Fabio

Landing from EU at 3:30pm on saturday 28th december we have to pass immigration then we would visit the Air & Space Museum at the airport that closes at 6:30pm (1 extra hour) on that day but our problem is our luggages, we will have 3 mid-size trolleys that do not fit into the museum lockers (only carry-on bags) and there is no bag storage at Dulles airport. What would you do ?
1)Take a taxi to an hotel at the south side of the airport, in Chantilly, VA, then leave the bags there and take a taxi to the museum ? Assuming the flight has no delay would I make it ?
2) Or take a rental car at the airport, go straight to the museum and leave the bags in the trunk ?

doug_stallings

I really doubt that you will have time to clear customs, rent a car, and then go to the museum (or drop off bags after checking into a hotel). It's possible, and it's a nice fallback if you are able to make it, but this is not something you can plan ahead for. But there is no luggage storage at Dulles, so I guess you have few options. Why not simply go in the morning the next day after arrival? If you are traveling on by car, you could just make a short detour to the museum and then head on your way.

tomfuller

Most if not all of us hate arriving at any museum in the hour before closing time. Remember that you will be jet lagged and your body will think it is on EU time which is at least 5 hours later. Get to the hotel with your luggage and then have a good meal and a good night's sleep before heading to the museum.

nytraveler

Many EU flights land in the afternoon and the lines at Immigration are likely to be long. Also - you don;t know how long you will have to wait for luggage. Then you need to trek into DC,

Very much doubt you will get there in time to enter the museum - plan on going in the morning.

Fabio

thanks ! Visiting the next morning was the other option if first option does not work. Having only 2 nights in DC and then going to NY by bus or train from downtown I was just trying to save some more time for the next day. You are right, I cannot plan it in advance, all depends on other factors: flight schedule, immigration and luggage collection. I think I will fix the hotel near the airport and then see what happens to us.. Merry Xmas !

tenthumbs

Unfortunately, Doug and tomfuller are correct~you probably won't have enough time, and even if you get there before it closes, the limited amount of time you'd have would be frustrating. I liked Udvar-Hazy better than the Air and Space Museum on the Mall. I found the exhibits more interesting, and it was far less crowded.

venividi

The Udvar-Hazy museum is not at Dulles Airport - it is about 6 miles away in Chantilly, VA. The area is all office parks/residential - nothing at all to do in the evening. Downtown DC is about 30 miles away and the area has some of the worst traffic in the country - at rush hour it could take well over an hour to get to the city. Udvar-Hazy is definitely an excellent museum but if you only have a day or day and a half in DC you will have to trade off quite a few other sights, not to mention missing a night in DC proper.

tenthumbs

Obviously too late for the OP, who was to be there on 12/28, but there is a shuttle from Dulles to Udvar-Hazy. We took a combination of Metro/bus/shuttle to get from DC proper to Hazy (took about 1.5-2 hrs with transportation and wait times), and it was well worth it.