Washington, DC - Public Transportation or Auto?
 

We plan on visiting Washington, DC in May 2013. Is it wiser as, tourists, to fly into one of the Washington area airports, or drive up from Florida, stop in Washington (I'm sure parking is at a premium) and then continue up to Connecticut?

We have Delta FF miles, so our flight from West Palm Beach is only taxes and fees. We would fly from Washington (choice of airports) into LaGuardia and rent a car for our 3-day visit in CT:

Depart PBI - WAS, 2nd leg is WAS-LGA. The return flight - LGA-PBI direct.

You don't want or need a car in DC. On-street parking is a nightmare, the ticket ladies are merciless, and public transportation is easy and cheap (including getting outto MD and VA).

Agree largely with the above if your plan is to stay in the city. Absolutely no need for a car.

Unless you are interested in a road trip where you make stops along the way, I would fly. West Palm Beach to DC is what, a 15 hour drive? Then another 5 to Connecticut? So even if you drive straight through, you are looking at 2-3 days on the road each way. Even if I couldn't buy my flights with miles, I would probably fly to avoid the long drive.

And a car won't really benefit you in DC - I use the Metro whenever I am there and it gets me almost everywhere I want to go in town. When I have had a car in DC, it pretty much stays parked for the duration of my stay. And yes, parking in DC comes at a premium. Driving can be a pain too. Some people who are travelling with cars choose to stay outside the city center at hotels with free parking and then take the Metro in for sightseeing - but I think they pretty much eat up their parking savings with added Metro fares.

Where in Coonecticut is your final destination? Flying from a DC airport to LGA then renting a car to CT might be inconvenient and take longer in total time than some other options by the time you get to and from both airports, security and checkin allowances at airport etc.

Personally I would see if another airport like Bradley makes more sense or take a train directly from DC to CT and rent a car there or even rent a car in DC and drive to CT--depending on your timing, budget and whether you want to see anything along the way. Train DC to CT would be my choice, again depening on your exact destination.

I would also definitely choose the fly from FL to DC option

nyer "Coonecticut" is probably 1 of the funniest spellings of Connecticut I have seen in a long time. But other than that, I completely agree with your post and was going to suggest the same thing. Could even arrange it to return the rental car in New Haven and take Metro North to NYC if you want to spend time in NYC at the end of CT visit.

! If only one could edit one's post after it appears!

Having just been in DC for three nights last weekend, I'd disagree that using the metro is better.

Now, I'll admit that over Thanksgiving traffic wasn't bad in the city, so perhaps that makes a little bit of difference. But several things I noticed. Our hotel was near Dupont Circle. One night we went to the Kennedy Center --about a 5 to 10 minute drive away. But by Metro, we'd need to walk several blocks to the station, get tickets, wait for the train, take it the "wrong direction", get off, walk to change lines, wait for another train, get on, take it to Foggy Bottom, get off, wait for a shuttle bus, take it to Kennedy Center. One would have to allow at least 45 minutes for that to happen, an hour to be truly safe. Then repeat it all in reverse coming back. We also drove about 5 or 10 minutes to three different restaurants for meals - way easier than trying to do the metro which really wasn't convenient for any of them.

One day we hopped in the car and went to Hillwood, then drove to National Cathedral, then stopped in Georgetown for lunch, then further in Georgetown for some shopping, then stopped at two other sites to take photos. Another day we just drove around, pulling over, and usually parking to do a photo shoot of national landmarks.

I'm sorry, but neither of those last two scenarios is "easy" if even "possible" by metro. Sometimes having a car is just better. And for the record I'm normally a huge fan of public transportation when traveling. For us, however, in DC it just wouldn't have worked.

NeoPatrick, I don't disagree that having a car in DC, especially over a holiday can work out OK. I've done it too over holiday weekends when staying with friends in the suburbs. But the OP is coming in May which is pretty busy. All bets are off for driving around and parking at that time of the year . And as you mention, it depends where a hotel is located and the places someone wants to visit.

