OMG! I got in line at 4:38 just got onto the 6:15 boat that is now leaving the dock. That is way way way too long to be sitting on my butt. And getting home early won't be happening AGAIN!! Well like my friend says you can always depend on the Washington State ferries to be undependable! read more

Currently only $6.70 person to cross to Bainbridge Island, the crossing itself is somewhat pretty, offering a great view of the fading Seattle. However, Bainbridge Island is the gem of the offering. Full of lush, mossy bending trees and long trails and roads into the green interior. Take the ferry instead of driving for a great view, short 35 minute ride to a positively beautiful location. read more

The kids loved riding the ferry from Seattle to the Olympic Peninsula. The ride is perfectly smooth - no see sickness. The views are beautiful. The lounge area and observation areas are all nice. Great experience. read more

We took the ferry over late afternoon. But we found there everything closes early. If you want to visit Bainbridge Island from Seattle, you should plan an afternoon trip. We had ice cream and departed. Nice ferry ride, not expensive. read more

I have always enjoyed taking the ferry. My folks live on the Penninsula, and with my mother being so ill, I've been going each and every weekend. Other than being a little pricy, it's a great way to travel. Usually the ticket booth folks are very friendly; they almost always have a smile and a dog biscuit for my little old man (Westie) in the back seat. This past weekend, however, they get a big, fat, red F-! Saturday, the weather was gorgeous. So naturally, a lot of folks want to go driving in nature - let's all go to the other side of the Sound! Well, that made for some lines. Fine, I can deal with that. Once in the bay area, I find myself in the first lane. When there are only two cars ahead of me, a young man walks up to the ticket booth and starts talking with the fellow inside. And they talk. And they talk. And we sit. And we sit some more. And they talk some more. The lady in the car behind me gets out, walks up to the booth to try to move it along. Did no good. I honked my horn. Did no good. And there we sit. While they still talk. Meanwhile, the three lanes next to us are just going gangbusters. No exageration; we were sitting there for about 20 - 25 minutes. While they talked. So I honk again. Now a woman from the ticket booth next to ours comes out and yells "Who's doing that honking?!" I shouted out that it was me - could she please tell our guy to get moving? She shouted back, "honking won't help" to which I responded "it got your attention, didn't it? Now can we move - we're missing the ferry sitting here!" She goes to talk to the fellow - another woman comes to take the young man away, and finally - FINALLY - the car in front gets through. Then the car in front of me stalls a bit - when it finally moves, all of a sudden that same woman is in front of me with an orange cone, stating "you'll have to move over - his computer is frozen." Uh, huh - and how do you suggest we do that - no one is going to let us in and I can't even back up with all the cars behind me." She got the lane behind me to move back a bit and I swing over to the next lane - of course that pissed off the person I was getting in front of - "Do you mind!? We were next!" "Yes, I mind, very much! Been sitting her forever and she just now tells us to move over - you got a beef - take it up with her!" So, finally get to the ticket window. I figured, ok, frayed tempers; it's warm, it's busy - try to be pleasant. So as I'm handing my card over, I say "gosh, I sure wouldn't want your job today." in a pleasant voice. Does she pick up on that? No - "Well, honking was really stressful - you didn't need to honk!" So of course, that got my dander back up "You're stressed? Hello - I was sitting in that freaking line for over 25 minutes, if you want to talk stress!" "Well, we're on our feet for 10 hours a day & you just added to our stress!" "Sweetheart - stop - don't care about your 10-hour days. That's your bit. Don't like the job? Quit - try to find another. In the meantime, while you're standing there, just sell me my ticket so I can get going!" Have to admit - very first time I ran across this type situation. They usually have it running smoothly, and I suppose, as often as I ride, I've been lucky. But damn - obviously not well versed in handling situations out of the norm. And certainly no customer service in that they should have been trying to accommodate us better instead of berating us. What? They're government run, so they can just run right over us? I don't think so. Very unprofessional. read more

