5 Things to Pack for your Trip to Seattle

Packing can be a challenge, no matter your destination!  Great news, Seattle is one of the easiest locales to plan for.  Our weather is mild, you can count on encountering rain, and the Seattle dress code is casual, which means the ball gown can stay in the closet!

Whether you’re coming to town for vacation or business, packing for your Seattle trip is a major factor on how enjoyable your stay will be.

First, check the weather forecast a few days before you travel.  While our climate is mild and nine months of the year your wardrobe may not change, there is a week or so in the winter where snow threatens (sometimes it falls, most times it doesn’t) and our summers are increasingly warm in late July and August.

  • Since Seattle can threaten rain, no matter the month, be sure to pack a rain resistant jacket.  A hooded is your best bet (more on that later).
  • Consider layers, versus bunky sweaters.  Downtown can be cool, with breezes coming off Elliott Bay, then heat up in the afternoon, or when the breeze dies down or the sun peeks out from the clouds. Its more comfortable to be able to peel off, or add, thin layers as you need. Fleece makes a great warmth layer directly under that rain resistant shell. This actually eases the effort of packing a suitcase for Seattle, as those thinner layers are much easier to deal with.
  • Our condos are in awesome locations where Seattle’s famous sites are close at hand.  Also, once you get a grip on the parking situation in downtown Seattle, you won’t WANT to move the rental car, LOL.  Comfortable walking shoes are a must.  Bring shoes that are water friendly, in case you splash through some puddles!
  • Dark wash jeans will get you into all but the fanciest of restaurants in this city.  Tie-required establishments number less than ten in the entire city.   Seattle’s famously casual dress code means that means you can dress as swanky, or (almost) as casual as you want, and still enjoy Seattle’s fabulous food and arts scenes.
  • Sunglasses are a must.  What, you say?  You’ve just prepped me for rain being possible every month of the year!  Yes, true.  But Seattle has often led the nation in sunglass purchases per capita, and boy they get used!

Why are sunglasses so important in our rain-filled climate?  Two main reasons, in my opinion.  We do tend to lose them. Frequently.  There is a period of time at the end of winter where it does feel like we may never see the sun again.   So, when it does reappear, we blink like moles and can’t remember for the life of us, where we last saw our sunglasses.

The other reason, and more applicable to you, our guest; sun glinting off wet pavement and directly into your eyeball HURTS. Save yourself, and bring your shades.

One Seattle Have-Not (Leave This at Home):

Don’t bother with an umbrella.  Yes, seriously.

Seattle is known for its rain, so I realize that this feels counter-intuitive.  But what is sometimes not mentioned is that Seattle, particularly downtown Seattle, can be on the breezy side.

Quite often this breezy climate is just enough to drive the rain on you, underneath your umbrella.  Occasionally, this breeze becomes rambunctious enough to actually cause havoc, and flip your umbrella inside out.  This is the main reason why the first point, above, is a rain jacket with a hood.

Also, if you just can’t live without an umbrella, we provide not one, but two, in every single one of our condos!

Packing your suitcase for Seattle is easy, and I hope the information provided above will make trip-prep at home a piece of cake!

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