Transportation to Georgetown University
 

We are staying at the Homewood Suites at 1475 Massachusetts Avenue NW. We need to get to Georgetown University to check out the school. We want to get there with the minimum of fuss and cost is no consideration. We have to be there at a certain time, so don't want to stress out during the ride. What is the best mode of transportation?

I understand the nearest metro station to the school is 2 miles away. Also understand that parking is difficult around the school. And have heard that traffic can be bad in the morning, so estimating the length of a taxi ride can be unreliable (not sure how true that is).

Thanks so much to anyone who can help!

Take a taxi. Since you're there to check out the school, plan to arrive early and check out the area on your own. You have to be there at a certain time, not later. Nothing prevents you from arriving early. Check out the neighborhood. Grab a coffee or lunch at a local cafe, etc.

It's only 2 miles from your hotel to Georgetown.

You sound kind of stressed. You present three options, yet find reasons to reject or at least question all of them.

Taxis in DC are cheap. They are the only reasonable answer unless you want to walk.

This raises a useful point, though. I assume you are making this as an admissions visit. How will your student get to Union Station or to the airport at vacations? So many parents forget this kind of issue, yet it makes a huge difference when the student is actually enrolled. GWU actually has much better transportation options.

But relax. It will be all right.

Take a taxi. Go an hour early so you can feel your way around a big university campus.

I agree that a taxi makes the most sense. Even in weekday rush hour it shouldn't take more than 30 minutes but since you have a time critical appointment, do as others have suggested and arrive early.

>>So many parents forget this kind of issue, yet it makes a huge difference when the student is actually enrolled.<<

How to navigate in and out of the school for vacations and year change seems like a second or third tier consideration to me.

For undergraduate study to choose a GW caliber school over Georgetown b/c it's easier to get to is just odd.

(Are taxis still on the zone system (instead of mileage meter) in DC? Even if they aren't, the best bet is still taxi.)

From where you're staying, it's quite close - normally maybe 20 min. by cab except in the most congested traffic. But give yourself at least 45 min. (maybe more) door to door, just to figure in things like if the cabbie isn't sure of the best place to drop you off and to give you a comfortable margin to look around.

I went to the G'town website and their directions/map to the admissions office could be more helpful. Easier to go to Google maps and zoom in to the campus - it shows "White-Gravenor" bldg. (admissions) pretty much where P Street (one way toward the campus) lets you into the campus at 37th st. Print out that map to take with you, maybe, as well as the G'town on-line map.

But if you don't think you like how Georgetown sounds, what with bad parking and distance from the Metro, etc., why go? ;-)

Re: vacation travel -- Georgetown students have managed for decades to get to and from other places without that much hassle. They learn the buses (a large system, even before the Metro), they share rides, they have parking at their apartments if they don't live in a dorm. Won't be a problem, assuming you like what you see on campus.

Meters, Cyanna. For a couple of years.

Thanks obxgirl - I've been in DC quite often, but I stick to the Metro or my chaufferring sister, never have needed a cab.

(And agree w/your comment re: choosing a school based on transportation issues, although GW is pretty good in certain fields; but rising high school seniors get pretty frantic and random about how to think about where to go.)

Thanks guys. You are awesome. I appreciate these thoughtful responses. We'll probably take a taxi and it's good to have an idea how long it can take.

We're going to be checking out Georgetown, Hopkins and UVA. We've already done a NYC loop, a Boston loop and also a California loop.

Not sure if or why I sounded stressed in OP, but not really stressed. Just about getting places on time. Transportation to and from the school will likely have no bearing on DS' choice. Maybe city vs. suburb vs. rural environment will. I was surprised there is no metro at Georgetown though.

I think there is a shuttle to the metro, if my memory serves me correctly but I would also suggest a taxi for this visit.

Good luck with the college tour (and let us know what the final choices are!)

A little history (from someone who lived in the area at the early stages of Metro planning and construction):

As you might guess, people used to having only buses and cabs in residential areas were often very resistant to, first, construction upheaval and, later, the "threat" of all those PEOPLE (dangerous) able to get easily in and out of their neighborhood. Georgetown, as you know, is the poshest area of DC, with jillionaires and old families and highly clout-ful politicians. They wanted no part of the Metro system invading THEIR space and were happy to have it no closer than DuPont circle or Foggy Bottom - with Rock Creek Park as a buffer - or across the river in Rosslyn. Retailers and others weren't happy with that outcome, but there it is.

>>I was surprised there is no metro at Georgetown though.<<

Haha. The legend is that there were engineering difficulties associated with the Potomac River as well as digging near the foundations of old and historic homes. The backstory is that the denizens of G'town didn't want the great unwashed and unwhite to have unfettered access to their leafy neighborhood. Ironically those "difficulties" were solved when taking the subway to Reagan Airport (then National) and Alexandria.

The university proper is a few blocks away from the shopping mecca most visitors consider to be G'town. As you will soon discover. Good luck with your visit!

<i>Georgetown, as you know, is the poshest area of DC, with jillionaires and old families and highly clout-ful politicians</i>

Well, it once was. Now it's chain stores, drunk Gtown students, international jet-setter wannabes and traffic. The jillionaires and old money have moved to Foxhall or the Virginia suburbs.

I was thinking up around P, Q, R, S streets = east of Wisconsin Ave - no WalMarts there, even now.

The best option is to take a cab - since you're not familiar and you want to be there early to explore some before the official tour.

As for travel once the student gets there - you're in the middle of a major city and hundreds of thousands of students have managed to find their way around perfectly easily using local transit. If travel is a concern a school at the end of hell and gone might be an issue - not one in a major city.

The DC Circulator bus picks up at 14th and K, a couple of blocks from your hotel, and would get you within a few blocks (probably get off at Wisconsin and P):
http://www.dccirculator.com/index.ph...d=21&Itemid=22

I agree with everyone to take a cab. If you end up going there you will learn the routes of the GUTS bus (Geo U Transportation Systems). Good luck-Hopkins, GU and UVA are all great schools.

We took a taxi. It cost $12 and took about 30 minutes.

Thanks!