There are often inexpensive flights from the west coast into BWI. Is there an economical way for a retired couple on a budget to get from BWI into DC? Van, shuttle bus? or is cab the only way to do this? Someone told me there was a train but they didn't know how that worked.Flights would get in early evening. Thank you for any help.

There is a train. There are lots of options. Visit

http://www.quickaid.com/airports/bwi/

Oops, wrong site (it does talk about BWI but isn't very helpful). Hang on.

You can take the MARC train from BWI to DC (Union Station). There is a website, though I don't remember the address. I don't know the schedules from BWI. You may want to look up the Maryland Transit Authority. You can also take the Super Shuttle (1-800-Blue-Van). One way is $30.00. Pricey, but convenient and efficient. You don't need to make reservations ahead of time from the airport, only going to it.

I am also looking for same info. How do I get MARC info? Does Marc operate on Sundays also? What is the cost from BWI to Union Station in DC?

Hi

The MARC train goes from BWI to Washington Union Station on weekdays only: the cost is approximately $4. On weekends, there is an Amtrak train almost hourly from BWI rail station to Washington Union station (that's a bit more expensive (maybe $16, check www.amtrak.com). Look up Maryland Transit Authority on a search engine for more info on MARC.

DAN

Dan,Thanks for the info. We have a ship's reunion in Arlington next year and I'm sure it would be less expensive to fly Southwest into BWI rather than going into National Airport on other airlines. MARC sounds good coming in but getting back on Sunday will be the problem.

Assuming two of you are travelling, if the airfare is less than $50-60 dollars difference between BWI and Reagan, just fly to Reagan.

Since you are going to be visiting Arlington, all the hastle of commuting into the city isnt worth it unless you save a lot of cash.

Caveat: Unless you live near LAX, DEN, or PHX you would have no choice but to connect to DCA, whereas you might be able to get a non-stop to BWI. Just another trade-off to consider.

-Tony

The Marc Train is good, but be careful because it doesn't run very late at night. So if you are planning to go late at night, you probably should reconsider. It's a pretty quick ride into Union Station, so that's not much of a problem, but if you are coming in on a holiday make sure you check the holiday hours. They are different and less frequent than the normal hours that the MARC train runs.

Also, the thing about Reagan is right--if your flight isn't too much more expensive into Reagan, I'd check out Reagan. I fly out of BWI all of the time because of Southwest airlines being there, but I've also found good deals using ATA into Reagan--I'd consider that and look at ATA's website if I were you. They often have travel specials, so check that out. But if you are going to fly into BWI, I would definitely use Southwest because its the cheapest and the best deal on travel awards.

Once you get to Union Station, either take the Metro (DC has a very clean, efficent transit system for a decent price) to Arlington (check the map for stops and tansfer information), or take a cab.

geocities.com/j_goyette/t.html