From Baltimore Airport to Washington D.C.

I've done that numerous times. Best bet is a bus from BWI to a suburban DC train station that will get you to DC, just a couple blocks from the capitol. Quite cheap compared to a long cab ride. Goog/e BWI to DC and the details are in one of posts perhaps 8 entries down: "How to get to....

The answer here by Cheryl G looks good to me..

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100817194910AAHgThO

quoting -
There is a shuttle to the Amtrak station from BWI's lower level, baggage claim area. You can hop a train there and come directly to Union Station in D.C. From there, you'll have lots of options including a bus, taxi or Metro train anywhere in the city. It is safe, comfortable and easy.

I read on another site that amtrak is about $13.00 one way.
Marc may be less expensive, haven't checked it out. Also check which trains run on the weekend or different hours..

When the luggag is all collected, make your way tothe light rail station just adjacent to BWI (the airport you will be landing at). The train is comfy and safe. It will get you all the way into DC at the Penn Station cavern. There you can take the METRO all over DC or take a cab (CAbs in DC are kept at a reasonable rate by Congress so, you can load the whole family.
Where are you going to be staying any idea?

Cabs are the best way in DC because you get to see stuff , the METRO is faster and a bit cheaper but its all underground levels and its kinda easy to get screwed up and turned around (The trains come in at three different levels )


Is this June 2012?
DC is pne of our favorite go-to towns. We often juwst hop a train and stay pover for a weekend a few times a year whenever theres a new art show or some new feature at the AMerican Indian Museum.

You will have a gret time.

Thank you all for your useful replies.

We'll be staying at the Hyatt Arlington. Right across the Potomac.

June, 2011 or June, 2012?

June 2011, in a few weeks.

I have a DC metro app and according to it, your hotel is next to the ROSSLYN METRO station. SHould be a walk in the park.

You must start taking cabs though because of my reason to have you actually see things which would be missed in the METRO.

I dont know whether I mentioned this but the light rail from BWI to DC is called the MARC system.
The station is a shuttle craft ride from the terminal (Its about a half mile or so)

Which reminds me of a favorite DC taxi story. My aunt was a brilliant lady in her medical field but she had a short fuse. She was in town for an event at the old Mayflower hotel, a classic place. She, walking, got hopelessly lost. She flagged down a cab. "The Mayflower. Fast. I will give you a good tip."
"You want to go the Mayflower?"
"Yes," she snarled. "Have you heard of it?"
"Okay," the cabbie replied.
He drove 20 feet down the block, turned right and almost immediately stopped in front of the Mayflower.

The bus is $5 one-way; see the following link for details:
http://www.atlanticcoasttrailways.com/airport.shtml

I've done the BWI to Wash DC trip 2 x and took the MARC light-rail train. It was just fine and taking it was a breeze.

Taking a taxi? Yikes! Too costly!

What's the cost of the MARC light-rail train?
And how much is "a breeze" in minutes?
Thanks in advance.

Heres a site for the MARC system. I would catch the train at Pwerryville so my copsts were about 20 bucks . It should be less from BWI (and as they say, the shuttle is free)
http://www.bwiairport.com/en/travel/ground-transportation/trans/marc

When I was looking at google under Baltimore to DC category, I zipped through the first ten or so links, and one of them said that the MARC was $6.00 - don't have that link right now.

Well, there ya go. I recall taking a cab from BWI to a meeting in L'en Fonte Plaza and it cost me nearly 75 bucks.

Rent a car and drive around town. There is a beltway circling Washington, DC. The Pentagon is not too far away. The capitol is really small. You can cover all the sites in a day. Lincoln Memorial, Capitol Bldg, The White House. You can't just in there and say hi to Obama. There is tours at certain times and the prez might not be there. He is in Europe right now after leaving Ireland his ancestor's homeland.

Ok, I double checked -
http://www.ehow.com/how_2301563_downtown-d_c__-baltimore_washington-international-airport.html

see #3

as of August 2010, the cost to take the Marc to Union Station in DC is $6.00.

from http://www.bwiairport.com/en/travel/ground-transportation/trans/marc

"MARC Trains provide service to the BWI Marshall Rail Station, where free shuttles serve the airport terminal. Shuttle stops are located on the lower level terminal roadway in between door numbers 1 & 2, 8 & 9, 14 & 15, and 17 & 18. Shuttle buses from the BWI Marshall terminal building to the rail station operate every 12 min from 5:00am to 1:00am daily and every 25 min between 1:00am and 5:00am daily. Buses stop adjacent to the rail station garage, directly in front of the rail station. The BWI Rail Station is located one mile from the terminal building. To contact the BWI Marshall Rail Station, please call 410-672-6169

Union Station is a recreation of the old Union Station . It mouldered for half a century and then in the 90's when Amtraks Metro service (Boston, NY, Phila, Baltimore, DC, Richmond corridor) was open for the NE .It is the only profitable leg of Amtraks service lines.
Baezers will love the art deco look ande its right across the way from Constitution Ave where all the museums are. There is a taxi que right in the front of the station to whisk you away to your hotel.

OK folks, I'm back from Washington.

The trip to Washington was a marathon because of a 3+ hours delay in Atlanta (2nd time it happens to me with Delta), so we arrived a BWI at 8 pm in the middle of a thunderstorm.
We took the shuttle, arrived at the (grim and dismal) train station when the water was falling by the buckets... and barely lost the MARC train. We had to wait a not so short while (trains were delayed), but finally made it to the beautiful train station so well described on this thread.
The line for the taxis was loooooong and sloooooow, and we made it to the hotel by 11 pm.

On the way back, instead, it was all easy and swift. The station didn't look so bad with daylight. All in all, a blessing, taking into account that I am the type of person who wants to arrive early at airports (always thinking of possible problems delaying our arrival or procedure) and my wife is the type of person who hates waiting at airports, so we usually compromise.
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As for transportation inside Washington, your tips were also useful. Taxis aren't that expensive, the bus lets you see the city, and the Metro is good when the station is one block from your hotel. We used all 3 means (I totally dropped the never-cherished idea of renting a car when I noticed the storm... thankfully, traffic in DC is almost as bad as in Mexico City, parking is difficult and the hotel charged 17 dollars a day for parking).

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If I had had a few more days, I would probably go and visit RJB, who wasn't THAT far away, but I didn't have them.

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That you all for your advise. All the answers were useful and valuable to me. I'll choose a "best" one just for kicks.

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And right after this post, a few personal impressions on Washington D.C

Well, I was there at the station in '87. I liked it, but then I would.

Baez, good to hear.
Me, I think RJB should go visit you.