We are visiting Washington DC for the first time in October. We are flying into Dulles. Can anyone recommend transportation from the airport into the city? Should we rent a car? About how far is it?

Alot depends on how many people there are, the time you arriving, and where you are going.

Dulles is not convenient to mass transit, so only buses (Metro and Airport transporation) go to Dulles from Washington's Subway system. This requires timing and patience.

Dulles is also quite a distance from the core of DC, which means the cab ride can be quite expensive. Into the city is probaby $50-60.

A car is fine, but not at all convenient if you are spending time in the city, since you don't need a car in Washington, D.C. and parking is expensive.

There are transportation options on the airport web site. I don't think there are very good ones right now, as there used to be a Dulles Flyer bus but I think it's gone for reasons I don't understand (used to go to about 16th and K downtown). The distance is probably about 25-30 miles, but the traffic gets bad near the city.

It depends where you are staying -- if your hotel by any chance had free or very cheap parking, I could see it making sense to rent a car just for the trip to/from the airport if you had a lot of people and got some cheap rental rate. Odds are that isn't the case, though. A cab would probably be cheaper even for two trips.

I would probably reserve one of those airport group shuttle vans because they will go to your hotel (www.supershuttle.com) rather than all the metro/bus fooling around with public transportation. For some reason, I think Super Shuttle requires you to reserve ahead rather than you walking out to it ad hoc (some dumb taxi competition law, or something).

If you are planning to spend all your time in DC area, you can get around with public transportation -- I wouldn't rent a car and deal with all the traffic, and DC streets can be tricky to navigate. There is a bus that takes you to the nearest metroRail stop (about half hour away towards DC), but I wouldn't mess with that with a lot of luggage. MikeTr is right, taxi would be about $50-60 and SuperShuttle might be less expensive and your best option. (p.s. they are continuing to debate and studying options about bringing MetroRail to Dulles airport, hopefully it will eventually come to pass)

It is possible to get the SuperShuttle at Dulles without reserving it. Basically, you go to the area where the vans are (outside the baggage claim area on the lowest level close to signs 1D & 1E) and ask the starter or driver for the fare. They usually give a discount for 2 or more people traveling together.

However, there are times when a cab is less expensive -- ask for the different rates.

By the way, taxis, SuperShuttle, and Washington Flyer bus are all run by the Washington Flyer company.

Isn't there a Washington Flyer shuttle bus to the West Falls Church metro station? I've done that route before and it's not too bad.

Metrobus 5A will get you to Rosslyn Metro or L'Enfant Plaza for $2.50 (I think. The price went up from $2).

The Flyer bus to WFC is $8, I think.

Some Fodor links relative:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...1&tid=34411414

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...1&tid=34415925

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...1&tid=34415522

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...1&tid=34419019