Car Hire Seattle Airport

Seattle Airport Mini Guide

What can you Tell me about Seattle?
It’s renowned in the US as a very damp city with innumerable days of rain and when it’s not raining, days of fog! Still, there must be something to recommend it otherwise its inhabitants wouldn’t have made it the biggest city on the North West coast. For those visiting the city, it’s on the coast of Washington State which interestingly also holds the record for the most snow in a season coming in at 31 metres! At least winter sports enthusiasts will be happy. From the port you can take boat cruises up the coast towards Canada and Vancouver Island or closer to home, travel on a World War II amphibious craft on land and in the water on a tour of the city.

How Would you Recommend I get to this gem?
Last year over 31m passengers flew into Tacoma Airport on the outskirts of the city and nearly directly abutting Interstate 5. It is a truly international airport with flights from across the Pacific as well as many from Europe including BA’s flight from London Heathrow. Getting into the city is easy with the best options being a rental car which will allow you to explore during your stay, or the train link that goes straight to Seattle’s main railway station with stops along the way.

What is Seattle Tacoma Airport Like?
The airport is looking a little dated but the facilities are good and on the whole the airport operates efficiently. Where it falls down is on the major complications over the processing of international passengers who have to disembark, collect their luggage to pass through security, redeposit their luggage to travel to the main terminal building before having to collect it again from another reclaim belt. This adds up to an hour to the processing time and is the cause of much consternation at the airport.



What Should I do When we Land at Seattle Tacoma?
First, take a deep breath to ready yourself for the security/baggage reclaim fiasco. As long as you realise that this futile operation is going to happen, you’ll be less stressed about it. Eventually, you’ll make it into the main arrivals hall and collect your luggage for the second time. If you have had any problems, you should visit the information desk who are used to sorting out difficulties. There is a bank and a currency exchange facility there too together with several ATMs. Depending on your company, car hire could be as quick as just finishing off documentation in the baggage reclaim area or taking a shuttle to the offsite collection point. Public transport is a lot easier with access to the facilities on the lower level. Just follow the easy signs.

What can I Expect When I Depart for Home?
Thankfully, checking in isn’t as mid-bogglingly complicated. Once that’s out of the way you’ll have plenty of time to look through the hundred or more shops and eateries around the airport. Every angle to shopping is covered and you certainly won’t be bored if you’re a shopaholic. For airport food, you have such a great choice. Fine dining vies with bistro food, snacks, sandwiches, pizza and take away food for your taste buds’ attention and when you’re fully satisfied, spend the last few minutes there, surrounded by your shopping prizes, browsing the free internet on your laptop.