SEA to Downtown Seattle: Light Rail, Bus, Taxi, Uber

For downtown, the Link 1 Line is the simplest. Sound Transit says it takes 38 minutes between the airport and the heart of downtown Seattle, and the adult fare is $3.00 one way. The station is attached to the airport garage.

A taxi or rideshare is door to door, but you pay for it by distance and time. SEA is about 14 miles by road from Downtown Seattle, a drive of roughly 23 minutes without traffic. Rush hour on I-5 adds time.

Going to a cruise ship? Jump to the cruise terminal section below. Prices and schedules change, so check the linked official pages before you go.

The 1 Line runs from Lynnwood through downtown Seattle to the SeaTac/Airport Station and on to Federal Way. Stops on the way into town include Rainier Beach, Othello, Columbia City, Mount Baker, Beacon Hill, SODO, Stadium, Pioneer Square, Symphony, Westlake, Capitol Hill and the University of Washington.

The SeaTac/Airport Station connects to the fourth floor of the airport garage. A covered, level walkway leads to the terminal. From baggage claim, follow the signs for the Link light rail, go up one floor to the skybridge level, cross Skybridge 6 and turn left through the garage. Wheelchair service is available.

• Trip time: 38 minutes between the airport and the heart of downtown Seattle, according to Sound Transit.
• Hours: the Port lists 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Saturday and 6 a.m. to midnight on Sundays and holidays. Sound Transit's 1 Line page shows the first northbound train leaving SeaTac/Airport at 4:51 a.m. on weekdays, 4:48 a.m. on Saturdays and 5:58 a.m. on Sundays. The two pages differ a little, so check the trip planner for your train.
• Frequency, Sound Transit weekdays: every 8 minutes from 5:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., every 10 minutes until 3:00 p.m., every 8 minutes until 7:00 p.m., every 10 minutes until 9:00 p.m., every 12 minutes until 11:00 p.m. and every 16 minutes after 10:30 p.m. On weekends, trains come every 10 minutes from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., then every 12 and 16 minutes. Sound Transit calls these times an approximate guide.
• Fare: $3.00 one way for adults. Youth 18 and under ride free. Low income ORCA LIFT riders and Regional Reduced Fare Permit holders (seniors and riders with disabilities) pay $1.
• Paying: tap an ORCA card or a credit or debit card on the reader before you enter the platform. You do not need to tap off on Link.

From the station, the free Train-to-Plane cart shuttle runs daily from 5:00 a.m. to midnight between the platform and the terminal. Take the elevator or escalator to garage Level 4. The carts load near the entrance to Skybridges 5 and 6. The map shows the walk from the station to the terminal at about 7 to 12 minutes.

Two Sound Transit express routes stop at the airport on the lower drive of the main terminal. Exit baggage claim near Carousel One and walk a short distance south to the stop.

• Route 560 serves Burien, Renton and Bellevue. Sound Transit lists it as Bellevue to West Seattle.
• Route 574 goes south to Federal Way and Tacoma and ends in Lakewood.

King County Metro buses and the Sound Transit Night Bus stop on International Blvd near the Link station. Follow the signs to the station and cross the pedestrian bridge over International Blvd. The airport map lists Sound Transit 560, 570 and 574 and King County Metro A Line, 126 and 161 at that stop.

Fares: ST Express is $3.00 for adults, free for youth 18 and under, and $1 with ORCA LIFT or a Regional Reduced Fare Permit. King County Metro lists a $3.00 adult single ride (effective September 1, 2025). Pay with ORCA, a tap of your credit or debit card, the Transit GO Ticket app or cash.

Sound Transit's Passenger Care team is at 1-888-889-6368, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pacific. For live times use the trip planner at soundtransit.org/tripplanner.

Taxis wait on the third floor of the parking garage, at stations on the north and south curb. They run 24 hours a day. SEA offers only metered taxis, which charge by mileage and time, with no flat rates.

King County sets a minimum fare of $20 for any taxi trip that starts at SEA. On-demand taxis may add a $1 surcharge to that minimum. Wheelchair accessible vans and 11 seat vans are also available.

The airport publishes no fare estimate to downtown, so ask the driver for the meter rate before you start. For taxi service questions call SP Plus at (206) 708-6504. For accessible taxis, request one by phone or ask at the Skybridge 2 curb near Door 10 or Skybridge 5 near Door 22.

The Uber, Lyft and WINGZ pickup area is on the third floor of the parking garage. Use the airport's Parking Garage and Ground Transportation Map to find it.

If you need extra help, ask your driver to pick you up at the curb on the drives instead. The airport's Ground Transportation team must be told by phone at (206) 787-5906, with the driver's name and license plate number.

The airport lists no ride app fares. Check the price in your app.

Airporter Shuttle and Bellair Charters pick up on the Arrivals Drive near Door 02, at the south end of baggage claim. Check in at the Airporter counter near Door 00. Service goes north to cities including Bellingham, Anacortes and Seattle, and east to Cle Elum, Ellensburg, North Bend and Yakima. Call (866) 235-5247.

The Whidbey SeaTac Shuttle serves Whidbey Island. The Port lists nine trips a day, about every two hours, from the same curb near Door 02. Call (360) 679-4003, the number on the shuttle's own site.

The airport map groups door to door vans with taxis, rideshare and courtesy vehicles at the garage. Hotels and off-site parking companies with courtesy shuttles pick up on the courtesy island lanes on the third floor. Ask your hotel or van company where to meet.

Sound Transit publishes the airport to downtown time only: 38 minutes on the 1 Line. By road, Downtown Seattle is about 14 miles and roughly 23 minutes without traffic (OpenStreetMap routing, not an airport figure).

For Capitol Hill, the University of Washington and other 1 Line stops, ride the same train north past Westlake. Sound Transit does not publish a time from the airport for each stop, so use its trip planner. For Bellevue, take Route 560 or a taxi or rideshare, and check the trip planner for the time. Rush hour on I-5 adds time for any drive.

SEA is a gateway to Alaska cruises. The Port says the cruise terminals are about a 30 to 45 minute drive from the airport, depending on traffic.

• Cruise line transfers: if you booked a motorcoach transfer, go to the Baggage Claim level and follow the signs to the cruise bus pickup. The airport map shows the Cruise Lobby and the cruise and charter buses on garage Level 1.
• Rideshare and taxi: rideshares pick up in the middle of the third floor of the garage. Taxis are on the north and south curb of the same floor.
• Link plus a short ride: take Link to Westlake (the Port says about 40 minutes), then a taxi or rideshare. Pier 66 (Bell Street) is about six minutes by car or a 20 minute walk from there. Pier 91 (Smith Cove) is about 15 minutes by car.

Metro buses are not a convenient way to either cruise terminal, the Port says. If you are staying near the airport the night before, see our SEA hotels page.