SEAAirport Guide

Buses from Seattle Airport: Routes, Stops and Where They Go

Metro and the 597 board across International Boulevard. The 560 boards on the terminal's lower drive.

A suitcase standing on the covered bus curb under the parking garage at Seattle-Tacoma airport.
Bus curb, SEA

Look for Sound Transit Express 560 near Door 00 at the south end of the Main Terminal’s lower drive. For King County Metro’s regular routes and the 597 Night Bus, cross International Boulevard by the Link station.

If you’re going to downtown Seattle while trains are running, Link light rail is the direct transit choice. Sound Transit puts the ride to the heart of downtown at 38 minutes. Westlake is 39 minutes from the airport, Symphony 37, Pioneer Square 36, International District/Chinatown 34 and Stadium 32. An adult one-way fare is $3.00. ORCA LIFT riders, seniors and riders with disabilities pay $1.00. Youth 18 and under ride free. On weekdays trains leave every 8 to 10 minutes until about 8 p.m., then every 12 minutes until 9:05 p.m. and every 16 minutes after that. Weekends run every 10 minutes from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., every 12 minutes until 11 p.m. and every 16 minutes later. The first and last downtown-bound departures from SEA differ by day:

Day First train Last train
Monday through Friday 4:51 a.m. 12:05 a.m.
Saturday 4:48 a.m. 12:06 a.m.
Sunday 5:58 a.m. 11:18 p.m.

After the last train, check the 597 Night Bus or Metro 124.

Pick your route before you walk

Route Where to board at SEA Where it goes
Metro RapidRide A Line International Boulevard at South 176th Street, by the Link station Federal Way
Metro 161 International Boulevard at South 176th Street Burien and Kent
Metro 156 International Boulevard at South 176th Street Southcenter and Des Moines
Sound Transit Express 560 South end of the Main Terminal’s lower Arrivals Drive, near Door 00 Burien, Renton and Bellevue
Sound Transit 597 Night Bus International Boulevard at South 176th Street: Bay 2 toward downtown Seattle, Bay 1 toward Lakewood. Toward Lakewood, it also stops at South 182nd Street. Downtown Seattle, or Federal Way, Tacoma Dome Station and Lakewood

The 597 runs between downtown Seattle and Lakewood overnight. It stops near the Link station on International Boulevard, not the terminal’s lower drive. For Federal Way, you can also take Metro’s RapidRide A Line. Check Sound Transit’s trip planner for the departure you need.

Quick Shuttle serves Vancouver, B.C. FlixBus picks up outside Door 2 on Arrivals Drive. It lists Everett and Seattle northbound, and Tacoma, Olympia, Portland, Corvallis and Eugene southbound. Greyhound lists its SEA stop outside Main Terminal Door 2, on the same Arrivals Drive. Check your ticket for the operator’s stop and fare.

Our scheduled airporter directory also lists Airporter Shuttle/Bellair Charters, Bremerton-Kitsap Airporter, Dungeness Bus Lines, Friday Harbor Seaplanes, Island Airporter, Kenmore Air shuttle, Rocket Transportation, Wenatchee Valley Shuttle and Whidbey-SeaTac Shuttle. Apart from the garage operators below, scheduled airporters board at the Arrivals Drive curb outside Doors 00 and 02, past carousel 1. Check your operator’s timetable and fare before heading to the curb.

The scheduled airporter check-in counter is inside the Gina Marie Lindsey Arrivals Hall near Door 00.

Bellair boards outside Doors 2 and 00, past carousel 1, in the designated Airporter Shuttle area. Its eastbound shuttle leaves SEA at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. for North Bend, Cle Elum, Ellensburg and Yakima. Bellair’s SEA boarding guide says to reserve ahead to guarantee pickup. Bellair runs that route seven days a week, except Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and Easter, when it offers no shuttle service.

Bellair also runs ten daily northbound trips to Bellingham. SEA departures are 8:30, 10 and 11:30 a.m. The later buses leave at 1, 2:30, 4, 5:30, 7:30, 9:30 and 11:30 p.m. Stops include the Seattle Convention Center, Paine Field in Everett, Marysville, Stanwood, Burlington, Bellingham Airport and Ferndale. The Bellingham 4 Points by Sheraton stop is about two and a half hours from SEA. Stops marked with an asterisk on Bellair’s schedule need a prepaid reservation 24 hours ahead. Reserve ahead to guarantee pickup at your chosen stop.

Bellair also serves Anacortes/San Juan Ferry, Birch Bay, Blaine, La Conner and Lynden. Bremerton-Kitsap Airporter picks up near Door 02 for Bangor, Poulsbo, Silverdale, Bremerton, Port Orchard, Purdy, Gig Harbor and NW Tacoma. Rocket Transportation runs door to door to the Olympic Peninsula.

Island Airporter runs one weekday shuttle from SEA to Roche Harbor and Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands, with no weekend service. It picks up outside Door 00 or Door 2 and leaves between 11 and 11:15 a.m., depending on the ferry schedule. The one-way fare is $75 to $95 per person and includes the ferry ride.