Combine all three into a one of kind $7 sightseeing cruise. Run down to the waterfront and hop on the Bainbridge Island Ferry for a 30 min cruise to the Kitsap Peninsula. Walk around the downtown and visit a few boutiques, taste test some local wine and then catch the free eastbound ferry back. Big ship, on board cafe, cheap fun. read more

Lived in Seattle form 1978 to 2010. If you are visiting or just moved there, you simply have to take the ANY and ALL of the ferries. The view is breathtaking. I have taken the Seattle to Bremerton and back dozens of times. Try to catch it at sunset. Take a date. Such a wonderful ride for a increasing, but acceptable price. One of my FAVORITE things to do in Seattle. Oh yeah, you can use it for transportation as well. read more

Complete skyline view of the city. Large ship with multiple levels and clear views. 45 minutes to Bainbridge (nothing there) and 45 minutes back for panoramic and island views. Breathtaking and scerenic. read more

Whoohoo for the ferry! My boyfriend's family lives in Coupeville, so I've only ever taken the Clinton/Mukilteo ferry which is barely noteworthy as it lasts a whole of 10 minutes or so, but I love that there are so many ferries in Western Washington and that they are actually a normal part of some people's commutes! Also, the Orca card makes payment incredibly easy... not that the kiosk that takes ~60 seconds to swipe your card, choose your route, and print your ticket is that much less convenient. Taking a vehicle on adds on a few extra bucks, but walking on is also fine if you have transportation on either side. I recommend exploring new bus systems though! Island Transit is FREE! read more

Beautiful ride from Seattle to Bainbridge and back. Great view of the city and Mt Ranier (on a clear day). Ferry is huge with lots of indoor and outdoor seating, vending machines, bathrooms and a small restaurant serving alcoholic drinks if you need one. A definite must if you are a tourist visiting the city! read more

As a visitor from San Diego, I really enjoyed taking the ferry while visiting friends. We drove our rental car onto the ferry a couple times, which was cool. You can get out of the car and go up to sit and watch out the windows. Very nice experience! read more

A great way to travel with great views...minus the sometime present pseudo security of the US Coast Guard. I've been on the Washington State Ferries system numerous times over they years while visiting Seattle...it is a great experience. This week I took a trip to Seattle but didn't get a chance to ride the ferries. I did however get a great view of the ferries from my hotel. The first two days the weather was nice and rain free. I noticed the US Coast Guard fast boats escorting the ferries but the last day we were there it was raining, guess what no Coast Guard...this is pseudo security and quite frankly doesn't prevent anything, but does waste a lot of taxpayer money. But the ferries I do highly recommend! read more

I'm a ferry commuter and thumbs-up! They do a great job. This review is about the Boingo service that the ferry system provides: it's awful (one star). I signed up because I wanted to be able to work on-line during my commute times. I used it on my Win7 laptop and my iPhone 4. In the first month, back of the envelope calculation, I was able to successfully use it only 25% of the time. The issues I encountered: 1) inability to transit access points between the waiting area and the boat. A call to customer support said the best solution was to reboot my device. What? Seriously? When I did (like a chump - it's a lazy way out) the device still failed to connect to the boat. (for doubters - the next morning it did just fine with no changes to configuration) 2) iPhone connection app encountered bug that wouldn't allow it to connect to the wireless access point reporting that "not connected to WiFi" even though the device clearly was connected to the wireless (IP assigned, gateway, etc.). Support recommendation: uninstall and reinstall the app (which failed because the Boingo bandwidth could download the app in ~20 mins and timed out -- see next point). 3) When successfully connected (usually a series of DHCP release/renew and DNS flush actions) the wireless throughput was meager at best. I often use VoIP to collaborate with my remote teams. The voice channel had tons of stutter and video was hopeless. Similarly, watching streaming video was impossible. It would buffer for 3 minutes, play for 1 minute and repeat that cycle. And interacting with bandwidth-intensive apps (e-mail attachments, heavy web sites) was quite slow. As I noted above, even downloading their Wi-Finder app repeatedly timed out on their network. 4) Finally, at my last ditch effort to contact support because I was frustrated at the above failures I was counseled to "please try to be patient" as issues tend to sort themselves out in 5-10 minutes. What amazed me by this was that guidance alone asked me to, at minimum, accept that the Boingo service would not work one-third of the time I was on the ferry. Fortunately, one 10 minute phone call to customer support cancelled my subscription. read more

