DC folks - travel advice?

Unless you have a buddy who can pick you up, probably not by much. And add the extra time it takes to get back and forth and it's a pisser. I've stayed at the Capital Hilton several times. It's 15 minutes or less from National Airport.

And yeah, I know that they renamed the airport. A journalist ought be be able to see through a PR trick.

 

Looks like the Super Shuttle (www.supershuttle.com) will do shared ride van service for $37 from BWI, if you have someone else to ride with you. A couple of weeks ago I flew into Dulles and Super Shuttle worked out well.

 

I went the Super Shuttle route from BWI into DC and had no problems. Cheap and effective. You share the ride with others who sign up; you don't need someone with you. From where I'm at, flight options into Dulles or Reagan are way more than from BWI, and involve bad times and connections.

 

I'm headed down with the family on Friday. Just an overnight trip to see the Cherry Blossom Parade and my stepsister, then headed back Saturday evening. Staying near a Metro station, so at least we don't have to drive into D.C.

 

Super Shuttle has a reputation for not being reliable. It's fine when you leave from the airport (although they might put you in a van with a lot of people going to places nowhere near your destination), but when you need pick-up to go back to the airport, all bets are off. They usually want to pick you up something like 4 hours before your flight and they don't always show up.

 

When I lived in Alabama, we came home to visit once and flew into BWI because it was cheaper. After going through that, I found that I'd be more than willing to pay the extra cash to fly into DC. Pain in the ass.

 

I've never had a problem getting a reasonable fare into DCA, as long as I'm willing to fly US Scareways. You absolutely can't beat the convenience of having the Metro right there.

 

I fly out of BWI all the time and I live literally one metro stop from DCA. If you aren't coming in on a weekday, the cheapest option, by far, is to take the B30 MetroBus from BWI airport (there are two or three pickup spots outside of the terminals). The B30 bus takes you directly to the Greenbelt Metro station for $6. From there, you get on the Green line of the WMATA Metro. Depending on what time/day you go, this part will run you from approximately 2-5 bucks. If you are coming in on a weekday during operating hours, take the free shuttle bus and catch the MARC train to Union Station, which costs between $6-9.

 

Yeah. National pummels Dulles for me personally just in convienence. I can't remember the last time I flew out of Dulles. Has to have been 5 years or so at least.