I'm not sure...would you recommend bringing our car?
Do you know which island(s) you're planning to go to? Or where you're staying? It is nice to have a car to explore more, but probably isn't truly necessary if you're going to San Juan Island and staying in Friday Harbor. If you're going to Orcas or Lopez Island you may want a car because there isn't a ton to do within walking distance of the ferry dock. Although I think Orcas Island has shuttles that can take you to some of the main points on the island.
Overall if you can make a reservation I'd bring a car as it definitely opens up your options once you're on the island.
I'm not 100% sure where we're going, so I think I'll book the car. Thanks for your advice!
Food (not too fancy) recommendations are also welcome.
It is worth the drive to Kent for BBQ Pete's if your family likes BBQ. So good! Definitely not fancy. It's near IKEA in Renton if you want to go there.
Thank you guys so much for all your suggestions! We ended up staying 5 nights in Olympic National Park and then 7 in Seattle. Here's a short list of what we did in case anyone else is planning a similar trip:
We stayed just north of Seabrook in Pacific Beach. We hiked the Quinnault rainforest loop, Sol Duc falls, and the Hoh rainforest. We went to the tide pools on Kalaloch Beach 4. We took a day to chill at our Air BNB and then took family photos at Hurricane Ridge on our way to Seattle.
Seattle favorites: -whale tour -so much good food (Due Cucina in Capitol Hill is excellent and the kids loved both Hot Cakes and Maggie Moon's) -The Space Needle was a surprise love. Had to wait in line about an hour to see it, but it was fun. The Blue Angels were practicing that day, so we got to see their planes fly around while we waited. We watched the Blue Angels from our roof top deck at our AirBNB the next day. -saw the Mariners play the Yankees -hiking in Mt Rainer national park was fun; I wish we would have done another hike or two, but we were so tired of being in our car
The weather was amazing and the people were great. We'll definitely be back again!
I went in June with my 11yo and 7yo. We stayed in downtown Seattle and they enjoyed the following:
- Pike Place Market, especially the first Starbucks, Marnin Saylor, and the craft & flower vendors. - The Great Wheel, Wings Over Washington, and Carousel. - Day trip to Bainbridge Island for dining, browsing, and the Kid's Museum. - Monorail to Space Needle, Chihuly Glass and Garden, and the Artists at Play playground. - The public library. - The Starbucks Reserve Roastery.