For Whidbey Island, Whidbey-SeaTac Shuttle runs nine trips a day, about every two hours. It serves Mukilteo, Clinton, Freeland, Greenbank, Coupeville, Oak Harbor and NAS Whidbey. An adult fare is $55 to Mukilteo and $69 to NAS Whidbey. You need base access for the NAS Whidbey stops. Dungeness Line runs to Port Angeles via downtown Seattle, the Edmonds-Kingston ferry, Port Townsend, Discovery Bay and Sequim. Its SEA departures are 11:50 a.m., 1:45 p.m. and 7 p.m. The 1:45 p.m. express goes straight to Sequim and Port Angeles. Fares run $24 to $54 by distance, and the express to Port Angeles is $54.

Two airporters use the garage instead. Bellevue Airport and Cruise Shuttle boards at Island 2A on Level 3, between Skybridges 3 and 4. Premier Airport Shuttle uses the Door to Door Vans area on Level 3.

The Bellevue shuttle leaves SEA hourly from 4 a.m. to 9 p.m. and drops you at your chosen Bellevue hotel. Fares are $30 for one passenger, $50 for two, $70 for three, $90 for four, $105 for five and $125 for six. Infants 2 and under ride free.

From baggage carousel 16, go up to the parking level and cross the skybridge. Take the blue-and-white striped elevator to Floor 1, then follow the Cruise and Charter Buses signs to the North East Charter Bus Lot at the north end of the parking structure. Once your group has its bags, call SEA Ground Transportation at (206) 787-5906 to dispatch the bus.

For a direct seasonal shuttle to a cruise ship, Seattle Express serves both Pier 66 and Pier 91. Check in with its airport agent on the baggage claim level inside Door 4. The ride takes about 45 minutes and costs $30 per passenger. Children 3 and under ride free on an adult’s lap.

Metro 124 also serves the airport overnight, about 1 a.m. to 5 a.m., on the airport drives. Its stop is on the airport access road near International Boulevard, south of the terminal. Toward downtown Seattle, it leaves SEA at about 1:22 and 2:35 a.m., or 1:21 and 2:32 a.m. on Sunday night. Departure times are posted on information signs at the bus stop. Use Metro’s Trip Planner for the departure you need.

For the 560, check Sound Transit’s trip planner for the departure you need.

If you need help choosing or confirming a Sound Transit route, call Passenger Care at 1-888-889-6368. It offers trip planning and translated guidance.

From baggage claim to the right stop

For the 560, leave baggage claim by Door 00 and go to the bus stop at the south end of the lower drive.

For Metro’s A Line, 161 or 156, or the 597 Night Bus, head toward baggage carousel 16. Go up one floor, cross Skybridge 6 and turn left through the parking garage toward the Link station. The garage Level 4 walkway to the station is open 24 hours. The Port says the pedestrian bridge to International Boulevard is open around the clock, and the elevator and stairs on the west side of the station reach street level on International Boulevard.

For the 597, read the destination display before boarding: downtown Seattle and Lakewood use opposite directions. Check Sound Transit’s 597 schedule for your stop.

The Train-to-Plane cart runs between the station and garage Level 4 near Skybridges 5 and 6, daily from 5 a.m. to midnight. It is free, open to all and has room for bags at the back. If you need a wheelchair between the station and terminal, call Prospect Airport Services at 206-246-1550 when you arrive at the station. They can send someone with a wheelchair from 4 a.m. to 1:30 a.m.

Fares, night service and missed buses

Metro and Sound Transit buses accept cash, a contactless credit or debit card, or ORCA. Pay when you enter. Drivers don’t carry change, so bring the exact fare if you use cash.

On Metro between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m., you can ask to get off between regular stops. Go to the front at least a block before the place you want. The driver decides whether it’s safe to stop. Night Stop does not allow pickups between stops. It is unavailable in downtown Seattle between Battery Street and South Jackson Street, on the waterfront and on Interstate 5.

Sound Transit says its Night Bus runs about every 30 minutes between the airport and downtown, starting about 15 minutes after the last train. From the Link station, the 597 leaves toward downtown from 12:26 to 4:26 a.m. and toward Lakewood from 1:23 to 5:23 a.m. Saturday service runs later: the last departures are 5:26 a.m. toward downtown and 6:23 a.m. toward Lakewood. Sunday service starts earlier, at 11:26 p.m. toward downtown and 12:23 a.m. toward Lakewood.

You can pick up printed Metro timetables at the Ground Transportation Information Booth.

If the next public bus won’t work with your bags or arrival time, taxis board at the north and south curbs of garage Level 3. They have a $20 minimum fare from SEA. For a shared or private van, cross Skybridge 4 to Premier Airport Shuttle’s kiosk on garage Level 3. Premier serves Seattle, Tacoma, Bellevue, Kent, Everett, Federal Way, Kirkland, Redmond, Lakewood, JBLM, Olympia, Edmonds and Bremerton. It also serves other Greater Puget Sound addresses. Premier says its fares vary by distance, passenger count and whether you choose shared or private service. SeaTac to Everett, for example, costs about $94.60 shared or $199.00 private, subject to availability. Ask there or check its website for your rate. For a reservation, call 800-962-3579 or (206) 244-0011.

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