DC to Maryland
 

Going to DC with my daughter. We're not renting a car but want to go to Annapolis for an afternoon. What is the best way to get there? Is there a better spot in Maryland that is near DC? (my daughter needs to mark Maryland off her list of states that she has seen)
I would appreciate any advice,
Thanks

I would take her to Baltimore Instead, It has a great downtown, which features the National Aquarium.

You can get there easily by Marc.

The Inner Harbor in Baltimore is a great place to visit.

If she simply has to get herself into the state of Matyland, get on the Metro (Red Line) and ride it to either Silver Spring or the other end and she'll have BEEN in Maryland.

as far as i know, you can go via MARC from Union Station, but you should plan that out because it's basically a commuter line and just runs weekdays at certain hours. There's also Amtrak which goes to Penn Station in Baltimore (near the aforementioned inner harbor area).

You can get more info on the area at http://www.harborplace.com (be sure to click on the neighboring attractions page)

You may be able to find some bus trips from DC to Annapolis, but there is no train.

The MARC trains noted above are commuter trains which are a bit limited in time and frequency, but you can also get regular Amtrak trains from Union Station in DC to Penn Station in Baltimore. It's only a 25-mile trip, so it shouldn't be too expensive, and only takes about 45 minutes.

From Penn Station, take a cab just a couple of miles to the Inner Harbor. There you can see the National Aquarium, which is great, and visit the Inner Harbor area, walk east to Little Italy - for great ice-cream go to Vacarro's & get carry-out - or walk south to Federal Hill. Also there is a water taxi that will take you to other neighborhoods & attractions like Fells Point or Fort McHenry. You'll find plenty to do there.

it's about $35 round trip via Amtrak between Union and Penn for both reserved and unreserved seating.

THANKS!

Here's some stuff I looked up and emailed to someone some time ago who wanted to go to Annapolis. I'm going to cut & paste some of it.

DISCLAIMER: I've not done any of these myself, and don't know if links, prices, or times are still accurate.

Find the "Patapsco" light rail stop. Baltimore's light rail runs (in
addition to other routes) between Penn Station and BWI. Patapsco lies
between them, so just hop on the only light rail train you see. The fare
will be $1.35. From that station, board MTA bus #14 to Annapolis, which
takes 1.5 hrs. Go to http://www.mtamaryland.com for more info.

Another way from BWI to Annapolis, only $3 and much less time than the
#14 bus -
http://www.ci.annapolis.md.us/citize.../sky_blue.html
also has info about getting around Annapolis as well.

I also find bus service from scheduled primarily for commuters:

Annap to NewCarrollton AMTRAK/Metro/MARC station on MTA bus #921 -
http://www.mtamaryland.com/schedules...e921_922/921.h
tm

Bus 950 between Annap & various downtown DC locations
http://www.mtamaryland.com/schedules...ine950/950.htm

Bus 210 between Annap and various downtown BALT locations
http://www.mtamaryland.com/schedules...ine210/210.pdf