Ilam

Hi!
I am flying from Phx AZ to Newark NJ on June 29th and will be staying at the Newark Sheraton Airport Hotel at 128 Frontage Road. I will be staying there from June 29th evening through July 3. While there I want to drive to Washington DC for a day tour. How long is the one way drive? distance/time and what would be the best route to take. I would appreciate if someone who has made the trip would care to reply to my posting with the requested information as well as any other information they think would be useful for me. I will be traveling with my family.

Budman

It's a 4-hour drive one way, and that's if you don't hit any traffic. Are you sure you want to do this?

I would drive down on Saturday, the 1st, and spend the night. Since it's a Saturday, hotel rooms should be very reasonable. Then drive back Sunday afternoon. Most people will be taking a 4-day weekend over 4th of July.

MikeT

You cuold take Amtrak. It will be about three hours to DC. You could make a day trip by leaving early and coming back very late on thre train.

fpnj5

I agree with what's posted above: AMTRAK from Newark to DC is DEFINITELY the best way to go if you're just looking to be in DC for a short while. Most trains take around 3 hours to get to Washington's Union Station from Newark. If you're willing to pay some more money, you can catch one of the express trains (known as the "Acela Express") which will get you there in about 2 hours and 30 minutes (although those expresses are kinda pricy...I would just take the regular service). Trains are extremely frequent, there are several in each direction every hour.

It's faster than driving and anyone who lives along I-95 knows that there is ALWAYS traffic between DC and NJ so the fast Amtrak service will allow you to maximize the amount of time you have once you're in Washington.

nessundorma

I suggest you check out air fares to DC, or take the train. Having a car in DC is a nuisance, and the drive down is a drag.

DC itself, however, is an American gem. Go early, stay late. Hope the weather is not killer hot.

rb_travelerxATyahoo

Since the O.P. is traveling with family, I disagree about taking Amtrak. The overnight car rental will cost much less.

I will recomment that he park at the Greenbelt Metro stop, where the parking will be free on weekends and there are overnight spaces. There is an exit directly to the station from the Beltway (first exit after I-95 south meets I-495) and they can use the $6.50 visitor passes for unlimited Metro use. The ride to downtown from Greenbelt will be about 25 minutes. In fact, if staying IN downtown is unimportant, there are some nice hotels with pools up in the Greenbelt/Laural MD area.