By Public Transit
Metro Transit (http://metro.kingcounty.gov/) electric, hybrid, and diesel city buses actually works pretty well. The web trip planner (http://tripplanner.kingco...) is straightforward and accurate, as long as your bus is on time. Using Google Maps' trip planner works well too, but fare information can sometimes be incorrect. During rush hours M-F 6-9AM and 3-6PM, adult bus fares are $2.50 within the city limits. All other times of day and weekends adult bus fare is $2.25. The youth fare is always $1.25.
Pay exact fare as drivers carry no change. You can get a free paper transfer from one Metro bus to another Metro bus, but the only way to transfer for free between transit agencies is with an ORCA card, which costs $5.00 in addition to the money you put on it, available at all Link Light Rail and Sounder stations or online Click on "Get a card".
The Ride Free Area has been discontinued starting from September 29, 2012. A fare is required on all buses and should always be paid while boarding the bus. Board at the front and exit at the back.
When traveling to destinations outside of the downtown core, you should make sure to ask the drivers in Metro buses with green and white "EXPRESS" signs in their windows and those whose route signs say "VIA EXPRESS" if they are going to your destination. Some of these express routes are intended for regular commuters traveling between residential neighborhoods and downtown and make few or no stops between, but many may be useful for getting to destinations such as the University District, West Seattle, and Ballard.
Sound Transit (http://www.soundtransit.org) buses have many convenient express routes that travel South to Tacoma, East Redmond, Bellevue, and North Bothell, Everett. Some of these buses run during only rush hours, but most, including the routes to the destinations mentioned above, run all day. Check the schedule to make sure. The fare schedule is slightly different than Metro, with no off-peak discount: $2.50 all for trips within King County, and $3.50 for trips crossing the county line.
Link Light Rail (http://www.soundtransit.o...) operates between Westlake Center downtown and Sea-Tac Airport, running through South Seattle and Tukwila. Fares are $2.00—$2.75 depending on how far you travel; ticket machines are located at all stations, and the tickets must be retained for the duration of your trip. Unlike the buses, note that there is there is no free ride zone for trains in the downtown tunnel.
Sound Transit also operates a commuter rail service called the Sounder (http://www.soundtransit.o...) between Seattle-Tacoma and Seattle-Everett. However, the Sounder is limited mostly to rush hour service on the weekdays, with some service for special events like Seahawks games.
In Seattle, there is also the South Lake Union Streetcar (http://www.seattlestreetc...), which runs between Downtown and South Lake Union, the Seattle Center Monorail (http://www.seattlemonorai...), which makes a quick connection between Downtown and the Seattle Center, home to the Space Needle, and a passenger ferry, the King County Water Taxi (http://www.kingcounty.gov...), which offers a quick connection between Downtown at Pier 55 and West Seattle, at Seacrest Park near Alki. The water taxi also offers beautiful views of Downtown, the Olympic Mountains, and much of the city.
If you need any help, go to the Customer Stop at Westlake Station in the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel, or ask a local. Seattlelites are always eager to help and may even offer help if they just see you looking at a tourist map!
Navigating
Seattle's street designations make sense once you understand them but, if you don't understand them, you can end up many miles away from your destination.
North-South streets are labeled "Avenues" while East-West streets are labeled "Streets". The city is roughly divided into a 3 by 3 grid with 7 directional sectors E, SW, W, S, N, NE, & NW Street addresses are written with the sector before the name, e.g. NE 45th Street or NE 45th. Avenue addresses are written with the sector after the name, e.g. 45th Avenue NE or 45th NE.
One way to remember avenues: University Way NE, the main street through the city's University District neighborhood is called "The Ave" by the locals, and all avenues run north-south. But, don't confuse University Way with University Ave; they're two completely different streets!
"Ways" are long diagonals, "Drives" are long, circuitous routes, "Courts" are one block long.
There are four major exceptions:
Downtown streets and avenues have no directional designation.
There is no SE section. Instead, the S section is extra wide.
East of downtown, avenues have no directional designation streets are preceded by 'E'.
North of downtown between Denny Way and the ship canal, streets have no directional designation, but avenues are followed by 'N'.
The twelve streets in the central business district are named as six first-letter pairs south to north: Jefferson, James, Cherry, Columbia, Marion, Madison, Spring, Seneca, University, Union, Pike, Pine. One way to remember the order of the street pairs is with the mnemonic "Jesus Christ Made Seattle Under Protest."
By car
Unlike some other American cities, visitors should not be intimidated by the thought of navigating Seattle by car. While rush-hour traffic can be quite frustrating especially on the freeways, the city's streets and roadways are otherwise quite hospitable. On weekends, you can often rent cars at locations throughout the city for well under $20/day.
Be mindful of where you park because parking laws are enforced and the fines can be hefty! A parking ticket can be in excess of $35 for going overtime in a 2-hour zone.
By bike
Bicycling is better than in most cities, except for the damp roads, frequent rain and hills, so you may wish to pick up some raingear. Some major roads in Seattle have properly maintained bicycle lanes. Bicycle usage is increasing significantly since the early 2000s and the car drivers are perhaps a bit more accustomed to bicycles than in some other major cities.
You can pick up a free Seattle Bike Map as well as other local city and county bike maps at the Seattle BikeStation, 311 3rd Ave S between Main St & S Jackson St almost next door to the train station. They also give suggestions on how to bicycle where you are going and how to do it safely.
Bicycle transportation in the greater part of Seattle is facilitated further by the Burke-Gilman Trail (http://www.kingcounty.gov...). This is a paved walking/jogging/cycling trail that winds its way from the north end of Lake Washington, down around the University of Washington, then west towards Ballard. The trail is on an old railroad right-of-way, so it maintains a very consistent elevation and is excellent for commuting or a casual day's touring. Myrtle Edwards path is on the sound, starting at the north end of downtown and continuing for the most part all of the way to the Ship Canal Locks. It is much more scenic than the Burke and more peaceful as it does not intersect with any roads. It has gorgeous views of the Olympics and Mt. Rainier, as well.
All Metro buses are equipped to carry three bicycles (http://transit.metrokc.go...) on racks on the front, at no extra charge.