I and my husband live on Friday harbor. San Juan island's. Well this reservation is stupid. When you want to pick the time, guess what they block it. This is b.s. l want to book my time I leave the Island, not the by the Washington state ferry system. Plus I live, really people, this is a joke. .. read more

So, it's kind of cold here. Get onto the deck where the wind chill probably makes it 10 degrees or so even colder and there you go, a human snowman. With not too much planned, one of the locals suggested to take a ride out to see the sky line. It was nice and relaxing, not like an over-filled commute. Almost seemed like we had the boat to ourselves. Once we got to bainsbridge it was remniscient of Lake Tahoe but, a little smaller. A lot more serene. Didn't have too much time to spend since it was our last day there but, I'd imagine we can waste away a good half hour at the little boutiques coffee shops and walk along the waterfront trails . read more

Beautiful views, fun to take day trips to the islands. they are VERY on time. Lots of fun riding the ferry. You get to see wildlife, sweeping views of the city. Great thing to do with out of town guests or for locals. read more

Bainbridge ferry = a very cool and inexpensive way to spend a little time on Puget Sound. Pier 52 is a neat little place with a great coffee shop and some nice little eateries, plus a nicely kept restroom. The people at the ticket window are friendly and helpful. What more could you ask for? read more

This is a great alternative for tourists who would like a cruise experience without the hefty price tag. I always love taking in a city by water, so going on a ferry while visiting Seattle was a no-brainer for me. It was also cool to look at how an actual ferry works. On nice and clear days the top deck is ideal for taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of the area. For locals, it seems like the lower deck is a better way to go since it's quieter and warmer. read more

Uh, well. Considering my frequent ferry run gets charged more for a shorter trip to a high volume area I feel exploited because they think everyone who travels to and from Vashon is the WSF private cash cow. Every year there is a ferry meeting to "discuss the possibility of fare increase" and magically it goes up without fail every year. Considering it as fun tourist activity it is fun, but if you rely on it too much and plan on it arriving to or from a place at it's scheduled time - well just plan on getting where ever you need to be forty minutes early every time and you should be okay. Also considering your schedule is literally controlled by the tides and by extension the moon- this can be at times distressing for people of a traditional mindset where time is concerned. While I don't complain that it encourages , nay makes a necessity of time management skills it as made for more than a few bad days. read more

What a great, cheap way to see the city! We took the ferry to Bainbridge for only $6.75! That's a lot less than a tour boat and much cooler too. It's a quick, easy trip and a great way to see Seattle and the surrounding islands. read more

Took the ferry from Seattle to Port Orchard - Bremerton... Pretty Cool. Nice and Clean. Haven't been on a ferry since I was a kid when I rode the Lynchburg Ferry to San Jacinto Battle Ground and Monument! I'm such a BIG Kid. Love It! read more

I love the ferries! I have been taking ferries forever, having grown up in Seattle. We went to Whidbey Island every summer on them, sometimes more than once a year, all through my childhood. Now I have family on Bainbridge so we go there. The kids enjoy them, it's fun to watch our beautiful city either getting smaller as we leave it or getting bigger as we approach it from the decks of the ferries. I can't think of anything not to like about them. read more

Awesome system to get to and from Bremerton and Bainbridge. Their facility is always clean and tidy.. I don't think I've ever had a bad experience riding! read more

It's our first time ever riding the ferry. It took some time to get on only because we had to wait for the ferry. When it got there, the workers are on point, directing you to where you should park. They are also very nice. I would go back and ride the ferry, just to ride it. When my wife, my dog and I got on, we had to pay for the car/driver fee, passenger and that's all. Dog was free! When we were headed back, we had to pay for the car again! Oh well, all passengers were free. If you were just riding the ferry w/o a car, you will be free going back. Not bad. read more

i can't speak for commuters, but ferries are great for fun daytrips. We took the ferry to Bremerton and saw seals swimming alongside the boat. Such fun and frolicking!! We gathered enough information at the station to find a great hiking trail off one of the highways. Thank you Washington Ferry System! I also took a couple trips to Bainbridge on the ferry and it was quick and relaxing. The food and drinks available to purchase on board really hit the spot. read more

