Seattle Girls Trip

Life comes at you fast. Between marriages and babies, you wake up at 32 and think about the good ole days where you would jet set with your best friends without a care in the world and without any responsibilities (after having your PTO days approved of course!). So my girlfriends and I thought it was time to have a girls trip. Maybe make this an annual event. Both our travel dates and destination were flexible, so it made sense to use Skyscanner.com to determine best pricing. After discovering round-trip flights from IAD Dulles to SEA Seattle were only $177 via Alaska Airlines it was a no brainer for us. Seattle Girls Trip it is! If you’re looking to pre-book any Seattle tours & excursions, feel free to use my affiliate link.

Seattle is a fantastic location to visit. Having a Mediterranean maritime climate, it rains a lot but it’s supposed to. It’s nicknamed “The Emerald City” because the city and surrounding areas are filled with greenery all year round. Emerald City also echoes Washington State’s nickname as “The Evergreen State”. This city is a combination of caffeine, locally sourced food, lush greenery, outdoor activities, various arts, and body of water.

Day 1 – Andra Hotel, Pier 57, Space Needle, Chihuly Garden and Glass

Andra Hotel

We arrived to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, referred to as SEA-TAC around 10AM local time. Took Lyft to the Andra Hotel where we hoped to check in. This downtown centrally-located hotel is warm and cozy. Just what you need on a chilly gray day. It’s a small boutique hotel with attentive service and friendly hospitality. There’s a fireplace in the lobby with comfy couches to catch up on. We grabbed breakfast at the onsite restaurant Lola until our room was ready. I highly recommend the made to order doughnuts made with vanilla mascarpone and house made jam made from the nearby Dahlia Bakery and the smoked salmon scramble with toast and garlic fried potatoes. The smoked salmon scramble included goat cheese and chives. Wash it down with some mimosas of course!

CHECK OUT MY HOTEL REVIEW OF HOTEL ANDRA HERE!

Pier 57 – Miners Landing

Next stop on our Seattle Girls trip – Pier 57- Miners Landing! That is where you will find The Seattle Great Wheel. Several U.S. destinations feature a Ferris wheel offering incredible views. Las Vegas has the High Roller, Chicago has the Centennial Wheel, Santa Monica has the Pacific Wheel, and this city has The Seattle Great Wheel. The tallest Ferris wheel on the west coast stands at 175′ and reaching 40′ out over Elliot Bay. At the time of this post, general admission tickets are $16.00 per adult. To upgrade to the glass bottom VIP cabin, this luxury gondola ride with four leather bucket seats are $50 per person. You can also enjoy private dining featuring food from The Fisherman’s Restaurant and Bar. The chef will prepare for you a lovely 4-course dinner while you enjoy views of the Puget Sound.

While waiting for our ride, we grabbed some hot tea at the stand for $8.00. That price includes the take home souvenir cup. After a relaxing ride and talks, we walked around Pier 57. Since we recently ate breakfast, we decided to split lunch so we can sample a few things. The Crab Pot Restaurant and Bar had glowing reviews so we went there. We shared the sourdough loaf and butter, fish & chips, and mussels. Everything was delicious and flavorful. This restaurant doesn’t accept reservations, but we were able to easily be seated. A nearby restaurant “Elliot’s Oyster House” does have OpenTable reservations if you wanted to lock something in officially.

Space Needle

No trip to Seattle would be complete without a visit to the Space Needle. This iconic 605 foot tall spire is what completes the Seattle skyline. I recommend purchasing a combination ticket that includes general admission to both the Space Needle and neighboring Chihuly Garden and Glass. Total cost: $60. The Space Needle started off as a doodle. In 1959, Seattle hotel executive Edward E. Carlson traveled to Germany where he was inspired by a broadcast tower featuring a restaurant. He doodled an idea of a dominant central structure for the fair on a napkin in a hotel café convinced that such a tower could make a permanent center-piece for the fair and an enduring symbol for Seattle. He called it a “Space Needle.” (SOURCE).

