When I solo traveled to Seattle back in November 2023, I was on a mission to budget travel. I wanted to visit Seattle as a birthday trip to myself, but I didn’t want to break the bank doing so. In this post, I’m going to show you my budget breakdown for Seattle.
To understand why my breakdown is the way it is, I’d have to briefly explain the type of traveler I am. I love to solo travel, for sure! On the same hand, I also love to budget travel. However, I’d classify myself as a mid-tier budget traveler.
This means finding cheap flights, accommodation, and other means to stay within the budget I’ve set for myself. At the same time, this leaves me a bit of wiggle room for spending a bit more on excursions, activities, tours, and other things that’ll make the trip more memorable and fun!
So, traveling to Seattle wasn’t going to be any different for me. I wanted to budget out certain things while splurging a bit on activities and tours. All while trying to stay within the budget I set for myself at the time.
Related Post: 4 Day Solo Trip Itinerary to Seattle, Washington
Given budget vs. Actual budget
When I’m doing research and creating a rough itinerary of a solo trip, I create a budget based off the information and numbers I’ve researched.
I’ll research the general cost of visas/travel authorization documents, flights, food, transportation, tours, activities, museums, etc. That way, I can give myself budget. This budget can change, as the travel world for the past few years has been changing. But having a rough idea for a budget helps me see how much I’d like to spend on a trip.
After all my research and creating a rough itinerary of what I’d be doing in Seattle, I gave myself a budget of $800 for a 4-day trip solo trip. The actual cost of this 4-day trip turned out to be $1,029.88.
I went over budget by a couple hundred dollars, but it wasn’t overall that expensive of a trip.
Budget breakdown
Let’s get into the actual budget breakdown of how much everything cost.
Plane tickets: $167.81 – direct, roundtrip tickets I found on Daily Drop Pro. LOVE this app for sending me alerts on cheap flights, both domestically and internationally.
Hostel: $177.66 ($24.21 deposit, $153.45 upon arrival) – 3 nights at The Green Tortoise Hostel.
Activities/Tours: $355.11 – I always have a high budget when it comes to activities and tours. I love doing a variety of different tours, so the cost adds. But, I think it’s totally worth it every time!
- Seattle underground Walking Tour: $29.03
- Seattle Coffee Culture Tour: $59
- Seattle Terrors and Ghost Tour: $25.60
- Space Needle and Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum: $62.48
- Tour and Hike in Mt. Rainier National Park: $179
Now, some of these tours you can definitely do on your own. You can create your own coffee tour or download apps where you do your own walking tour for free! This is just a personal preference, but I enjoy going on tours so others who are more knowledgeable about the location can better inform me. I prefer that human interaction between a tour guide/leader and the group. It makes the tour and trip overall very intimate, memorable, and engaging.
Especially when I’m solo traveling, joining group tours is also a great way to meet other travelers! There have been many times where I’ve gone on a tour in a location and ended up talking to or befriending someone. I’ve engaged with other groups before but overall I tend to meet and talk with other solo travelers. I met a fellow solo traveler on the Mt. Rainier Tour here and not only did we hit it off and help each other take pictures and videos for social media, but we’ve met up in Las Vegas a couple times and we’re going to Tanzania and Nigeria together! You never know who you’ll meet and what it’ll turn into.
It’s these two primary reasons as to why I pay the extra money to do these tours. I’ve met so many amazing people and have learned so much about an area that I don’t think I would have on my own. But again, that’s just a personal preference and if you’re looking to save some money, then you can definitely do or create your own walking tour.
Related Post: Green Tortoise Hostel in Seattle: Is this the place to stay?
Food: $211.03 – These prices included tips as well.
- Cheesecake Factory: $49.50
- Bacco Café: $35.57
- Navy Strength: $20.19
- Ludi’s: $23.15
- Target dinner and dessert: $7.36
- Moore Coffee Shop: $18.96
- Cheesecake Factory: $30
Don’t judge me, I ate at the Cheesecake Factory a lot. There are a lot of restaurant options in Seattle. However, at the time of my trip, some of them were only open during certain times of the day or they were closed. This trip was back in 2023, three years after the pandemic. So, that could be the reason why there was very limited restaurant openings but I’m not entirely sure.
This is primary reason why I went to either smaller cafes in the early morning or the Cheesecake Factory. Which also added to the high cost of my food budget. But that’s ok. Maybe next time when I visit, I’ll plan better and make reservations to the restaurants that peak my interest.
Transportation: $68.54 – the bulk of this price was my Uber from the airport to the hostel. Now, I could’ve taken the train, which is substantially cheaper. However, because my flight was late at night, took about 5-6 hours, plus the time difference, taking public transportation (that’s unfamiliar to me) upon landing was not what I wanted to do.
I’m not opposed to taking public transportation. However, there are times where you just want to get to your accommodation quickly and effortlessly. This was one of those times.
Miscellaneous: $117.77 – basically all the extra, little things that didn’t fit into the other categories. Souvenirs, tips from the tours, snacks, etc.
Grand total: $1,029.88
Related Post: Is Seattle worth the visit? My honest thoughts on visiting Seattle
There you have it! That’s the budget breakdown for my 4 days in Seattle, Washington. Those tours are what did me in for sure, in terms of pricing. But like I said, the tours and activities I chose to do will always be worth the price for me. I intentionally try to budget other aspects of my trip so I can splurge a bit on things like tours and activities.
If you’re visiting Seattle for only a few days and are looking to do similar things, you can expect to pay this much or a similar price for your whole trip. Or, if you’re trying to spend a bit less, then you can definitely do your own walking tours, exploring, and find cheaper options for meals.
The choice is yours. Hopefully, this budget breakdown gives you a reference on what to expect to pay for a 4 day trip to Seattle!