Why Tacoma Belongs on Your Washington State Itinerary

Where Tacoma sits on the map

Tacoma is on Puget Sound about 35 miles south of Seattle and roughly 30 miles north of Olympia, the state capital. It is the natural stop between Seattle and Mount Rainier National Park, and it is on the way if you are heading toward Mount St. Helens, the Columbia River or Portland.

The Point Defiance ferry also links Tacoma to Vashon Island, which is a quieter route toward the Kitsap Peninsula than doubling back through Seattle.

What Tacoma adds that Seattle does not

A compact museum district you can walk in an afternoon. A public shoreline with beaches rather than piers. Working glass studios. A very large forested park at the edge of downtown. Neighborhood restaurant strips where you are eating alongside people who live here.

It also adds slack to a trip. If your Rainier day gets fogged out, Tacoma has an indoor day ready.

How much time to give it

One day covers the waterfront and one museum. Two days covers the museum cluster, Point Defiance and two neighborhood dinners. Three or more days makes sense if you are also driving to Mount Rainier or taking the ferry.

• Half a day: Thea Foss esplanade, Bridge of Glass, one museum
• One day: add Ruston Way and a neighborhood dinner
• Two days: add Point Defiance Park and a second district

Using Tacoma as a base

Tacoma is a workable base for the southern Puget Sound: Seattle is a train ride or a drive away, Mount Rainier's Nisqually Entrance is about two hours, Olympia is under an hour, and Seattle–Tacoma International Airport sits between the two cities. If you are renting a car anyway, basing here usually costs less than downtown Seattle.