5alive

Hi, I wasn't sure if people had more to advise on a previous thread but I was told to start my own.

We're driving from New York to Washington DC and I was trying to work out the best time to arrive and a route. I did post the old thread in case you did not see it.

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I have a related question. We will be coming from New York on a Tuesday afternoon Evening. We are staying in what I believe is called Upper Northwest, on Wisconsin Avenue. Any hints on the best route or areas to avoid?

I also need to figure out the tolls between the two cities but maybe that's a separate thread.

5alive, where are you staying on Wisconsin avenue? That might help with best routes.

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yestravel on Jun 12, 12 at 5:39am
Check out this website for tolls on I-95 http://www.i95exitguide.com/tolls/index.php. U will need to add the tolls if any for leaving NYC. Most of the tolls are for inbound to NYC. Check out this site http://beta.costtodrive.com/tolls-on...s-and-tunnels/

Depending upon exactly where on Wisconsin Ave NW u r staying will help determine the best route. Regardless of where I would avoid DC during rush hour which runs anywhere from 3ish to 7 pm.

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5alive on Jun 12, 12 at 7:16am
Our hotel is at 2505 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, I'm not sure if this helps!

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kayd on Jun 12, 12 at 7:43am
Re approaching Wisc Ave from NYC on a weekday, if you could time your arrival for later than 7 pm you would avoid the worst traffic on the north side of the Beltway (but that would have you around Philly and Baltimore during their rush hours). Googlemap for several alternatives and come back here with your results--then locals may offer advice about which is better for your date/time.

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yestravel on Jun 12, 12 at 8:05am
Baltimore rush hour is very mild and u won't be going into Baltimore as u come down I-95 into DC. The most traffic u will likely hit is going into DC. It's hard to know which way will have the least traffic.

One option would be to take I 95 to I-495 West (Capital Beltway). From I 95, go West on I-495 towards Silver Spring/Bethesda. Take Exit 34, which is Rt. 355 (Wisconsin Ave./Rockville Pike) and head south toward Washington/Bethesda. Travel Wisconsin Ave south for about 6-7 miles until u come to your hotel on the left. Without traffic this would take about 20 minutes. If u hit it during rush hour u will be going against traffic on Wisconsin Ave., but traffic will still be heavy.
The alternate would be to go thru the city, but I would not recommend that. I live close to your hotel and despite the traffic on the beltway, that would be the way I would go.

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kayd on Jun 12, 12 at 8:21am
Yestravel's route is the one I was thinking of, with the curvy section and frequent jams between I-95 and I-270. It is an area I'd want to avoid in rush hour, but I'd want to avoid going through the city at that time even more.

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5alive on Jun 12, 12 at 5:33pm
This route sounds like a good plan.
I will also want to stop and get groceries before surrendering the car, so will look for a place from the suburbs along the way to stop in.

I am not sure I want to make the time super-late as we want to turn the car in that night.

Thank you!
Five Alive

Dukey1

There's a Giant Food supermarket at 3406 Wisconsin Avenue

ggreen

For tolls:
- You won't pay a toll westbound on the Hudson River tunnels/bridges. If you're leaving from your midtown location, the Lincoln Tunnel will be the most straightforward route, though it will increase your toll on the NJ Turnpike a bit (than if you take the Holland Tunnel).
- NJ Turnpike tolls: www.state.nj.us/turnpike/toll-rates.html
- Crossing to Delaware: www.phillyroads.com/crossings/delaware-memorial/ (page also shows traffic indicator)
- I-95 in Maryland: www.mdroads.com/routes/is095.html

For an idea of traffic flow, plug your route into google maps directions. Under Suggested Routes at the top of the text directions, google provides an "in current traffic" time estimate. You also can turn on the Traffic layer on the map, from the list in the upper right corner of the map, then zoom in to see green-yellow-red indicators on various roads.

I would suggest looking at the google directions at the same time of day you will be traveling (and even day of week, if you can swing it). Start at your earliest window, then refresh at later increments to see how the timing affects the trip.

obxgirl

There is a Whole Foods in Glover Park that can't be more than a 5 minute walk from your hotel. WF is open until 10pm.

You are timing your arrival in the DC area during major rush so it is what it is. I'd follow the directions of those who live in the area. If I recall correctly tho you said you were going to be in DC for the 4th of July so if it's the Tuesday prior to the holiday you may benefit from lighter than normal traffic volume during those hours.

>>>>but I was told to start my own.

yestravel

I agree about the other poster's comment.

