I am planning a trip to Williamsburg for late August -- my Mom's 60th birthday. I'm flying from Seattle. I can book a direct flight from Seattle to DCA (Washington D.C.), but can't get direct flights to Richmond, Norfolk, or W'burg. I'm thinking I'd rather fly direct because it's a short trip (four days). But I've never rented a car in D.C. and I don't know how hairy the drive is from D.C. to Williamsburg. I'd love some advice from those who live in D.C. and/or those who have made the drive from DCA to W'burg.

Thanks --

Drive is not too bad - less than 2 hours if you go at the right time. Getting from DCA to Interstate 95 is very easy. Another easy option is to fly into IAD - take a look and compare flight prices. Best time to start your drive would be Mon-Fri between 10am and 2pm. Rt. 95 heading south can be bad on weekends and is a nightmare weekdays during evening rush hour.

It is about 150 miles and can be an easy drive but one can never really predict time on I-95. If you can avoid morning and evening rush hours during the week and avoid anytime on the weekends, it should be a fine drive.

Very doable. I've done day trips from Williamsburg to DC. However...the last time I traveled up there it took me almost 4 hours each way because of traffic.

I live in Wmbg and in my prior life a few years back lived in Alexandria, very close to DCA. I do this trip routinely for business. The drive to Wmbg is an easy one but, as others have indicated, the time of day you're travelling will dictate how much traffic you'll encounter. The trip is about 140 miles and should take you approx. 2.5 hours (plus traffic delays).

When doing a day trip, I leave the DC area no later than 2:30 pm to avoid the rush hour traffic on I-95 South. If I can't leave town by then, I plan later appointments or find a pleasant diversion until about 7:00 pm. The traffic can be a living nightmare.

In late August, travel on Fri/Sat/Sun will be an iffy drive due to coming and going beach & vacation traffic. 4 hours wouldn't be an unreasonable travel time if you encounter backups.

An alternative would be to fly into the Newport New/Wmbg airport. I think this will involve one stop and cost you about $100 additional in airfare. This would be my first choice for a flight from the west coast and I'd seriously consider it if on your return leg you have to drive to DCA on a weekday morning to catch a plane home.

Does your Mom live in Wmburg or are you travelling here together?

PS. If you (and bardo) can make it to Wmbg in under 2 hours from DCA and are going no more than 5 miles over the posted speed limit, please please please let me know how you did it!

I am not sure what you mean by flying direct because it is a short trip. A "direct" flight does not mean non-stop.

You can get a connecting flight from Seattle to Norfolk (SEA to ORF) for $230, total, for travel in late August. The Norfolk airport is about 45 miles from Norfolk (about 100 miles shorter drive than from DCA).

Flying from Seattle, you won't be getting to D.C. before 3:30 or 4PM. More likely, it would be later in the evening. I recommend that you look for a flight connecting at Dulles and fly on to ORF. It will save you time and hassle vs driving I95. It will also be safer.

There are lots of connecting options. The cheapest flights are on Delta.

as someone who has lived and commuted in both areas, D.C. isn't any hairier than the stuff you see on I-5 thru town or trying to get across the 520 bridge.

flying into national is much better than that suggestion about dulles, which is way out in the suburban sprawl (think Everett).

There are HOV lanes that change direction like the ones on I-5.

In the end, tho, it's all about timing. If you can avoid the rush hours, you'll likely have few problems.

Southwest flies from Seattle to Norfolk, may have to connect at BWI. I would their the schedule and fares.

When I mentioned Dulles, I was talking about flying on to Norfolk, not driving from Dulles.

Actually, if the OP got the 6AM UA nonstop that gets to Dulles at 1:45, they could be south of Dale City by 3:30 or 4PM. That would be the time when the earliest direct flights from SEA would be arriving at DCA.

Connecting flights (through Dulles, or Pittsburgh, or Cinncinnati) might take a little longer when compared to a flight to DCA and a drive. Ok, maybe an hour longer, but IMHO not having to drive 100 miles of I95 at rush hour or later is worth it. I admit that I am making an assumption that the drive from ORF to Wmburg would be about an hour.

Last fall I tried a detour that worked pretty well, in the morning -- I took the George Washington Parkway south from the airport, then got on US-1 -- not many traffic lights -- and kept on that until it intersected I-95 well south of the Springfield "mixing bowl". If you try this, stay on US-1 until it actually intersects (near the big shopping center, whose name escapes me at this time) ... you'll see several signs directing you "To I-95", but stay on US-1 until you actually cross.

Wow, thanks for all the replies. Very helpful.

mrwunrfl, by direct flight I did mean non-stop. I can get a non-stop flight from SEA to DCA, and I'd prefer that because it gets me from west coast to east coast as fast as possible.

I will look into Southwest flights.

Thanks again!

Expanding on what rb_travelerxATyahoo says, in fact, one can stay on the GW Parkway all the way south to Mount Vernon; the road then curves to the right and joins US1. Go south on US1 until you hit I-95. This route has even less traffic lights, and you can see the entrance to Mount Vernon.

This might be what rb_travelerxATyahoo
was referring to. But don't get on US1 in Alexandria.