Seattle Parking – Find the Most Suitable Option!

Seattle is an ultra-modern and high-tech city in the state of Washington. Space Needle, Columbia Center, Boeing Everett Factory – the list of its unique places is impressive. Also, the city is full of iconic historical sights, which makes it an incredibly popular destination among travelers. Convenient road system and reasonable prices for gasoline contribute to the fact that many visitors to the city use car rental instead of public transport. This is a very suitable way of transportation allowing every tourist feel free to choose where to go and what to see. However, due to the fact that there are a lot of cars in the city, searching for Seattle parking can cause a headache and complicate your journey…

Parking in Seattle

When using a rental car, probably many auto-travelers will face the problem of parking in Seattle. This is not surprising, because it’s very difficult to easily navigate the place where you have never been before, especially if you are a foreigner.

The good news is that you can avoid many problems if you prepare their solution in advance. Therefore, by following some guidelines getting Seattle parking lots will be both easy and fast.

Each driver will be able to choose among the next parking options:

• Street metered parking;
• Parking lots and garages;
• Hotel parking.

As in any city, the cost of parking is a value that directly depends on the specific place and time of day. As for the largest city of Washington, Seattle center parking fee during the busiest hours is about $5 per hour, while on the outskirts of the city the price drops to $0.5-$1 per hour.

The most peak hours to leave your car are usually between 11a.m. and 5p.m.. If you need overnight parking in Seattle, then you will be happy to know that it’s free from 6-8 p.m. till 8a.m.. Also, parking is not paid on Sundays and some national holidays. Unfortunately, it will be hard to find such spaces in the high-demand areas.

Another tool for a hassle-free Seattle parking is a special parking permit. The only drawback is that it requires actual confirmation of the residence, which means it’s available for locals only.

Street parking in Seattle. What is important to know?

You know how convenient it’s to leave the car close to the required place in order to have quick access to your personal transport later. For this reason, Seattle street parking is the most commonly used way to park a car.

No worries about whether you will find a free space where you need it, because Seattle parking map covers all the major attractions, business facilities and other popular destinations throughout the city. The price of street parking is one of the highest among US locations, which means that choosing the right place will help you find the best rate and save your budget.

Parking meters are the way to pay for a space for leaving your car. Usually, they accept cash, coins, electronic bank cards, and have a 2-, 4- or 10-hour limit. The whole procedure takes several minutes:

• You find a convenient parking spot.
• Choose the required parking time and pay in any way possible.

In case of violation of Seattle street parking rules, you will be ticketed or even towed. Also, keep in mind that general traffic rules prohibit leaving the car for more than 72 hours in a row at the same parking space.

Cheap parking spots in Seattle

Due to the large area of the city and the abundance of Seattle parking places, at first it will be difficult to decide where to leave the car. There’s a general rule – the closer to the center, the higher the cost. However, you can still find even a free place at the busiest areas.

For quick searching, you can use Spotangels, which is an online resource showing all available places for cheap parking in Seattle. The most popular city destinations and their parking rates are listed below:

• Cheap parking at Seattle Center;
• Cheap parking near the Space Needle;
• Cheap parking at Washington State Convention Center;
• Cheap parking near Pioneer Square;
• Cheap parking near Seattle Art Museum.

If your goal is to find a cheap parking garage, then in this case look for the orange $3 signs offering the same price for short-term parking. However, all these places have already been entered into the online services database, and it will be much more convenient for you to use them and not to search for a parking place while driving through the streets of Seattle.

In addition to Spotangels, affordable parking in Seattle can be found by using such handy apps as Spothero, Park Mobile and BestParking. 

Seattle hotels with free parking

Sometimes it’s very important to have a car at hand to be able to quickly start the engine and go to any place at any time. For this reason, many travelers want to take advantage of hotels in Seattle with free parking.

Of course, this is very convenient from the point of view of transportation, since you can plan your vacation according to your needs and desires, without looking at the bus or subway schedule.

Also, when returning in the evening to the hotel by car, you will save yourself from the need to leave it in a parking garage somewhere in the vicinity of the hotel and go from there on foot.

Luckily, the list of hotels which include overnight parking in Seattle into the room price is quite large, so it will make your choice easy and quick. Here’re some attractive options for travelers:

• Kings Inn (2106 5th Ave) – $152/night;
• Hotel Max (620 Stewart Street) – $149/night;
• Hilton Seattle (1306 6th Ave) – $181/night;
• Marco Polo Hotel (4114 Aurora Ave N) – $98/night;
• Brighton Retreat (45th Ave S) – $105/night;
• The Paramount Hotel (724 Pine St) – $167/night.

You have chosen a hotel but it doesn’t provide free parking in Seattle? In this case, you’ll have to pay additionally $20-$50/night for a separate guarded space for your rental car.

Top airport parking in Seattle

Imagine that you have a business or leisure trip with a starting point in Seattle. You need to get to the airport, but you don’t want to pick up a taxi. One possible solution is to use your own car for this purpose, and then leave it at Seattle airport parking.

All airport customers who need car parking are offered 2 options to choose from:

• Terminal direct parking.
• General parking.

Terminal direct parking is the most progressive and convenient option. The fact is that the fourth floor of a huge building that serves for parking has a direct connection to the main terminal of the airport via skybridge. This is the fastest way to get from the plane to your car and back.

The exact address of Terminal direct parking is 17801 International Blvd, SeaTac, WA. The only drawback of this type of parking is its price – $5 per hour, or $37 per day. Also, reservations are not allowed.

General parking is another option to leave your car at the airport. It’s available on 1-3 and 5-8 floors of the building. Seattle airport parking rates in this section is $4/hour, $30/day or $140/week.

Parking downtown Seattle

If you need to leave your car in downtown Seattle parking, then you need to look for special garages marked with ‘P’ sign. The cheapest of them have an orange $3 inscription, which means the price of parking per hour is three dollars.

Also, those parking garages that are marked with a turquoise marker offer a fixed price for evenings and weekends. It’s usually cheaper than the standard tariff available in other garages – less than $7 for these times. The regular parking price in garages marked with blue ‘P’ sign is most commonly hourly and varies between $3 and $8 per hour.

For your convenience, there’s a comprehensive map which is an excellent way to find the cheapest parking downtown Seattle in just several clicks. Another advantage provided by online services is a real-time parking tracker showing currently-available parking spaces.

As you can see, Seattle parking is not a problem at all, and in order to choose the necessary option you just need to use these valuable recommendations and a smartphone in your hands. Also, don’t forget to follow the traffic regulations on the road to avoid any problems when traveling to Seattle by car.