Travel from Baltimore (BWI) Airport to DC
 

Is there an easy way & cheapish way to travel from the Baltimore Airport to downtown DC (near White House)? We are coming for a long weekend and don't want the hassle of a rental car in downtown DC if we can avoid it. Maybe Amtrak? and if so, have you found it reliable enough? Please advise! Thank you.

If you are coming in on a weekday, take the MARC train. The cost is $6 O/W. There is a shuttle bus that runs every 1/2 hr to the MARC train station which is about a 5 min ride away. Amtrak is the other alternative if you are traveling on Sat or Sun and you can book your tickets on amtrak.com for around $10 O/W. My husband flies to BWI every week and always takes the MARC train into town. We have also taken Amtrak on occasion.

If you go to the BWI airport site: http://www.bwiairport.com/
and click Ground Transportation, the various options will come up. Amtrak is a possibility; the Marc train is less expensive. There is also now bus service from the airport to the Greenbelt Metro stop where you can then get the Metro into D.C. All of these are, in my opinion, very reliable options and are used very regularly by many people who live in D.C. and don't want to hassle with the drive, parking, etc. at the airport or the high cost of taxis to BWI from D.C.

MARC is your best bet on weekdays.

Cheaper and more frequent than Amtrak is the Express Metro Bus (B30), which runs form BWI to the Greenbelt Metro station. The Express runs every 40 minutes, 7 days per week (25 runs each weekday, 21 on weekends) and costs $3.

I have taken the B30 bus several times and always found it reliable. Find schedules for it at www.wmata.com ; it will cost $0.85 less returning if you get a transfer pass from the dispenser at the station you board Metro from.

If you happen to arrive Friday afternoon, and MARC is still running, I prefer the MARC over the bus/Metro combination, but will take whichever gets me into town first.

Catch the B30 bus at the bus shelter you see on an "island" outside of the BWI "International Pier" ... it's the ONLY stop the bus makes at BWI

I'm flying into BWI for the first time later this month. Arriving on Wednesday, leaving on Saturday, so MARC isn't an option for Saturday.

MARC vs Metrobus to Greenbelt -- which is less hassle for a pair of gals who are schlepping a lot of luggage?

Is the B30 Metrobus a regular intercity bus, or does it have extra space for luggage?

Thanks for the quick! & great tips. I used to live in Boston so Bus or "subway" shouldn't be a problem at all. Good to know it will be a feasible option. Thanks again! We are looking forward to our quick trip to DC & soaking in as many sights as we can.

"Anonymous" -- misread your post in another thread -- the B30 is NOT an inter-city bus, but a modified city bus. I don't recommend it unless you're traveling with no more than the equivalent of 2 "legal" carryon bags each, or 1 larger suitcase each.

"Anonymous"--

For your Saturday departure, I recommend taking Amtrak to BWI. You can book a one-way ticket for about $10 at www.amtrak.com. There is typically at least one train an hour, and the ride is faster than the bus, which requires a haul to Greenbelt first.

I just checked "dannyc"'s price quote and with my 15% discount I get $11.60, so that's a good way to go too. (I could swear that I paid > $15 for a ticket 2 yrs ago on a "regular" coach.) The B30 takes 35 minutes, but drops you off right at the terminal, while you need to take the free shuttle from BWI rail to the terminal. If I were going to be riding Green Line to get to Union, I think I'd just continue to Greenbelt. Close call, really.

My mother and aunt are flying to BWI to get to DC and back. On the return flight back, how much time should they allow from Union Station in DC to BWI in time to get there for their flights? They are traveling on a weekday (Thursday or Friday).

Thanks.

Depends on how they're traveling. Union Station to BWI took me 90 minutes yesterday, but could've been up to 30 minutes more if i'd made worse connections, especially with the B30 bus. On weekdays, the B30 could get stuck in rush-hour traffic, especially in the afternoon.

The B30 express bus from Greenbelt to BWI (and back) runs every 40 minutes, 7 days per week. It runs on the even hours (10 AM, noon, etc.), 40 minutes later, and then at 20 past the odd hours (9:20 etc.).

B30's advantages over Amtrak include cheaper price, more-frequent trips, and no need to purchase in advance.

Nena:

On a weekday, I would think trains are a safe bet, especially since you can catch both Amtrak or MARC to get to BWI. I think the 1.5 hour buffer is probably true of the train also, since you always run the risk of things getting snarles or running late.

I actually don't find trains run late leaving DC during the week.

As for the bus, I think it's fine if you don't have much luggage and you have patience. You definitely need to time it right, otherwise you are standing at Greenbelt for 40 minutes for the next bus.

Nena,
Agree that the MARC (Penn Line) is your best bet. Here's the schedule:
http://www.mtamaryland.com/services/...Penn_sched.cfm

We were having a not-smart moment and took a cab. Since I use credit cards on trips, I didn't even think of what it might cost. It cost almost all of my cash. And what if I hadn't had enough?

Let's clarify a couple of factors in comparing the trains (MARC and Amtrak) vs B30 bus:

Schedule: Both have fixed schedules, with the bus being every 40 minutes at specified times. So missing the bus is no more chancy than missing a train in terms of having to "time it right".

Luggage: The B30 bus I took had special floor-to-ceiling racks for luggage, right inside the door. Amtrak trains (and I suppose the MARC commuter trains) have no such accommodations, you have to either hoist your stuff into the overhead rack or leave it at the end of the car, out of sight.

Access: The B30 bus lowered itself to curb level. Boarding most trains requires hiking yourself and your stuff up a few steep steps. Also, the walk from the Greenbelt train to the B30 bus stop requires less distance and climbing than getting from the Union Station Metro stop onto the train.

Schlepping: At BWI, the B30 drops you right at the terminal, whereas you must take a shuttle bus from the train to the terminal. There goes any time you saved taking the train instead of the bus.

My point with bus v. train is that the train comes a lot more often then the bus, should you miss it. Checking the schedule on a Thursday afternoon, for instance, the bus goes about 8 times from 1 to 6 while there are 14 trains going at the same time period. Thus, if you miss a train you run a better risk of catching another train before you could catch a missed bus.

The bus, however, is cheaper.

The Amtrak is a bit faster (less stops) than MARC. However, don't try to go on an Amtrak train that does not ORIGINATE in DC. Trains arriving from points south are frequently late.

Thanks for all the responses and advice. I am going to advise them to allow about two hours from Union Station to the check-in counter of their airline at BWI. Knowing them, they would rather be way early than just making it!

There's a fair-sized book store opposite Gate D-20.