On April 21, 1962 it officially opened the first day of the World’s Fair. The tower hosted an estimated 2.65 million visitors including world-famous celebrities including Elvis Presley, John Wayne, Neil Armstrong, and Walt Disney. The general admission ticket includes 1 free photo that you can send to your email plus great views. If you really want to splurge on a Seattle Girls Trip, you can have small bites and cocktails at The Loupe Lounge. The Loupe Lounge is the world’s first and only revolving glass floor for a cocktail experience. Just be prepared to drop some serious cash and make your reservations ahead of time. If you’re looking for some cheaper refreshments, check out the Atmos Café and Atmos Wine Bar offering beer & wine and local treats from artisans.

Chihuly Garden and Glass

Chihuly Garden and Glass is a museum in the Seattle Center showcasing the studio glass of Dale Chihuly. As a reminder, this museum is located right next door to the Space Needle. Depending on how big into art you are, you might need more than an hour to visit; however, an hour was just fine for us. Dale Chihuly’s work is included in more than 200 museum collections worldwide. At Chihuly Garden and Glass, the eight galleries and three Drawing Walls offer a comprehensive collection of his significant series of work. The girls and I were also able to see a glassblowing demonstration. So check the schedule before you arrive to see if you can catch the action!

Dinner at Currant Bistro

After a chilly walk on the outside edge of the Space Needle and around the Chihuly Garden, it was time to warm up. We were in the mood for some good comfort food near the hotel. A quick search sent us to Currant Bistro – located inside the Sound Hotel. Their menu is fresh and regionally sourced. You’ll also find Seattle best craft beers and Washington wines. I enjoyed the pan-seared Atlantic salmon with seasonal sauteed vegetables in a beurre blanc sauce. I substituted the fingerling potatoes with a side of mac and cheese. You can take the girl out the south but you can’t take the south of the girl. Overall, this was a nice first dinner and intro to the delicious city that is Seattle.

Day 2 – Pike Place Market, Gum Wall, Dinner at The Pink Door

Day 2 of this Seattle Girls Trip was all about exploring the world-famous Pike Place Market and sampling the various bites that make this place unique.

The Pike Place Market has been a defining Seattle icon for more than a century. Considered by many “the soul of Seattle,” the Market spans nine historic acres in the center of downtown where everyday locals and tourists alike shop, visit, eat and discover. Founded in 1907, the Market is one of the oldest and largest continuously operating public markets in the United States and is brought to life by the hundreds of farmers, crafters, small businesses, and residents that call it “home”. (SOURCE)

Pike Place Market

We booked the Early Access Pike Place Market Food Tour, exclusively on Viator. It departed right at 9:30 AM and here is a quick recap of the locations we visited on our tour:

Honest Biscuits
3 Girls’ Bakery
Market Spice Tea
Pike Place Fish Company – so fun watching the fish flying!
Ellanos Frozen Yogurt
Los Agaves Tacos
Sosio’s Fruit
Indi Chocolate
Chukar Cherries

We walked by the “original” Starbucks but didn’t sample anything from there. Probably because we can sample that anytime, anywhere. The line was also pretty long (to no one’s surprise). Overall, this tour was a nice introduction to the market that can be overwhelming to first time visitors. In addition to food stalls, you’ll also find art, clothes, souvenirs, and other items. You’ll definitely want to give yourself a few hours to explore even after the tour.

Gum Wall

After enjoying bites on the tour (and without risking losing our appetite!) we headed to the Gum Wall. It’s actually located in a small alley that is right next to Pike Place Market. If you need some good sticky Bubble Yum bubblegum, there’s a nearby Target where I purchased it from. Feel free to contribute! This gum wall has been gathering gum for over 20 years! For three consecutive days in November 2015 the wall was completely cleaned (all 2,350 pounds); however, within just a few days it went back to being the gum wall. Our Pike Place Market tour guide Lucky joked that this was the second most unhygienic tourist trap in the world. The first… Blarney Stone!

Dinner at The Pink Door

What better dinner option for a Seattle Girls Trip than dining at The Pink Door? Currently ranked #3 restaurant on Seattle’s TripAdvisor page, the only reservation time I could secure was 9:30 PM. It gave us time to chill at the hotel for a bit and relax before heading back out. We were also pretty full from munching at the market all day. This restaurant was walking distance to the hotel so we enjoyed a nice cool evening walk. We were seated quickly and the staff here was all fantastic.