Anacortes to Friday Harbor. A wonderful way to get to the islands. Vacation truly begins as you step onto the ferry and take in the serene natural beauty of the surrounding islands. read more

Fast, safe, clean, on-time: that's our ferry system. Thanks, WSDOT & WS Ferries!

This was one of the highlights of our trip. I would love to take the ferry to San Juan Islands stay the night and ferry to Canada. Can't wait to visit with my son. read more

Don't come to Seattle without taking a ferry ride somewhere. Bainbridge Island is a short ride (about 40 minutes) and worthwhile, just to go get ice cream! It's the ride not the destination. It's the best, and cheapest tourist attraction in town. We did it frequently during our six months in Seattle. Nice, HUGE boat, gorgeous views of Puget Sound and downtown Seattle. Definitely a must-see, great value for any visitors (and I would love taking the ferry to work if I were a permanent resident)! read more

Loved it. Worked like clockwork, and inexpensive. Definitely a fun thing to do while in Seattle, whether you want to go to the islands, or whether you just want to get out on the water!! read more

Not much to say.... it gets you there, it gets you back. Its super warm for those rainy cold days. Has lots of windows for viewing, if you can see past the dark on those cold rainy days! read more

WSF gets 4 stars from me. if they had casinos on board, I'd give 'em 5. Hah, no really, definitely one of the most impressive things to do with out-of-town visitors... Plus, the ferries are actually FASTER ON THE WATER than most motorists on the I-5 FREEWAY! Yes, that was a snide remark. read more

There is not a more interesting way to get somewhere or anywhere than by ferry even if the weekend lines can be LONG. There is great scenery watching and people watching, maps, food, outdoor decks (if you can stand the chilly wind). it's worth every dollar to travel this way. read more

These are very nice to take anywhere they go on a sunny Seattle day. They are quite cheap too!

A must do. The ferry is super clean with a dedicated and friendly staff. We went to the top level front and enjoyed the view in the rain. Great memory! read more

The ferries can be a fun way to get across the sound. Visiting Seattle can be inexpensive when you stay across the water and float peacefully into the city in the morning. Kiddos do get bored easy though. The trip can take up to an hour and there is only so much kids can check out. There is old bus style seating for people both inside away from the rain and outside. read more

Me and my wife have always enjoyed doing a walking on experience just walking on and going back and forth. Going up on the upper decks and takimg in the view. A great way to spend some time together can be very romantic or just plain fun! The fairies are always clean and safe! One of my favorite ways to spend a day! Also a wonderful way to just use them as transportation. Clean safe a wonderful way of getting around. Just wish we could bring our dogs up on deck. read more

The most fun we've had coming to Seattle was on the islands and the ferry rides over are great. Drive your car right on. Might have to wait awhile. We've gone to Bainbridge from downtown and went up to Mukilteo to go over to Whidbey. Both were very fun experiences. read more

If you live on one of the islands, the ferries are next to useless. It's not that they are always late, but if you have a definite commitment on the mainland, like a doctor's appointment, their frequent unreliability means you have to hedge. In some seasons, that means that a fifteen minute doctor's appointment in Anacortes can take a whole, very long day, most of it spent waiting. The ferries are just pleasure boats for tourists. There are two subjects that will promote furious commentary from a group of residents. One of them is the ferry system. read more

The ferry's great for getting you to and from Bremerton. What stinks is that Southworth and Bainbridge both have much better ferry service, and whenever anything happens, Bremerton service gets screwed so the Bainbridge people don't have to be inconvenienced. Thus, you get a half-empty boat going to Bainbridge, and pack two ferries' worth on to the Bremerton boat. Not cool. read more