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How to spend 5 days in Washington as a first time tourist
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items This is my 5 day itinerary in Washington. This was Sept 2025 and it was my first time going to Washington. I spent 2 days in Olympic NP including Cape Flattery and La Push beach and Forks. I spent one day in Bainbridge Island and 2 days in Seattle. I caught a baseball game as well and went to Space Needle and Chihuly Gardens.
Sections
6
Attractions
Transportation
Travel Credit Card
Food & Drinks
Hotel
Hiking & Nature
Attractions
As a first time tourist, I found these attractions a must at least once in your lifetime even if it's just to say you've been there
I think this is something you need to do once and then that's it. Overrated in my opinion.
Space Needle
An absolutely breathtaking experience. I would not skip this. It seems like an experience you don't need but I promise you, you will walk away in awe.
Chihuly Garden and Glass
Take the Bainbridge island ferry and make it a day trip to this beautiful island. You can spend about 4 hours there as well and have done a significant amount of things since not really much to do there but if you want to take your time and soak it in go for a full day.
Visit Bainbridge Island | Travel & Tourism | Official Site
We had a car so we took a short 10 minute drive to see the troll. It's right off the parking lot so no long walk needed to see it.
Pia the Peacekeeper, Bainbridge Island's Troll
Take a tour if you don't want to navigate the Public Market by yourself because it's huge. There's 5 or 6 levels to the market so there's a lot to explore. GIve yourself plenty of time if you want to try different foods.
Pike Place Market- Tasting Tour
Caught a Dodgers vs Mariners game at T-Mobile stadium which is a beautiful stadium. Get the cheapest seats and get a beautiful view of the Seattle skyline.
T-Mobile Park
Grab lunch at Pike Place market and walk down to the newly remodeled waterfront and wat your lunch while taking in the surrounding view of Elliot Bay and people watch.
Waterfront Park
Transportation
Getting around On this trip involved the ferry, a car rental, and public transportation
I opted for renting a vehicle in the city instead of the airport because when comparing prices it's way cheaper away from the airport. You can take a $3 train ride from SEATAC to downtown Seattle and it's only 35 minutes. It's a cheaper and efficient way to get around and don't bother paying $60 plus in getting a LYFT.
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
If you're a planner like me, do yourself a favor and buy your tickets online or on the GoTransit app. If you're driving in with a car, it's better to do your reservation ahead of time.
Washington State Ferries | WSDOT - | WA.gov
Travel Credit Card
Travel credit cards are a must to accumulate points and use them to book hotels, flights and excursions
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a great entry level Travel credit card. The introductory point offer is what helped me book the plane, hotel, and car rental during this Seattle trip. Points are the way to travel. I'm working towards obtaining the Reserve as soon as I do more traveling to make it worthwhile the high credit card fee.
Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card | Chase.com
Food & Drinks
These are the places I dined at but I didn't eat out much because I wanted to save money and I bought groceries and stored them in the fridge at the hotel
Cute coffeehouse on Bainbridge island. Order the pumpkin spice latte.
Pegasus Coffee House
As soon as we arrived at Brainbridge we needed to have lunch and as a person who does not like seafood and just wanted American pub food, this was the place that fit the best. We sat outside and the view of the marina was gorgeous. We ordered a smashburger and tomato soup with grilled cheese.
Harbour Public House
Get the sourdough cinnamon roll. Trust me!
Blackbird Bakery
Hotel
The two hotels I stayed at while in Washington that I would recommend
We stood in Sequim instead of Port Angeles because we didn't find any decent budget hotels in Port Angeles that didn't have horrible reviews and low review score. This hotel was very decent and budget friendly and they serve complimentary breakfast but we woke up too early to go hiking at Olympic NP so we didn't take advantage of it. Would stay here again.
Quality Inn & Suites Sequim at Olympic National Park
This hotel was really nice and it was a good deal with our travel points. It's within walking distance of all major attractions like Pike Place Market, Space Needle and Waterfront. The rooms are nice and there's really good reviews on this hotel.
Hyatt Regency - Downtown Seattle Convention Center Hotel
Hiking & Nature
I did hiking at Olympic NP and love a good waterfall and nature trail
This hike and waterfall is only 30 min or so away from downtown Seattle.
Snoqualmie Falls- Guided Forest Hike
This NP is a must see. It's gorgeous. If you are going solo or prefer to have a guide take you around this is the tour.
Olympic National Park- Peninsula and Forest Tour
The views are breathtaking. I'm so glad I included time in my schedule to go here. It's a two hour drive from Sequim, WA where I stayed. I started here and then went to Second Beach, Rialto beach and Forks on the same day since it's on that side of Olympic NP.
Cape Flattery — Washington Trails Association
Highly recommend buying the annual pass if you're planning on going to more than 2 National parks or forests. It more than pays for itself after 2 visits.
Entrance Passes (U.S. National Park Service)