Travel Guide
Air Travel
You’ll most likely fly into Seatac (Seattle-Tacoma International Airport). Your other option for local flights is Everett (Paine field). There is no light rail from Paine. Tips below are for Seatac.
Public Transportation
Sound Transit Light Rail: Leaves, every 10 minutes, directly from the airport and will take you to the University District (AKA U District) which is a short bus ride (#44 or Uber/Lyft rideshare) from Ballard, the neighborhood where the Summit will be hosted. (If the U. District Station is your destination, be sure not to get off at University of Washington Station, or University Street station – that’s actually downtown!). If you happen to be staying in downtown Seattle, an earlier stop – such as Pioneer Square, University Street or Westlake – might be the one for you.
Light Rail tickets can be purchased from automated kiosks or use the ticketing app described in the bus section below.
Sound Transit is much less expensive than a ride from the airport, and also, during rush hour (starting around 3:30 pm Friday), Sound Transit may be faster than riding in a car, depending on your destination.
Taxi/Uber: You can take a conventional taxi or a rideshare from the airport. They each pick up from different levels of the airport, so be sure to check on that. Ride-share or taxi will range from $50 to $70.
Rental Car: If you want to have your own car to explore Seattle or nearby areas, we suggest renting one at the airport. Just be sure to have your phone ready to handle GPS (if you need a SIM card, etc.) before you leave the airport, because there are a few tricky moves you have to make getting from the airport to the interstate (I-5 North), which is the highway that will take you to the area near the Summit. If you do need to purchase a SIM card before leaving the airport, the Hudson News and InMotion shops usually carry local SIMs.
Taking a bus around Seattle: get This App! (https://kingcounty.gov/depts/transportation/metro/fares-orca/transit-go-ticket.aspx)
Seattle’s buses require either cash or a prepaid ticket, which you can purchase using this app on your smartphone.
Trip-Planning: Rome2Rio is a GREAT trip-planning site, and may have more specific details relevant to your particular plans (https://www.rome2rio.com). Do check Rome2Rio or something similar to confirm the advice we’re giving here, in case anything changes!
Accommodations
The Summit will take place at a non-profit arts/performance venue called The Ballard Homestead, in a neighborhood called Ballard.
6541 Jones Ave NW
Seattle, WA 98117
USA
Here are some hotels and other options to consider in Ballard and in nearby neighborhoods.
Ballard:
It’s also very much worth looking at AirBnB or VRBO options in Ballard.
University District (U-District):
Four hotels are all within reasonable walking distance of both the #44 bus that will take you to Ballard, and walking distance of the U-District Sound Transit station that connects to the airport. Ballard is about 20 minutes by bus or 15 minutes by car from this area.
Other Neighborhoods Near Ballard include Fremont, Wallingford, Greenwood and Magnolia.
Fremont, Wallingford and Greenwood will have bus connections, and may have some good AirBnB/VRBO options. If you don’t have a car, we advise that you carefully check the buses and times on weekends to get to the venue from one of these neighborhoods.
Magnolia will be tricky unless you have a rental car or plan to use ride share.
Downtown:
The chain hotels will almost exclusively be downtown. We don’t necessarily recommend downtown hotels only because of traffic, parking, and distance from the event. But if you prefer one of these known hotel chains, downtown is where to look.