Summer in Puget Sound means that the ferry lines get longer. The Washington State Department of Transportation changed to a summer schedule on June 14th to help accommodate the additional travelers for the season. For the Mukilteo-Clinton run to and from Whidbey Island, the regular ferry runs every half an hour. In the summer a couple of runs after at midnight are added. On a weekend ferry lines can easily be a two to three hour wait with a line a mile and a half beyond the ferry holding dock. For the upcoming Independence Day holiday the lines will likely begin Thursday mid-afternoon from the Mukilteo side.
The Mukilteo-Clinton run has consistently been one of the few ferry runs that runs in the black. The run is currently served by the M/V Kittitas and the M/V Tokitae that can carry 124 and 141 vehicles respectively. If you're in the line every half an hour you are 124 to 141 vehicles closer to boarding.
"Island Time" begins once you get in that line. Good advice is to just chill and wait along with everyone else knowing that your rest and recreation will begin when you get on that ferry.
