Washington DC to Baltimore: Which option would you pick?
 

Hello everybody!I'll be visiting DC this August for 4 days and will be flying back to Portland, Oregon out of BWI. The flight leaves at 8:00 AM. My question then is which option do you think is better?

1. Leave DC on the 4th day and book hotel in Baltimore putting me closer to BWI, plus I'll get to explore Baltimore(seems to be a nice city).

or

2. Enjoy a 4th full day in DC, then travel early in the morning to BWI.

By the way, I'm opting to take the Amtrak or even taxi cab. I found that Amtrak starts operation on the day of my departure at about 5AM.

I'd opt for staying in D.C. for a 4th full day. Back in the late 80s I use to take a MARC local RT from Baltimore to D.C. to commute to work. If I missed the last MARC I took an Amtrak to Pennsylvania Station. They seem to be very reliable and many head up to New York and stop at BWI (just make sure of this).

Why not see all of Washington that you'd like, leave late that evening to a pre-reserved hotel AT bWI. Then you'll be fresh and ready for your flight the next morning.

BWI is not very close to Baltimore or to DC. It's probably closer to Annapolis - only 15 minutes away

I'd opt for the overnight at Bawlmore. It is, as you have noted, a nice city.

If possible, use MARC to get there (weekdays only). Take the Camdem Line if you're staying in the Inner Harbor Area, or the Penn Line if you're gonna stay near the airport. Penn will bring you to downtown Baltimore too, but not as close to the Harbor, but Light Rail service starts right at the Baltimore Penn Station that will bring you quite close.

There is a 5:54 MARC train from Washington, arriving at BWI rail at 6:26, but that's a little close for an 8am flight.

If the Amtrak train you're looking at does not ORIGINATE at DC (eg: starts in Florida) then don't trust it to be on time, but should be ok if it does orig. in DC.

Thanks! Indeed, It would be nice to have Baltimore as an addition to this trip, but I would love to spend as much time possible in the capital. It sounds like getting to BWI should not be a problem. The MARC train mentioned sounds like a good option too. On the other hand, Amtrak has two earlier trains(5AM or5:30AM) originating from Union station.

If you're staying at a hotel, have you looked into shuttle bus service to the airport?