Getting Here & Around

Getting Here & Around

Baltimore is not particularly known for its public transportation. The two main transit systems, buses and the light-rail, don't reach every corner of the city and can be sluggish at times. A light-rail train runs north-south along Howard Street from Baltimore-Washington International Airport to Camden Yards and up into northern suburbs such as Hunt Valley. Cabs are your quickest option, though you will have to call for a pickup in most neighborhoods. You can also catch a water-taxi ride across the harbor.

By Air

Traveling to Baltimore by air is fairly simple. The main airport is Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI), just south of town. BWI is easily reached by car, taxi, or light rail; for most agencies, rental cars are returned to lots off the airport premises.

BWI SuperShuttle provides van service between the airport and downtown hotels every half-hour 4 AM-midnight. Travel time is about 30 minutes; the fare is $20 for the first person, $5 per additional passenger. Hotel vans, which operate independently of the hotels, take 30 minutes on average.

Carey Limousines provides sedan service, which costs $80; make reservations 24 hours in advance. Private Car/RMA Worldwide Chauffeured Transportation has sedans, limos, and vans; the cost to the Inner Harbor is about $40 for a sedan.

Airport Taxis stand by to meet arriving flights. The ride into town on I-295 takes 20 minutes; a trip between the airport and downtown costs about $25. Airport Taxi service is available only from BWI; for transportation to the airport, consult a local cab company such as Jimmy's Cab Co. or Arrow Taxicab.

By Bus

Buses provide an inexpensive way to see much of Baltimore, though you may have to transfer several times. Route and schedule information is available by contacting the Maryland Transit Administration.

Bus and transit schedules are sometimes available inside the Charles Center metro station (Charles and Baltimore streets downtown). Fare is $1.60 (exact change is required). All-day passes are $3.50 and can be used with light-rail or metro travel. Some routes have service 24 hours daily.

By Car

From the northeast and south, I-95 cuts across the city's east side and the harbor; Route 295, the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, follows a similar route farther to the east, and is the best route downtown from the airport. From the north, I-83, also called the Jones Falls Expressway, winds through Baltimore and ends at the Inner Harbor. Interstate 395 serves as the primary access to downtown from I-95. From the west, I-70 merges with the Baltimore Beltway, I-695. Drivers headed downtown should use I-395.

Parking in downtown Baltimore can be difficult; on weekdays many garages fill up early with suburban commuters. When the Orioles or Ravens play a home game, parking around the Inner Harbor can be nearly impossible to find. Best bets for parking are hotel garages, which often have spaces available. Attended parking lots are around the downtown periphery and cost less than garages.

It's hard to find a metered parking spot downtown, though in other areas it's much easier. Most meters in well-traveled areas charge 25¢ per 15-minute period and have a two-hour limit; around the Inner Harbor vicinity meters are in effect 24 hours a day.

By Metro

The Baltimore metro subway serves those coming into the city from the suburban northwest. Stops include Charles Center and Lexington Market, both within walking distance of the Inner Harbor. The single line runs from Owings Mills to Johns Hopkins Hospital, east of downtown. There's also a light rail that runs between points north and south in the city. Fare is $1.60; day passes, which also count for bus and light-rail fares, are $3.50. Trains run weekdays 5 AM-midnight, weekends 6 AM-midnight.

By Taxi

It can be hard to catch a cab on the street in Baltimore. The best places to flag one down are at Pratt and Light streets in the Inner Harbor, Cross and South Charles streets in Federal Hill, O'Donnell Square in Canton, and at Broadway and Thames Street in Fells Point. Otherwise, your best option is to phone ahead and ask for a pickup, or ask your hotel concierge or doorman to summon one for you. Meters determine local fares, which average $7-$15, depending on how far you go.

Ed Kane's Water Taxis and the Seaport Taxi are fun and convenient ways to get around the Inner Harbor. They make stops at 12 points along the waterfront, including Fells Point, the National Aquarium, museums, restaurants, and Fort McHenry. All-day tickets for both services are $9 for adults and $4 for children 10 and under. Look for stops, marked with signs, all along the waterfront; depending on season, boats arrive every 10-15 minutes, or you can call to be picked up at a particular location.

By Train

All Amtrak trains on the northeast corridor between Boston and Washington stop at Baltimore's Penn Station. Maryland Area Rail Commuter (MARC) trains travel between Baltimore's Penn Station and Washington, DC, Camden Station, and Washington, and BWI Airport and Penn Station. The trip to Washington, DC, takes about one hour and costs $7; the trip to BWI Airport from Penn Station takes about 20 minutes and costs $4. Trains run several times per hour, weekdays 4:45 AM-9:30 PM (note that MARC trains do not run on weekends).

Light rail is an easy, comfortable (if slow) way to reach downtown from the northern and southern suburbs. Stops near downtown include Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Howard Street, and Centre Street near Mount Vernon. The city's cultural center can be reached by the Cathedral Street stop. Light rail extends to Hunt Valley, BWI Airport, and Glen Burnie. The fare is $1.60 (exact change is required); day passes are $3.50.

Tours

Tours of Baltimore, on foot or four wheels, run from traditional surveys of historic buildings and sites to quirkier explorations such as the Fells Point Ghost Tour. The Baltimore Shuttle offers a 90-minute narrated trolley tour of the city; tours are $18 and depart daily at 11 and 2 from the visitor center at the Inner Harbor.

For a general overview of Baltimore, energetic, irrepressible Zippy Larson offers many different walking tours with historic, cultural, and architectural themes. Zippy's witty, well-researched tours take you outside the tourist bubble.

A particularly fascinating experience is local historian Wayne Schaumburg's guided tour to Greenmount Cemetery. Baltimore's largest and most prestigious burial ground is the final resting place of John Wilkes Booth, Johns Hopkins, and other native sons and daughters. Tours take place Saturday mornings in May and October and are $15 per person.

Baltimore Ghost Tours interweave narratives about city neighborhoods' colorful pasts with tales of its spectral inhabitants. Tours, which are suitable for children, run Friday and Saturday evenings (depending on the neighborhood) at 7 PM from March to November; the cost is $15 per adult; reservations are recommended. The Fells Point Visitors Center also offers a Fells Point Ghost Walk as well as tours focusing on such topics as maritime history and immigration.

For building buffs, the Baltimore Architectural Foundation sponsors walking tours of the historic and architecturally significant neighborhood of Mount Vernon; reservations are required and the cost is $10. The Mount Vernon Cultural District also organizes tours of Mount Vernon and other nearby neighborhoods.

A far less pedestrian way to see downtown is atop a Segway, the motorized upright two-wheel scooters. Segs in the City offers one- and two-hour historic city safaris for $45 and $70, respectively.

Most cruise and tour boats depart from docks in the Inner Harbor. Harbor Cruises, Ltd. and Pintail Yachts present lunch, dinner, and evening cruises around the harbor. Ride the Ducks of Baltimore provides a tour of the city by both land and water.