The Pink Door serves Italian-American food focusing on “local” and “farm-to-table” food. Fun fact: a lot of the veggies in your meal come from Pike Place Market. Everything here was a hit. I personally tried the delicious appetizer Salumi Platter with farmer’s cheese, tomato jam, and gnocco fritto. For my entrée, I enjoyed the “Branzino Style” whole white fish of the day served with an incredible green sauce and cranberry beans. And of course I had to get the Aperol Spritz! Everything was out of this world! FYI, if your Seattle Girls Trip includes more than 6 gals, your table will be split up as they do not push tables together and seat more than 6 people to a table.

Day 3 – Museum of Pop Culture, Black Bottle Gastrotavern, City Exploration

For day 3 of our Seattle Girls Trip, we took today to walk around the city and really enjoy it – soaking up every moment. It’s so nice to just relax and catch up on life with your girls. Enjoy people watching and relish in this unique Pacific Northwest city. First thing in the morning after everyone gets ready, is to grab brunch! Some recommended brunch options based on a quick search include:

Tilikum Place Cafe
Biscuit Bitch
Meet the Moon
Le Coin
Watson’s Counter
Fat’s Chicken & Waffles
Bebop Waffle Shop
Can Bar
Cafe Campagne
Mainstay Provisions
Mr. West
Seattle Biscuit Company

Plenty of options as you can see! After your fill of brunch, it’s time to enjoy an inside activity (depending on the weather). You’ll especially appreciate an inside activity if it’s raining. On average it rains in Seattle about 150 days a year so you have a ~ 40% chance. I was surprised to see how few umbrellas I saw. Looks like only tourists use umbrellas and the locals could care less about the rain. So out of the several indoor activity options to choose from, we decided to visit the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP).

Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP)

The Museum of Pop Culture is home to contemporary pop culture. This museum was much larger than I anticipated. It will take hours to work through, but it’s worth the dedicated time. The exhibits feature horror cinema, fantasy, video games, science fiction, and costumes from set. Several famous artists got their start in Seattle like Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain (from Nirvana), and Pearl Jam so you will see several spaces to honor these artists. Lots of short movies to watch that give a deeper inside take into the rock band craze from decades ago. Even though that’s not the music I typically listen to it was still interesting to learn about how they gained their popularity.

There is also a huge space (my guess is for occasional events) with massive TV screens playing KPOP music videos – think Blackpink and BTS. So it just felt like one big party to just hang out with friends and socialize/dance if you needed a break from the more intimate exhibits. In the gift shop, you’ll find quirky art-related souvenirs like a Bob Ross coloring book, Duff beer from The Simpsons or a Funko Pop toy based on your favorite artist. You’ll also find the typical souvenirs like postcards, keychains, and clothes. There’s also a café onsite if you get hungry/thirsty.

Lunch at Black Bottle Gastrotavern

After spending hours at the museum, we worked up an appetite. After hearing good things about the Bellevue area, we decided to explore that part of town and enjoy lunch at Black Bottle Gastrotavern. We just wanted to sample some different things as all of the food was locally grown or locally sourced and it was nice to try some things we normally wouldn’t. They have a creative menu. We sampled the blistered shishito peppers with ladolemono (very spicy!), PNW Beef Short Ribs with malbec glaze, and grilled halloumi cheese & dates pepper sauté. Portions were tapa size but it was a nice taste.

City Exploration

After lunch, there’s still plenty to see in the city on your Seattle Girls Trip! If you’re looking for the best skyline views you can head to Kerry Park. Kerry Park is a small public park and viewpoint on the south slope of Queen Anne Hill. It overlooks Downtown Seattle. You can participate in a bus tour to see more of the city and learn the history or a bike tour if the weather is nice. Or maybe just head up to a rooftop bar and grab some cocktails to relax and catch up. In the evening if everyone is more in a party mood, you and your girls can hit up a nightclub/lounge. Here are some options for you:

Vue Luxury Lounge
Ora
Kremwork
Mint Lounge

Day 4 – Pier 54, Argosy Cruises, Capitol Hill

On Day 4 of our Seattle Girls Trip we decided to leave the city for a bit. There are many day trip options to choose from: you can visit Vancouver (as long as you bring your passport!), hike Mt. Rainier, go wine tasting on a Snoqualmie Falls and winery tour, trek Olympic National Park, and take a cruise around Puget Sound. Ultimately, we decided to go with a cruise around Puget Sound since we didn’t really bring any proper hiking clothes on this trip. But first… lunch!

