Aquarium, performing arts spaces like Field Hall, many shops, and a grocery store.
Private Reservation-Only Transit from SeaTac Airport to Port Angeles:
Our Advice is to take private transportation to Port Angeles and public transportation back. There are two private transit options, both require advanced reservation:
Rocket Transportation - flexible service. Departure from SeaTac. The length of the trip to downtown Port Angeles depends on where the other passengers are being dropped off.
Dungeness Line - scheduled service. Departure from SeaTac. As of March 2024, there are two daily trip departures from Sea-Tac at 11:50 AM (arrival 4:10 PM) and 7 PM (arrival 11:40 PM) in downtown Port Angeles.
Public Transit from Port Angeles to downtown Seattle (via the Bainbridge to Seattle Ferry)
Clallalm Transit's Strait Shot #123
Departure from the downtown Port Angeles Transit Center. This is our recommended return to downtown Seattle if:
- You have a same day afternoon, evening, or late flight
- You will spend at least one night in downtown Seattle or near SeaTac and then fly out the following morning
We are directing you this way because there is the chance of viewing orcas, possible views of both Mt. Rainer and Mt. Baker, views of the Olympic Mountains, and a great view of downtown Seattle from the water.
Public Transit from Port Angeles to downtown Seattle continued
As of March 2024, the morning Strait Shot departs downtown Port Angeles at 7:25 AM on weekdays and Saturdays (departure at 8:05 AM on Sundays/Holidays). The Strait Shot arrives at Bainbridge Ferry Terminal roughly two hours later.
Please have exactly $10 for the fare, or use Clallam Transit's virtual ticket app. Because the ferries have not been running on time, you should depart and follow people to board the ferry, which is free into Seattle. You can watch the live ferry map to see if you need to rush from the bus to the ferry.
Transit from the downtown Seattle Ferry terminal to SeaTac Airport
When you arrive in downtown Seattle on the ferry, you will need to get a taxi or take the light rail to the airport - Link Light Rail to SeaTac. Unfortunately it is a 15 minute walk up a steep hill from the ferry to the Pioneer Square Station.
Taxi drivers are usually waiting on or near Alaska Way, taking a taxi directly to the airport is the fastest option if you are running late, but expensive.
Transit from the downtown Seattle Ferry terminal to SeaTac Airport continued
If you have luggage or the walk will be too far, we suggest a taxi ride to the International District Light Rail Station from the Seattle Ferry Terminal. If you have time for lunch, have the driver drop you off at Dough Zone or Uwajimaya Seattle, both are great food stops near the International District Light Rail Station.
The light rail ride to SeaTac is about a 45 minutes with a train usually every 10 minutes. Buy a ticket (less than $5) from the ticket vending machine on the Link train platform before entering the train.
Olympic National Park Using Public Transit
Olympic National Park can be accessed by Clallam Transit public bus routes to
Hurricane Ridge (Clallam Transit Hurricane Ridge shuttle)
Lake Crescent (Clallam Transit #14 bus from Port Angeles or Forks, we recommend getting off at Barnes Creek [between East Beach and Fairholm bus stops] to access Marymere Falls and the Lake Crescent Lodge)
Olympic National Park Using Public Transit continued
Neah Bay (Clallam Transit #16 bus from Forks, connects with #14 from Port Angeles)
La Push (Clallam Transit #15 from Forks)
Kalaloch Lodge (Jefferson Transit's Olympic Connection from Forks)
Lake Quinault (Grays Harbor Transit #60 from the end of the Olympic Connection route)
You will want to stay for at least a night and ideally a week
Olympic National Park is huge at just under a million acres and there is no single entry point (so just driving around the park is an entire day of travel). There are great places to visit outside the park like Cape Flattery. You will want to organize your summer lodging early (a year in advance in some cases).
If you find that the Olympic National Park lodges (which are operated by large corporations that are not locally-owned) are booked, consider the Quileute Oceanside Resort which is located right on the beach, supports the Quileute tribe, and is accessible by public transit to La Push.
Port Angeles to Victoria BC on the private Blackball Ferry
Consider taking a day trip or overnight to Victoria, Canada. Blackball Ferry Line runs daily trips on the Coho Ferry between Port Angeles and Victoria. Make sure you bring proper identification to enter Canada.
To visit Butchart Gardens by bus: BC Transit's 75 bus route starts on the north side of Belleville Street (on the same side of the street as the Empress Hotel and facing the front of the Natural History Museum) and stops at Butchart Gardens during the garden's operating hours ($5 roundtrip and will accept US dollars as of June 2023).
