BWI into DC and back
 

I am reading the BWI website, but I'm a little sketchy on the exact details of getting from the airport to MARC to metro.

Could someone give me step by step directions on how to do this, where to go to catch shuttle, train or whatever? I arrive on Southwest on a Wednesday at 10.40am and depart on Monday at 9am.

Thanks for helping.

Looks like you take a shuttle to the BWI airport station and then get on the line to Union Station in DC. Not sure what the advantage this is over taking the B30 Metrobus to Greenbelt and getting on Metro from there.

Whether you choose MARC (via the shuttle) or the B30 (which stops at the BWI terminal), there are plenty of signs and plenty of other passengers using either choice.

You will go outside to the area designated for shuttles. You will look for the shuttle called "Amtrak/MARC" which will take you to the train station. There are also signs inside the terminal pointing you to which exit to use to get the shuttle.

Once you get to the station, you can buy your MARC or AMTRAK ticket to get you into DC. There are electronic kiosks to make those purchases at the train station, and the kiosk will tell you when the next train is coming. There is also inside waiting at the train station.

Seeing the responses, maybe I should have asked what is the best way to get from BWI into the city? Looks like the metrobus would be easier, especially since we are staying at the L'Enfant Plaza hotel directly on the metro stop. Probably cheaper too?

Thanks for your help. Hope I can return the favor if you're ever in need of advice on the Europe forum where I hang out. :)

Ask as i will for you what the "luggage situation' would be on one of those Metrobusses...not ideal I am sure.

the other advantage is that the train probably doesn't make as many stops as that metrobus will.

I can't remember what the luggage situation is. I can't imagine it is any worse than the shuttle from the airport to the MARC train station would be. The bus does not make an stops, though. It goes directly between BWI and the Greenbelt Metro station. There are two stops total at the airport.

The B30 bus is an airport shuttle type of bus with special sections and platforms for luggage. It runs nonstop every 40 minutes, 7 days per week, from the BWI terminal to the Greenbelt Metro station. The Greenbelt line stops at L'Enfant Plaza, so there is only the one transfer, at Greenbelt.

The MARC train is a commuter train, so it does not have luggage storage (and also does not run on weekends). It takes passengers to Union Station which is on the red line of the Metro, so you would need an additional transfer once you were on the Metro for a total of 4 legs for the ground trip.

The B30 bus costs about $3 and takes about 30 minutes unless traffic is heavy.

Arriving at 10:40 AM, you would be heading into DC after rush hour; with an early Monday departure, you'd be going against the main flow of commuter traffic, so in both cases you're not likely to run into traffic-related delays.

I just took the B30 bus yesterday, as I needed to get from DCA to BWI. The fare is $2.20 (at least on Sundays). There are luggage racks. It's quite comfortable -- more like a tour bus than a city bus.