Correct that the Whole Foods is very close to where u r staying, but the Giant mentioned is closed for renovation so scratch that from your list.

bardo1

It looks fine to me. As mentioned somewhere above try to arrive at the Capitol Beltway after 7:00 pm.

What time does the car rental you are returning the car to close?

5alive

Thank you all for your help. We have until 10 pm to turn the car in, but I am not one to cut it super close. Plus we have to go downtown to do it, so we need to take the subway back afterward.

Yes, it is the day before the 4th and on the one hand, I thought that will help us but on the other hand, it could make it worse leaving NYC or going through other metro areas. It's always hard to say with these things.

While in DC, we will be eating in for breakfast daily and also dinner more than a few nights. We expect to eat out for lunch every day. I know and like Whole Foods, but may hope to pick up breakfast cereal and a few other basics a little cheaper.

It's okay if someone got frustrated with me, as all of his questions had not yet been answered...although I thought he was a little more intense than was needed.

My husband I are going to spend the next couple of evenings studying our google maps and your suggestions in detail but I think we have all the tools now!

yestravel

There is a Safeway a few blocks down on Wisconsin Ave. Same direction as Wf but u keep going a bit more.
Where do u return the car? Not sure there is a real close metro to the address u gave for your hotel. Is it the Savoy?

kayd

You may want to study routes and maps on the Metro website before your visit. First, you'll need buses as there's no Metro rail station anywhere near your hotel. And second, all transit options are very different on July 4.
http://www.wmata.com/

kayd

--- and the always useful Stationmasters
http://stationmasters.com/

5alive

Very glad to hear about the Safeway.

Yes, it is the Savoy. The metro is not near our hotel. The hotel runs a free shuttle until 10 pm to/from the metro, another reason I want to turn the car in sooner. My brother is staying nearby, so we will need to make it work. I probably should figure out the buses as a backup.

The car return is at Union Station.

tomfuller

Get some good directions to turn in the car at Union Station.
The front of the station is torn up with construction. For walking, I had to go in through the west entrance recently. It gets very busy with several entrances closed.

5alive

Thanks Tom, that's very good to know. Will call the rental company.

obxgirl

The Circulator bus runs a Union Station to Georgetown route that goes as far up Wisconsin Ave as 35th Street which is about a 15 minute walk to your hotel. That's not super close but the nearest metro (the one I'm assuming the hotel shuttles to) is close to double that distance.

The Circulator is a truncated system that covers many of the most travelled visitor areas. It's a $1 a ride (exact change), free or discounted if you have a Metro Smartcard.

http://www.dccirculator.com/

5alive

I am just posting back to this thread to follow up in case people find it:

1. We did drive from New York City (George Washington Bridge had no tolls outbound) and spent in the mid $20s for all tolls combined. I forget the exact number, now but we didn't hit $30.

2. We found the drive easy, boring scenery through New Jersey and non-eventful coming into DC.

3. The big challenge was understanding that DC has a center lane that varies by time of day which direction it goes. That is to say, yes, there are 3 lanes Southbound to the city core and 2 North in the morning, whereas in the afternoon, there are 3 lanes Northbound and two Southbound. Watch carefully!

3. Turning in the car at Union Station was very difficult with construction. We had called for instructions from Budget and we still didn't quite understand where the driveway into the rental car area was. We went round the traffic circle there at least twice and pulled into an area that we had to back our car out of, as well.

4. We did not use that Circulator route recommended by obxgirl, but probably should have worked it out as the Red Line does not run often on Saturday afternoon/evenings.

5. Would recommend anyone using public transportation buy the plastic card for fares at CVS. We did the paper cards, which unlike NYC do not work for buses too.

tchoiniere

5. Would recommend anyone using public transportation buy the plastic card for fares at CVS. We did the paper cards, which unlike NYC do not work for buses too

Just an update since you were there. You can buy the Smarttrip cards at the Metro Stations now in a different dispenser than the existing ones. I would definitely agree to get these if you are going to be using the Subway / Buses while there.

kayd

The other reason for getting plastic cards (besides use on buses) is that each MetroRail trip costs $1 more when you use the paper farecards.

obxgirl

Agree with the above as well as commenting that the paper fare cards are notorious for being demagnetized by cell phones. If you kill your paper card, the metro station people will give you a form to send in for a new fare card. They won't replace your dead one on the spot.

5alive

kayd--that was a new policy that occurred halfway through our trip. It wasn't well publicized in the stations themselves, so when we bought our cards June 27 or whatever, there were no signs warning us and we loaded them up.

I don't travel to make money, but it was painful to watch it drain that quickly on those little cards!