Pier 54

As a gateway to the entire waterfront, Pier 54 is next to some of Seattle’s most popular tourist attractions. It features a variety of shopping opportunities like Ye Olde Curiosity Museum and Gift Shop, Seattle T-Shirt Company and Franklin Sweets plus serving as the home to Argosy Cruises (the cruise company we went with for our tour). Pier 54 is also home to different foods like The Frankenfurter Hot Dog Stand and Kidd Valley Burger and Shakes.

But we were of course in the mood for seafood so we decided to opt for Ivar’s Acres of Clams Seafood Restaurant. I recommend the Pier 54 Cioppino, a fish stew containing salmon, halibut, cod, prawns, clams, and mussels. It was served with two slices of grilled bread which was perfect for dipping. The sauce just wasn’t really as flavorful as I thought it would be given the great reviews of this restaurant. But they have a bunch of other options including non-seafood items like a New York Strip Steak if that’s what you’re after. Plus, the views of the water are excellent. After lunch and some quick souvenir shopping, it was time to head to the pier to catch our cruise.

Argosy Cruises – Locks Cruise

See and hear about 120 years of Seattle history in 120 minutes! Venture beyond the waterfront and explore three Seattle neighborhoods in a one- way trip on the Locks Cruise! This fully narrated tour provides you with knowledge, fun facts, and the one of kind experience of going through Hiram M. Chittenden (Ballard) Locks. We saw the floating houseboat in “Sleepless in Seattle,” passed under the Fremont and Ballard bridges, saw some sea lions, and ended with a great vantage point of the Seattle skyline. With a full-service bar on board with local wine and beer, it was a great time.

CHECK OUT MY FULL REVIEW OF ARGOSY CRUISES HERE!

Dinner in Capitol Hill

After we get off the cruise, one of my girlfriend’s friends who is a Seattle resident met us at the port and drove us to her home, located in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. After some chill time at her house and playing with her adorable cat we were on the move. As we were on our way to dinner, she drove us around this wealthy area where houses selling for $2M+ wasn’t uncommon. A cute neighborhood that reminded me of Dennis the Menace’s neighborhood (anyone remember that movie?). We then made it into the main stretch of restaurants & bars on Pike Street.

Capitol Hill is a nice residential area that has a community feel and very much a popular area with the LGBTQ+ population. I really enjoyed walking around this area and looking at the eclectic shops. We ended up having dinner at Capitol Cider – a gluten-free scratch kitchen with over 200 tap and bottled ciders. I really enjoyed D’s Wicked Baked Apple cider. Off-dry with a hint of spice, Baked Apple hosts the flavors of Red Delicious and Honey Crisp apples, finishing with a perfect touch of cinnamon. All of D’s Wicked ciders are locally crafted in Washington state. It was the perfect way to end our trip!

Day 5 – Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Head Back Home!

Day 5 and our last day of the Seattle Girls Trip was spent grabbing one final coffee and chat. After checking out of the hotel, we Lyfted to Starbucks Reserve Roastery on Pike St. While not the largest reserve roastery in the world, the Seattle location is the first. If you’re interested in hearing about the world’s largest Starbucks Reserve Roastery, you can check out my Chicago trip here.

The reserve roastery is perfect for coffee lovers, but they have other drink options as well. The staff here all work so quick and it’s enjoyable to watch as you’re waiting for your drink. To go through as many orders as they do, it was very impressive! You can also enjoy many grab and go foods like croissants, pastries, breakfast sandwiches, and desserts. The smoked salmon and cream cheese on brioche was very satisfying. Delicious salmon! After getting to chill here for a bit, we grabbed another Lyft back to the airport where it was time to depart for the trip home. I missed my boys and was glad to return home. But this trip has given me a nice little taste of the Pacific Northwest. I hope to make it further to Oregon and Alaska at some point! It’s on my bucket list.

Looking to plan your Seattle Girls Trip or any other type of trip? Send me an email at cassandra@accent-on-travel.net and I’ll be happy to provide a quote! Need help planning the perfect tours & excursions? I can assist with that as well!