How do I get from the airport to Seattle?

The Link 1 Line light rail is the right answer for most arrivals at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The station sits on the 4th floor of the parking garage, connected by a covered skybridge from the north end of baggage claim. Follow the signs marked "Link Light Rail" past the rental car counters. A single ride to Westlake Station in downtown Seattle costs $3.00, takes about 40 minutes, and trains run every 6 to 15 minutes from roughly 5am to midnight. You'll pass through Rainier Valley heading north, and the train pulls into Pioneer Square, International District/Chinatown, and Westlake, so you can hop off at whichever stop is closest to your hotel. You can tap an ORCA card or a contactless Visa or Mastercard at the platform readers. There is no express service. Every train is a local. It stops at all 13 stations between SEA and Westlake.

After midnight, the train stops running. Uber and Lyft pickups happen on the 3rd floor of the parking garage, not at the curb outside arrivals. This trips up almost everyone on their first visit. You walk past the pedestrian bridge, take the elevator down one floor from baggage claim, and wait in a designated zone marked with purple signs. Expect $30 to $45 to downtown hotels, though surge pricing on Friday and Saturday nights can push fares toward $55 or higher. The ride takes 25 minutes at 1am with empty I-5, or closer to 40 minutes if your flight lands between 4pm and 7pm on a weekday. Taxis line up on the 3rd floor as well, and the fare to downtown runs about $40 to $55 with no surge pricing. That said, cabs at SEA are not always plentiful late at night. If 3 or more are sitting there, take one. Otherwise, book the Lyft while you're still inside the terminal.

Skip the shared-ride shuttle services like Shuttle Express still advertised at SEA. They cost $19 to $22 per person, take longer because of multiple hotel stops, and the vans often run half-empty. The only scenario where a shuttle might make sense is if you're heading north of the Ship Canal to a hotel in Fremont or Ballard, where the 1 Line doesn't reach. For those neighborhoods, an Uber runs $35 to $50. One thing worth noting for June arrivals to Seattle. The city's longest days bring daylight until nearly 9:30pm, so even a 7pm landing gives you a sunset walk along the Elliott Bay waterfront once you've dropped your bags. The air near Pier 62 tends to smell like salt and creosote from the old pilings, and the temperature at 8pm in mid-June sits around 15°C. Tonight is clear at 11.7°C, so you won't need a rain jacket. Seattle gets less total rainfall than New York City between June and September, about 90mm across those 4 months.