am coming to Washington, staying at Dupont Circle. I have the choice of 3 airports, Dulles, National or Washington/Baltimore. Which is the most convenient to Dupont Circle and how much would cab fare be from each?

National is the most convenient, by far.

National, unquestionably. Maybe a $20 cab ride, at most. Dulles will be about $60-75, BWI a little higher

From National you can also take the Metro.

National is 10-15 minutes to downtown. The other two are 45 min. to an hour, depending on traffic.

A taxi from National is less than $15. Or you could Metro for $1.35

Just for information; not being argumenative...Flights into and out of National are usually more expensive. So if cost is a factor, you might want to consider Dulles (check to see if it is actually less expensive for your particular departure site...I'm just sharing thoughts). From there, you can take a shuttle to Metro and avoid the exhorbitant cab fare. Because of my proximity to the 3 airports, I usually use BWI. It is almost always less expensive, but out of the discussion for your lodging at Dupont Circle.

I'm going to take Pollyvw's discussion of BWI a bit further.

MUST you take a cab?

On weekdays, you can take a MARC train from BWI to Union Station ($6) then take Red Line to Dupont Circle.

On weekends, you can take B30 Metro Bus to Greenbelt Metro Station ($3) nonstop, take Metro to Fort Tottan, transfer to Red Line to Dupont Circle.

Prices being about equal, my choices are DCA, BWI, IAD, in that order.

I live in DC and will pay lots more for a ticket to fly in and out of National. I find everything about it easier and more pleasant than Dulles and BWI. Though the metro is a great option for someone trying to save money, the drive from National Airport into the city is a beautiful and quick route and such a nice way to get your first glimpse of Washington.

If you have a lot of luggage, go ahead and take National and a cab ride in. If not, save money and go the BWI-MARC-Metro route. Save cab fare for other DC points not convenient by Metro, like Embassy Row.

The great airport debate is probably second only to house prices as favorite conversations between people who live in DC.

I attach a $75-100 inconvience fee when booking flights out of IAD or BWI. If my flight out of DCA is only $75ish dollars more, I will go to DCA since it is so convenient and simple (and close to my house).

As for the whole BWI-MARC-Metro (or IAD-Shuttle-Metro) combination, my take is depends on how I sense I am going to feel. Landing at BWI, then tramping on a shuttle to stand and wait for a MARC then get on the MARC and watch it stop 8 times between BWI and Union Station, then walk to Metro and stand in line for the Metro to come (and possibly have to switch trains) is the last way I want to be spending my time as a traveller.

Mike, have you tried taking the B30 express bus, which leaves from the BWI terminal and goes to the Greenbelt Metro station? Much less hassle, IMHO, than the MARC shuttle etc. and also cheaper!

But it still means I have to take the Metro to Greenbelt and make sure I am on time for the bus, otherwise I am waiting another half hour. It's an awful lot of transferring and waiting.

That said, when I travel I sometimes will take public transport from the airport to where I am staying, but only when I have lots of time.

I meant I still have to wait for the bus, which could take up to 30 minutes, than go to Greenbelt (which is really far from the core of DC) and take another long subway ride, probably having to change trains. It is still a hassle.

Well, MikeT, it's 40 minutes you'd have to wait, not 30.

I guess the "hassle" is all a matter of prospective. If one takes Metro all the time, then it's just another blah day of riding. For those of us who come in from out of town, we have no great transportation systems as DC enjoys - and it's no hassle, in fact, a novelty, and I'd sure as hell rather spend the cab money on food or local taxi service, or donations to the various museums. If one has only 1 bag, or maybe 1 bag + "personal item" I think public transit is the way to go. Ft. Totten is not a very busy station and easy to transfer at. Hassle? Not like one encounters in a bad-traffic day in the DC area!

I'd have to repeat "Anonymous"s question: Have you tried the B30?

Three Cheers for Doriana! I agree with your comments on the view. I once rode to National with my neighbor who worked in Chrystal City. It was the wee hours of the morning and I felt like I was a participant in a movie!

I've tried the bus from Roslyn to IAD. I liked it--and I do take Metro every day, including a bus to Metro transfer--but it was a hassle. I lugged my bag onto the bus at my house, transferred to the Metro, lugged my bag off the Metro to wait for the bus (which was fortunately waiting for me, but that's rarely the case) I then rode in traffic--and two or three stops--to IAD.

I agree, it was cheap. But it would have been faster to take a taxi or drive myself.

From my house, it takes just about the same amount of time to any of the three, but I definitely prefer National -- as long as the times are during the Metro hours. (On international flights, however, I'll avoid it to miss the connections in Newark or at JFK.)

Another benefit is that if you hit a twilight flight with a landing path along the Potomac, the views can be tremendous, although the approach route doesn't seem to be quite as good as before 9/11. If it's a short hop, I'll give up my usual aisle spot for the window.

ita, you've started an interesting discussion but for someone like you, "coming to Washington, staying at Dupont Circle", the answer is National hands down.

From airport to Dupont Circle? Of course National is most convenient. From OP's departure airport to Dupont Circle? Coming from Long Beach, CA? Then getting to D.C. via a nontstop to Dulles would be more convenient that making a connection in Dallas to get to DCA. Like what repete said about JFK and EWR.