I will be flying to Baltimore on a Wednesday in July, arriving at about 3 PM. I will then drive to Charlottesville, VA. My question is - Should I drive through the Washington, DC area on the beltway or avoid the Washington area by going to Frederick, MD and then south? Your suggestions are appreciated - thank you.

I hate to say this but I'd just suck it up and deal with the DC traffic. The Frederick route will cost you more time than what you'll spend in traffic UNLESS there is a MAJOR traffic tie up (like a bridge jumper or an overturned munitions truck).

The worst of your trip is going to be from around 270 in Maryland until you get off on 29 off of 66 in Virginia.

Good luck and I do not envy you.

You may just want to grab a bite to eat in Baltimore and wait a couple of hours to get going.

Wait! There's a much better way to do this. From BWI go south on 97, which turns into 301. Take 301 through Bowie, Waldorf, across the Potomoc to 3 west through Fredericksburg to Culpepper and on south to Charlottesville. You'll probably do the 301-leg right at rush hour, and there are lights, and Rt. 3 gets a little rural at times. On the other hand, if you have a decent map, you can even shun-pike on rt. 20 and cut the Culpepper part out (on my map, there are dots along parts of Rt. 20 that are supposed to mean it's scenic).

But BELIEVE ME you don't want to go anywhere NEAR the Beltway if you can avoid it, unless you have nerves of steel and the patience of Job.

Here's a second for Lar's route, especially if you aren't actually driving out of the airport until 4 pm. We've taken the 301 route from our home in suburban Maryland to avoid 95 south of the Beltway when traveling to NC and it's certainly less stressful.

Poor you. You'll be hatin' life no matter how you go. Route 301 South is as aggravating as the DC beltway during rush hour. But it gets better south of LaPlata. If you go around DC beltway you'll be miserable all the way until Manassas, VA. Make sure this is no concert playing at Nissan Pavilion that night or you'll spend another hour trying to exit off of Rt.66 to go to Charlottesville. Why don't you just take a hopper from BWI airport to Dulles? Driving to Charlottesville from Dulles is a breeze. One country road all the way with few lights. If not possible then follow Lar's route and also wait until VA to get gas. Much cheaper than in Maryland.