samejia

I'm thinking of heading down to DC for a baseball game on Saturday. Given how awful the drive is during the holiday weekend, I'm thinking of taking the bus. But, since the bus will be sitting in the same awful traffic, it could be better to drive. Has anyone taken Bolt, Mega and Vamoose on a holiday weekend? Thinking of leaving early Saturday morning and early Monday for the return home.

I called Vamoose to ask how much extra time it typically takes and was told could be 6 hours. I'm thinking much longer than that!!

mclaurie

What about the train?

tchoiniere

I was just going to ask about Amtrak as well. No traffic concerns there

nyer

I assume that if you're looking at these bus companies, you're not interested in the much greater expense of the train.

How early Saturday morning? The biggest traffic will be getting out of Manhattan and then the traffic that's headed toward the Jersey shore.
If you leave early enough, the first part will be OK. Once you're past the turnpike exit that leads to the Garden State Parkway, the traffic shouldn't be too bad.Up to 6 hours seems like a reasonable guesstimate.

Monday---what time? There will be steady traffic the whole way, but the biggest jams will be again shore returnees plus the entrances into Manhattan. Midday should be better than very late in the day

samejia

Yes, don't want the extra expense of Amtrak since there are 3 of us. My husband is totally against taking the train into NYC and then going on a bus. I actually live in NJ so I was thinking of leaving around 8am. Hoping the Turnpike merge wouldn't be so bad around 8:30 but have no idea what to expect further south. I haven't driven down to DC during a holiday weekend in years. Hoping to head back up by 9am on Monday. Depending on the traffic further south, that should get be back up early enough before people start leaving the shore and Great Adventure but then since I haven't driven this in a long time on a holiday, I really don't know what to expect.

nyer

Considering that leaving Manhattan accounts for some of the most frustrating traffic and you're already in Jersey, driving seems like the most sensible method to me. I agree that the bus option would get you the same traffic as a car plus you'd be stuck with the driver's choice of routes, plus the added time to and from Manhattan. If you can leave even earlier like 7:30 or 8:00 you'll miss a lot of the shore traffic. There will be DC traffic, but Sauturday shouldn't be much worse than any other summer day.

Hoilday traffic? Expect anything. Some roads move amazingly quickly, but weather(good and bad) and accidents can throw anything into a loop.

What time is the baseball game in DC? Would you be parking at the stadium or at your hotel?

MikeT

Don't you have to go into NY to get the express bus?

samejia

Nyer, te game starts at 4:10pm. We'll be parking at the stadium since we're staying at a relative's who lives out near Dulles. Plan on driving right into DC. I was planning on leaving my house at 8am and getting to the merge by 8:30. Live by exit 10.

MikeT, I agree this is confusing. I started this thread with a bus question. But after I posted it, my husband said he wouldn't take the bus at all. I was thinking of taking the train into Penn Station and the bus leaves from there so it would have been simple. I'm very close to the train so it made sense to me!!

nyer

Summer holiday weekends are all about beach traffic and the crowded immediate entrances to NYC. You shouldn't have major problems with either of those.

Leaving from near exit 10 on the turnpike cuts out almost an hour of the NYC to DC trip, so I would just plan on leaving early and getting to DC well ahead of game time.

internetwiz

Make sure you figure out the parking situation for the stadium. Parking is at a premium and normally you can't park in the nearby (dangerous) neighborhoods for ballgames anyway. Granted this could all be different given it's a holiday, but a car could be a liability for you. Your alternative is to park at a metro station near your relatives (or one of the ones in Maryland - Greenbelt would be best since the stadium is on the green line), but those lots could be full too.

internetwiz

One other thing I forgot to mention, check out busjunction.com as it consolidates all the different bus companies. Vamoose and Tripper Bus go into Rosslyn, which would be convenient if your Dulles-area relatives need to pick you up. Or better yet, you could take the 5A bus from Rossly to Dulles.

kayd

I doubt there's anything "dangerous" about the ballpark neighborhood on a summer afternoon with 30-40,000 baseball fans coming and going. Parking is severely limited, though.

internetwiz

kayd, I can see Nationals Park from my office -- and I don't work at the Navy Yard; I work in SW on the other side of South Capitol Street. Even if parking is legal in the neighborhoods, I wouldn't park there at night. And with the crowds going to the Mall, traffic in DC will be a nightmare anyway. I'd use Metro, even if it's mobbed. There are places at or near the ballpark to get a drink and wait out the crowd.