North Sound

By car

The major highways are I-5, running north-south through Everett to Mount Vernon in Skagit County and to Seattle in King County, and US-2 which begins from Everett and goes east towards Wenatchee through Lake Stevens, Monroe, Sultan and Gold Bar in Snohomish County as it winds its way towards Leavenworth. The notoriously congested I-405 splits off from I-5 at State Route (SR) 525 in Lynnwood in the north to Tukwila in the south, serving Bellevue and the other cities of the Eastside. Going the other way from the I-405/I-5 junction, I-405 becomes SR-525 towards Edmonds. The ferry carries SR-525 from Edmonds to Clinton, where SR-525 continues north towards Keystone through Whidbey Island as a main thoroughfare.

By plane

• Paine Field , (PAE) serves as an airport for Boeing's manufacturing and test flight activities as Boeing Field Everett. It also serves a commercial airport for Alaska Airlines and Kenmore Air.

• Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, (SEA), is still the largest airport in the area with connecting flights to all regions of the world, with especially frequent transpacific routes. Competition is fierce and fares are low on service to the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California.

By boat

• Washington State Ferries (WSF) connect Mukilteo, south of Everett, to Clinton in Whidbey Island. From Edmonds there is another WSF ferry to Kingston in the Kitsap Peninsula. All ferries are for both vehicles and passengers.

By public transit

Community Transit, ☏ +1 425-353-7433, toll-free: +1-800-562-1375. Operates local and regional public transit bus routes in Snohomish County, except only local routes in Everett. Communities within the county served by this operator's routes include Arlington, Edmonds, Everett, Lynnwood, Marysville, Mill Creek, Monroe, Mountlake Terrace, Mukilteo, Snohomish, and Stanwood (updated Jun 2023)

The number of the route also tells you which area of the county it serves:

• Below 100 - Everett only. Buses within the City of Everett are operated by Everett Transit
• 100s - South Snohomish County: Lynnwood, Aurora Village, Bothell, Edmonds, Mukilteo, Mountlake Terrace, Mill Creek/Silver Firs
• 200s - North Snohomish County: Arlington, Marysville, Monroe, Stanwood, Tulalip, Lake Stevens, Gold Bar, Snohomish
• 300s - Reserved for King County Metro routes serving near the King-Snohomish County line in Aurora Village, Bothell, Shoreline and Woodinville
• 400s - Reserved for commuter routes to Seattle. Route 424 between Snohomish, Monroe, Woodinville and Seattle is the only route operating in this category. Other commuter routes numbered in the 400s have been eliminated in favor of Link Line 1.
• 500s - Sound Transit routes operated by Community Transit are 510, 512, 513, 515, 532, 535.
• 900s - Commuter routes from the Link Light Rail 1 Line train in Lynnwood to different places in Snohomish County. They replace the 400s bus routes from Downtown Seattle and the 800s from the U-District & Northgate in Seattle.
• Swift - operates as bus rapid in the area to serve fewer stops (spaced further apart), along the route on frequent schedules. Routes are identified by a color then by numbers.

Sound Transit, toll-free: +1-888-889-6368. Has regional public transit routes including Sounder trains, Link light rail, and express bus in King County (e.g. Bellevue, Federal Way, Kent, Renton, Seattle), Snohomish County (e.g. Everett, Lynnwood) and Pierce County (e.g. Puyallup, Tacoma). (updated Jun 2023)

• Link light rail operates in Seattle, traveling north to Lynnwood and south to Angle Lake via Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on the 1 Line Train. Plans are underway to continue this route from Lynnwood to Everett.
• Sounder commuter rail service, operating weekday rush hours only, connects Seattle to Everett via Edmonds and Mukilteo on the 'N' Line train.

• Sound Transit has many convenient express bus routes that travel South (to Tacoma), East (Redmond, Bellevue), and North (Bothell, Lynnwood). Outside of the immediate Seattle-Bellevue area, many routes operate only during weekday rush hours. Check your schedules in advance, and beware of holiday service cutbacks. All Sound Transit routes have route numbers that are in the 500s.

Island Transit, ☏ +1 360-678-7771. Scheduled bus services on Whidbey Island and Camano Island. Service on Whidbey Island includes to Clinton, Coupeville, Freeland, Greenbank, Langley, Oak Harbor with off island connections to Anacortes. There are intercounty connections to Everett (412) and Mount Vernon (411C, 411W) from Island County (Whidbey Island and Camano Island). Free. (updated Jun 2023)

By car

All but essential for reaching the outermost suburbs and mountains. In addition to the interstates, major routes include:

US Highway 2 begins in Everett and continues east through Lake Stevens, Snohomish, Sultan and Gold Bar in Snohomish County

State Route (SR) 99 runs parallel along the westside of i-5, inking Aurora Village in Shoreline to Lynnwood and Everett

SR-9, parallels along the east side of I-5 from Woodinville through Snohomish and Arlington

SR-525 connects the I-5/405 junction (exit 182 of I-5) to the up to Keystone on Whidbey Island via Mukilteo-Clinton Ferry. From Keystone SR-20 continues back towards I-5 in Burlington via Deception Pass and Anacortes. In the other direction SR-20 goes from Keystone towards Port Townsend via Coupeville-Pt Townsend Ferry

Stanwood-Bryant Rd (SR-532) connects Camano Island and Stanwood to the I-5 corridor at exit 212.

Traffic congestion is a major problem in the Puget Sound area on all freeways and major roads. Avoid traveling during rush hour if you can, particularly along I-5 and 405.