Tahlequah Ferry Terminal - Vashon

It 's a short ride from Tacoma to Tahlequah which is located on Vashon Island. Despite the ride not being too terribly lengthy you do have enough time to go up into the ferry and get a good view as long as the weather is clear. The fee may be a bit steep but in the broad scheme of things not too bad. The return trip is free so what you are paying for is more of a round trip. With that in mind in the past we have felt that we should take our time and enjoy Vashon Island without having to rush back to Tacoma and from previous trips over there that isn 't too hard to do. I see some complaints by other reviewers about the ferry staff. I 'm not sure if that is because the other reviewers are more frequent travelers to the island or if it 's something else but I haven 't had any trouble with the ferry staff on the actual boat or at the booths where you get your tickets but I only come to Vashon on average once a year. As I said this is a very short ferry ride... if you want longer ones perhaps the ferries in the San Juan Islands would be something to explore but those require reservations ahead of time so don 't forget that. I also notice... for obvious reasons... loading up on this ferry is easier than the one that goes out north of the island to West Seattle. The line for that West Seattle ferry can be very long... partly because there are a lot more passengers going that way in general and the trip to West Seattle is just a bit longer than this ferry trip back to Tacoma.

I have lived in WA as a teen. It was the very first time riding the ferry to Vashon. The only reason I had to, was for a photoshoot. When exiting at the Tahlequah terminal they didn 't give a lot of direction on when certain rows were supposed to go. I ended up going at the wrong time, and was lambasted by one of the crew members who was extremely irate. I apologized profusely and told them it was my first time riding and that there wasn 't a lot of direction. I understand the importance of safety regulations as my father was in flight standards for the FAA for 30 years. On the way back there were hardly any signs to indicated where to line up. I pulled forward because I was first and proceeded to wait with my lights off from 5pm to when the ferry arrive. I noticed that people were lining up about five hundred yards behind me, so of course I screwed up again. When the agent waived us forward I proceeded slowly. The crew member on the ferry stopped me to ask me if I was the person that has the incident earlier. I said I was, and that it was my first time and I had accidentally broken the rules. He said, oh did you also jump in front of all of those cars? Insinuating that I had cut in line. I told him I had been first and waiting for almost forty minutes. I unknowingly screwed up and spent the rest of my afternoon feeling awful because of two men that took it upon themselves to attack me for simply not understanding the process. I am sure it had nothing to do with me being in a brand new BMW. I am sure the assumption was, Look at this rich bitch that thinks the rules don 't apply to her.

As a regular commuter it never ceases to amaze me how this ferry could make the passage so slow and then make people wait to load the boat, just to end up departing late. Not very good loading also, why put trucks in the wings when they barely fit?

Such a great experience here. When we have people come from out of town we always take them to point defiance and then over to Vashon. It shows people a different side of Seattle life. The ferry is pretty on time, the people working the docks are super friendly, and it is reasonably inexpensive. No matter how many times I take people on this they always come away from it awestruck.

When it comes to views, this place is undoubtedly one of the best, especially when watching the horizon as the sun sets. However, the line of cars waiting to board the ferry can be quite tiresome! The traffic can become overwhelming, and waiting in line can trigger a bit of anxiety. Additionally, the staff here aren't particularly friendly; many seem like irritable aunts and uncles rather than welcoming hosts. Still, since this is the main hub for getting to Fort Defiance, you have to make the best of it and hope for a positive experience.