Also, is the advantage of having a car for some scenarios enough that you'd drive from Florida to DC rather than fly? There are taxis in DC of course so for those times that the Metro is inconvenient, that's a good option too.

I'll agree with NeoPatrick that the destinations of Hillwood, the National Cathedral and Georgetown are not public transportation-friendly, but those sites are not usually at the top of most visitors' sightseeing lists (and even though I enjoy Hillwood, it probably isn't on the list at all).

For the great majority of tourist sites in D.C., public transportation works well and is cost-effective, especially if you are a couple or small group. (With larger groups, Metro fees can outweigh parking garage fees.)

I think using Metro and/or taxis and/or your feet are generally the best options for getting around D.C. If you have a car and use D.C. hotel parking, expect to pay up to $40 per day. If you have a car and park it in Union Station, you'll pay $22 per day. If you stay outside of D.C. (even as close as Arlington), you can find free/cheap hotel parking.

Oh my, there is so much information from everyone! One question I can answer quickly is that either LGA or Westchester County Airport is convenient, since we are from Fairfield County. New Haven is about 45 min. past our destination. (We do live in FL now though.)

I'll read all the posts carefully and then I'll repost with some comments. Thanks to everyone.

Neo, Thanksgiving in DC is stunningly quiet compared to May. Also, it seems you overlooked the vast bus system. To get from Dupont Circle to the Kennedy Center on the bus does involve one change, but as the buses come about every 10 minutes, not a big deal. Not saying a car wasn't better for you, but it's really pretty to zip to most places around this city by public transport. And cabs are pretty cheap - about $6 from Dupont to the KC.

I agree that Hillwood, National Cathedral and Georgetown grouped as a lot to visit in one day would have required significantly more time and a lot more in depth knowledge about DC's public transport to get from one to another.

But individually Gtown and the cathedral are not difficult destinations to reach by bus.

Georgetown - Two routes of the highly tourist friendly Circulator bus runs the length of Gtown on M Street.

National Cathedral - Easy bus ride up Mass Ave with a stop within a block or so of the cathedral.

FWIW, you can walk to the Kennedy Center from Dupont Circle in well under 45 minutes. Or walk to Foggy Bottom in less than 15 minutes time to catch the KC shuttle.

Not everyone wants to or can walk those distances. Weather is a factor. But agree with StCirq, that cabs are relatively inexpensive if walking isn't good.

You're right, obxgirl, weather WAS a factor for us -- it got pretty darned cold AND windy. If you have plenty of time in May then walking is often a great option. And part of my point was that if you're "touristing" you often want to do several places in one day -- so a car often makes that a lot easier.

I guess I've also gotten spoiled in these days of GPS. It takes a lot of planning to find and plot out bus lines -- where to get them, where to get off, where you might have to transfer, etc. It's just so easy to speak an address into a GPS and have it lead you right there.

But back to the original question, I think the real issue is not having your own car in DC -- but do you really want to drive or fly? There's a big difference in the two.

I like the fly-to-DC-then-train-to-CT idea.

I like it, too, but Amtrak fares can be sky high.

The other option not yet mentioned is the Amtrak Auto Train from Sanford Florida to Lorton Virginia.
Using your own car and staying at a hotel near a Metro stop outside DC would be my choice.
If you do choose to fly to DC Reagan National has its own Metro stop. Dulles is more inconvenient to get into the city.

This may have already been mentioned, but if you really have your choice of airports, choose DCA over IAD. Direct access to Metro.

Lots and lots of options. I intend to spend time sorting all this out tomorrow.

Again, many thanks for everyone's input. It is truly appreciated.

We usually drive to DC, but leave the car parked at the hotel. Other than Udvar-Hazy and Mount Vernon, we use the Metro for transportation in DC . .

We usualy are there for Thanksgiving and traffic is not bad, but in May it will be terrible