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Voykit pocket guide · United States
Edmonds
Give Edmonds one full day plus a night if you want the waterfront at dusk; skip it as a base and sleep in Seattle unless you are catching the Kingston ferry.
Edmonds is a small Puget Sound city 30 minutes north of Seattle by train, with a walkable downtown that faces the water, a busy ferry terminal and a shore dive park. It is a half-day to one-day stop, not a base: most travellers come for the waterfront, the Saturday market and the Cascadia Art Museum, then continue north or take the ferry to Kingston.
- Country
- United States
- Best months
- May–Sep
- Avoid
- Nov–Mar (wet, grey, short days)
- Stay
- 1 night
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- USD
- Money
- Currency is the US dollar (USD, $). Cards and phone payments work almost everywhere; carry a little cash for tips and small vendors.
- Daily spend
- Budget $60–100 excl. bed · Mid $100–180 excl. bed · High $180+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile cover the country; prepaid SIMs at their stores and Walmart/Target (passport required), or an eSIM before you fly.
- Emergency
- Police, fire, ambulance 911
- Plugs
- Types A, B · 120 V · 60 Hz · Chargers are dual-voltage; hair dryers and straighteners from 230 V countries need a converter.
- Tipping
- Sit-down restaurant: 18–22% of the pre-tax bill.; Bar: US$1–2 per drink or 20% of the tab.; Taxi / ride-hailing: 15–20%, in the app.; Hotel housekeeping: US$3–5 a night.; Porter / valet: US$2–5 per bag or car.; Tour guide: US$10–20 per person for a day tour.; Counter service / tablet prompts: Optional; 0–15%.
- Water
- Tap water is drinkable nearly everywhere; boil or treat water from streams in parks.
- Toilets
- Free public toilets are scarce in big cities; use cafés, department stores, libraries, stations. Rest areas on highways are free.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee | $4–6 |
| Bistro main course | $10–25 |
| Beer, draught at a brewpub | $7–9 |
| Cascadia Art Museum entry, adult | $10 |
| Edmonds Historical Museum, suggested donation | $2 adults / $1 students |
| Rideshare, downtown to Lynnwood Transit Center | $15–25 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- SEA · Seattle–Tacoma International
- About 45–60 min north by car; Link light rail to Lynnwood then bus 909, or the Dungeness Line bus from the airport
- PAE · Snohomish County Airport (Paine Field), Everett
- Smaller field north of Edmonds; limited routes, check before booking
Typical fares
- Edmonds → Kingston ferry, walk-on
- about $11.35 round trip, 30 min
- Edmonds → Seattle, Amtrak Cascades
- about $15 one way, 30 min (check)
- Community Transit local bus
- about $2.75, exact fare or ORCA card (check)
Get around
Downtown is walkable end to end in about 15 minutes. Community Transit buses (102, 130, 166, 909) link the ferry terminal and Edmonds station to Lynnwood Transit Center, where you change to Link light rail for Seattle and the airport. Amtrak Cascades and the Sounder commuter train stop at Edmonds station on Railroad Ave. A car helps for the Highway 99 motels and day trips.
See and do
Known for
- Edmonds ferry terminal to Kingston
- Edmonds Underwater Park shore diving
- Cascadia Art Museum
- Rick Steves Travel Center
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Kingston and the Kitsap Peninsula | Washington State Ferries from Edmonds Terminal, 199 Sunset Ave S | About 30 min crossing, plus waiting |
| Seattle | Amtrak Cascades or Sounder from Edmonds station, or bus 909 to Link light rail | About 30–45 min by train |
| Everett | Amtrak Cascades or Sounder north from Edmonds station | About 20–30 min |
| Mukilteo | Sounder train or a short drive north on SR-525 | About 20 min |
| Lynnwood | Community Transit bus 102 or 130 to Lynnwood Transit Center | About 25–35 min |
Sleep
- Downtown / waterfront (Main St and Sunset Ave)
- Walk to the ferry, the dive park and every restaurant listed here. Few beds: one harbour hotel plus small inns, so book ahead in summer.
- Highway 99 strip (south and east)
- Cheaper motels with parking, 5–10 min drive from downtown; you need a car or a bus for everything.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Where is the ferry terminal? | Where is the ferry terminal? |
| One adult, walk-on, please | One adult, walk-on, please |
| Is this seat taken? | Is this seat taken? |
| Can I pay by card? | Can I pay by card? |
| Where is the restroom? | Where is the restroom? |
| Thanks, have a good one | Thanks, have a good one |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake and 'hi, how are you?' — reply 'good, thanks'; avoid: Treating the question as a real health enquiry
- Restaurants: Tip 18–22% and wait for the check; avoid: Leaving without tipping
- Personal space: Keep an arm's length in queues; avoid: Standing close to strangers
- Politics and religion: Listen more than you speak; avoid: Opening with hot-button topics
- Smoking: Smoke only in marked areas; avoid: Smoking near doors or in parks where banned
Scams and watch-outs
- Ferry vehicle lines back up for hours on summer weekends: walk on, or arrive very early.
- Puget Sound is cold year-round (roughly 8–12 °C): shore diving needs a drysuit and a buddy.
- Downtown parking near the ferry is tight on sunny weekends and market days.
- Winter days are dark by about 16:30 and rain is frequent from October to April.
Edmonds is a low-crime small city and safe to walk downtown after dark. The real risks are cold water at the dive park, wet roads in winter and long ferry queues on summer weekends.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Edmonds yet. Suggested stay: 1 night. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Edmonds ferry terminal to Kingston
- Edmonds Underwater Park shore diving
- Cascadia Art Museum
- Rick Steves Travel Center
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- City of Edmonds: www.edmondswa.gov/
- Washington State Ferries: wsdot.wa.gov/travel/washington-state-ferries
- Amtrak — Edmonds station: www.amtrak.com/stations/edm
- Community Transit: www.communitytransit.org/
- Cascadia Art Museum: www.cascadiaartmuseum.org/
- Wikivoyage: Edmonds, revision 5276329 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5276329
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Edmonds
To this address, please
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
- Police, fire, ambulance911
No embassies in Edmonds. Consulates-general are in Seattle; national embassies are in Washington, DC.
Tipping is expected: 18–22% at sit-down restaurants, $1–2 a drink, 15–20% for taxis and rideshares.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/edmonds). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.