Venue
TockWorld 8 will take place in the Seattle area, hosted by Microsoft on their Redmond campus. Talks will be at the “Mixer,” part of the Microsoft Commons.
Getting there
By Air
The Seattle area is served by Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), with direct flights to most major airports in North America as well as connections to Europe, Asia and Central and South America.
SeaTac is approximately 15 miles from downtown Seattle and 20 miles from Microsoft.
Other Airport Options
Other major airports within a reasonable drive or train include Portland International Airport and Vancouver International Airport.
King County International Airport is a smaller airport in Seattle with commercial flights to/from the San Juan Islands; Victoria, BC; Portland; and Bellingham.
There are a number of seaplane bases on Lake Union and Lake Washington with commercial flights to the San Juan Island and throughout British Columbia.
By Train
Amtrak Cascades runs from Vancouver, BC via Seattle down the Washington State and Oregon to Eugene.
Amtrak Coast Starlight runs between Los Angeles and Seattle through Santa Barbara, the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento and Portland.
By Car
The Seattle area is on the I-5 corridor—approximately a 2.5 hour driver from Vancouver, BC and a 3 hour drive from Portland—and the I-90 corridor connecting Spokane, Bozeman, Minneapolis, Chicago, Clevland, Buffalo, and Rochester.
Local Transportation
Public Transit
Microsoft Commons is across a footbridge from the Redmond Technology Station.
Light rail line number 2 runs from Bellevue via the Redmond Technology Station to downtown Redmond. A 14 minute ride downtown Bellevue hotels.
The sound transit system busses are quite efficient and a variety of busses connect Redmond Technology Station to Seattle and the eastside:
- From Downtown Seattle: ST 545 in 22 minutes
- From University of Washington: ST 542 in 17 minutes
Bike
The Seattle area has an extensive bike trail network along with well marked and often separated bike lanes. Weather in September is typically perfect for cycling—mostly sunny with mild temperatures.
Microsoft is on the SR 520 bicycle trail, making it conveniently accessible from many parts of Seattle and the eastside (Bothell, Redmond, Bellevue).
Some representative routes:
- From the McMenamins hotel in Bothell (11.5 miles, 1 hour)
- From the the Fremont neighborhood (12.5 miles, 1 hour 15 minutes)
Seattle area busses and light rail have bike racks, and many parts of the area are even more accessible by a bike+bus combination.
Parking
There is underground parking beneath the conference venue.
Where to Stay
There are a variety of hotel options in the area.
Near Microsoft
Downtown Seattle
- Hyatt Regency Seattle, the RustConf hotel.
- The Weston Seattle
- Inn at the Market