Visiting Seattle in March! FINALLY! (hotels, neighborhoods, university)

[woah_amie]

I'm finally getting to go and visit Seattle after years of hounding my parents to let me go.

Some info... I'll be flying in from Miami, FL with my best friend
. It's hot here. I know I should expect to experience some cold weather in Seattle. How heavy should I pack? Is a raincoat fine?

I bought the CityPass, which let's me experience a variety of things, but I wanna know what else you recommend. I know I wanna do the Underground Tour.

And lastly, where's a good location to book a hotel? I wanted to stay in downtown, but I'm not looking to spend $200/daily. A few minutes from downtown is what I'm looking for.

[Garethe]

Hello. Welcome to the Emerald City. Definitely want to pack at least a light jacket for March, it won't be warm and balmy. You also might want to pack heavier socks, a sweater or two, and long pants. I doubt you'll need shorts unless you are very warm-blooded. It will be rainy, most here don't use umbrellas, but bring a small one if you prefer, however torrential Florida-ish storms are few.

On inexpensive hotels, look on the travel sites for hotels in some of the outlying neighborhoods like Queen Anne, Capital Hill, and University District, all of which have a smattering of places. Seattle has a very good bus/rail/streetcar system so "not staying downtown" won't cause you to miss out on anything.

Not knowing your age/interests it's hard to mention some of the more offbeat, known only to locals, type of attractions. Perhaps if you'll tell us some more about the type of traveler you are.

[Cinema Cat]

The Travel Lodge near the Space Needle is inexpensive. But its walls are paper thin. You can hear your neighbors on either side of your room.

But that shouldn't be a problem, unless you plan to spend most of you stay in your hotel room.

[Ira500]

Mediterranean Inn on Lower Queen Anne is well located, and less than a hundred a night. Best Western Loyal Inn around 7th and Bell is also lower priced.

[Blondebaerde]

First time I visited, 1993, it was June. Wondered if it would rain. It did, then cleared up a bit. Little of both, in a weekend visit. Funny: that Travel Lodge was there back then, too. Bet it looked better 20 years ago. Suited me and my dad just fine, on the cheap.

Temps: My guess, from many years here but w/o hard data, is highs in high 40s, lows high 30s. Catch a weird warm spell, or cold spell, anything is possible: they happen. We had a week of hard freeze in December that was unusual. I've seen a weird January warm spell or two, as well. Point being, much more variation around the mean here in the northern latitudes, continental U.S.-style ("real" northern latitudes, like St. Petersburg or Helsinki, are another story). I'd follow specific counsel of other responder up-thread for sweaters, rain coats, etc. I'd bet on rain throughout.

Couple years ago, I stumbled on a guy hosting walking tours in Seattle, from Westlake Plaza, via some "Things to Do" type website, Yelp, or whatnot. Quite fun, that, as I was his only customer one late January morning in 2011. We went anyway, best $10 I've ever spent on the what-for in this town from a young guy who knew a ton of cool and interesting spots I'd never seen. Poured rain the whole time. I was prepared, you should be, too. Most any sort of tour like that will be entertaining. Even riding the stupid "Duck" is always amusing, if campy.

You could do worse than wander that area and take mass transit. I learn a lot from riding buses and trains in a new-to-me city.

[Botev1912]

March is warmer than that, might be 50-55 or even 60.

[woah_amie]

Originally Posted by Garethe

Hello. Welcome to the Emerald City. Definitely want to pack at least a light jacket for March, it won't be warm and balmy. You also might want to pack heavier socks, a sweater or two, and long pants. I doubt you'll need shorts unless you are very warm-blooded. It will be rainy, most here don't use umbrellas, but bring a small one if you prefer, however torrential Florida-ish storms are few.

On inexpensive hotels, look on the travel sites for hotels in some of the outlying neighborhoods like Queen Anne, Capital Hill, and University District, all of which have a smattering of places. Seattle has a very good bus/rail/streetcar system so "not staying downtown" won't cause you to miss out on anything.

Not knowing your age/interests it's hard to mention some of the more offbeat, known only to locals, type of attractions. Perhaps if you'll tell us some more about the type of traveler you are.

We're in the 21/22 age range. We enjoy a few drinks, but we're mostly interested in getting to know the city, as I am planning to move there in a couple of years.

[tobester]

For really cheap, I hear there's a great hostel in the Pike Place Market area.

http://www.greentortoise.net/

[yerbolat]

highly recommend Columbia tower instead of Space needle

[Kayela]

Lower Queen Anne is a pretty decent location - it's close to Seattle Center and a very quick bus ride or monorail ride to DT. If you stay there, I'd highly recommend going to Upper Queen Anne for a stroll around - have breakfast at the 5 Spot, see Kerry Park (and some amazing views of Seattle), poke your head into Chocopolis and enjoy some of the lovely architecture. It'll give you a really good feel for a local neighborhood that has character, but isn't touristy.

March should be decent temps, but usually not shorts-weather. We'll probably have some mix of nice/rainy days. Definitely jeans, t-shirts, sweatshirts/fleece and something waterproof-but-light. I wouldn't worry about an umbrella - every grocery store has them if you find you need one. Happy traveling!