That's plenty of time to see all the various ecosystems of the park. If you want to hike around in the high country, or visit Rainier or other equally beautiful parts of the Cascades, then definitely try to come in July at the earliest. If you're fit hikers and want to do an all-day hike, then the High Divide - 7 Lakes Basin loop is a great choice. That's definitely a July hike. Check out wta.org for more hike suggestions, and consider posing questions/doing research at NW Hikers as well.

The classic short trip to ONP is some combination of Hurricane Ridge/a beach/Hoh Rainforest. You'll have more time so definitely go deeper than that. Forks is a good gateway to the Hoh and some coastal areas but is a pretty run down place with not much to do.

Port Angeles area will have most lodging options and is a good town to stay in but it's much closer to the Hurricane Ridge area and the northern Olympics than to the coast (check out Grand Ridge and Royal Basin for a great long hikes in the northern Olys). Just check out drive times from there to places you wanna visit.

Fly into SeaTac and consider taking the ferry from Seattle or Edmonds to get across the sound to add some novelty to the journey, but you can also just drive around through Tacoma.

I vacationed there a few weeks ago. I would rent a car from Turo - that's what I did and it was awesome. I stayed in the Hoh Valley Cabins in the Hoh Rainforest, and they were lovely. The owner is an extremely nice man whose family has owned the land for about a century. It's in a great central location, as well. It was also extremely affordable. His sister owns the little souvenir shop nearby. They both had so much amazing history to share. I would stay away from Hall of Moss/Spruce Trail. Everyone flocks there and you can definitely tell in the landscape that there is an overabundance of people. That was the only hike I didn't care for. Go for less popular areas. Download the Alltrails app if you haven't - it was absolutely fundamental to my trip. My fave hike was Sam's Loop Trail. We also did the hike to Third Beach - stunning. The Sol Duc Loop is gorgeous and has two waterfalls. We did the Hoh River Trail to Mineral Falls. Also beautiful with several river access points. Went to Lake Crescent - the turquoise water was incredible and the hike to Devil's Punchbowl has some neat historical significance. On our last day, we went up to Anacortes, caught an amazing hour-long ferry ride to the San Juan Islands. We arrived in Friday Harbor to go on an adventure whale watching tour. We went with Western Prince as they have small, fast boats. We saw minke whales, stellar sea lions, harbor seals, and bald eagles. It was very exciting! Forks is a cute little town and has the only grocery shopping between Aberdeen and Port Angeles. Let me know if you have any questions!

Get a cabin at Sol Duc Hot Springs (Google it). Beautiful area with unlimited hiking opportunities. If you also go to the Hoh rainforest you’ll go through Forks. Don’t go to Forks just to see Forks and don’t go to the ocean there (La Push). I like Pt. Townsend, nice historic touristy downtown on the water, and historic Fort Worden. Worth a day trip in my opinion if you’re into that. You’ll be flying into Seattle, whether they have hoppers to Port Angeles I don’t know. Olympic Peninsula resident, for what it’s worth.

The ONP is HUGE! Unlike many other national parks (we've been to 32) there is no way to drive through the middle of the park, as there is a mountain range there. So there is no central lodge or place from which to see the entire park.

As such, I would suggest driving around the park and staying in several different places over the course of your trip.

Day 1: Fly into SeaTac airport. Drive south to Tacoma. Spend two nights in Tacoma (I recommend the McMenamin's Elk's Lodge).

Day 2: Drive EAST and visit Mt. Rainier NP. Mt Rainier is much smaller and can be seen in a day or two. Go early, check out the peak at Sunrise at sunrise, and get in a good hike.

Day 3-4: Bid farewell to Tacoma and drive across the Tacoma Narrows bridge. Your destination: Lake Quinault. This is one of the major rainforested areas of the park, and home to some of the biggest trees, almost as large as the redwoods in California. There is a terrific drive up a river through the rainforest, and some amazing hikes. I'd recommend the Quinault Lodge.

Day 5: West to 101, then north to Kalaloch. This is a huge part of the Washington coast that is protected within the park. Pristine and natural coastlines. Here you'll find Kalaloch Lodge, which has cabins overlooking the coast from a bluff.

Day 6: Forks. Bleh. But the Hoh rainforest is here, and perhaps the best short hikes in America through a forest that seems ripped from a fantasy novel.

Day 7: North to Lake Crescent, staying in one of the main towns in the area: Sequim, Port Angeles or Port Townsend. I prefer port Townsend, and would recommend staying in the historic officer's house at Fort Flageler state park, which has a great beach into the strait, and some really interesting hikes through old WW2 era naval battlements. From here, drive up to Hurricane Ridge for spectacular views and more hiking.

Day 8: Iconic ferry ride back to Seattle (or better, Edmonds) in the morning. Then either explore Seattle a bit or head down to the airport.

There's a few other points of interest you can add in, like the Sol Duc hot springs, Port Gamble, the San Juan islands, whale watching or even the third national park in the Area, the North Cascades; they are all within reach. But this will give you a pretty thorough ONP trip.

Good luck!

I don't think taking a shuttle or a flight from SeaTac makes any sense. They'll need a car for all of their trip.

I agree, just answering the question. Take the ferry over to Bainbridge and drive north.

Sea Tac to Forks about 3 &1/2 hours in your rental car. Sea Tac to Paradise/Mt. Rainer 2 hrs. Forks to Rainier 5 hrs. Alpine regions in both Cascade and Olympics still have snow until mid July usually. Get a tide table for walking west coast beaches. Those not wanting to hike the Wilderness Beaches of the OP should bring ice axes, crampons and snow camping equipment for their early season alpine expedition.