Baltimore to Washington DC

[Michelle c]

We are staying in Baltimore before our cruise but are wanting to go to Washington DC for the day. Can anyone help with the best way to do this as far as transportation? Never been to Baltimore so I am not familiar with any transportation options or what would be the best.

[tompeter]

Take the MARC commuter train from either Baltimore Penn Station or BWI station to Wash DC Union Station. Then you can use the Metro (subway) to reach most all tourist areas.

[SRF]

Also there is the Camden Line from near the baseball stadium.  But it only runs during normal commuter times.  The Penn lines runs throughout the day.

 

https://www.mta.maryland.gov/schedule?type=marc-train

 

You can also take light rail from downtown to the airport, then shuttle to the MARC station.

 

Watch out, there are also Amtrak trains, but MARC tickets do not work on them, and they cost a LOT more.

 

At the stations, there are machines to sell tickets, make sure you buy from a MARC machine.

[mskaufman]

1 hour ago, tompeter said:

Take the MARC commuter train from either Baltimore Penn Station or BWI station to Wash DC Union Station. Then you can use the Metro (subway) to reach most all tourist areas.

 

You can even catch the HOHO bus right outside of Union Station in DC.

[Michelle c]

Thank you. We are staying at Hyatt Place Inner Harbor. Is it easy to get to the MARC trains from there? Also which stop would we get off at in DC? We are planning on visiting a couple of Smithsonians. Does it depend on which one or are the close together? As you can tell we are not to knowledgeable on using public transportation but are willing to learn.

[jlstwinmommy]

MARC will take you to Union Station in DC.  That is on the red line.  You would need to take the metro 3 stops on the red line to Metro Center where you can switch to the blue line which stops at the Smithsonian.  All the museums are on the mall at the Smithsonian stop.  Still a bunch of walking, but you can see the Washington monument at one end and the Capital at the other end of the mall area.  The metro stops in the middle of the mall area.  We can usually only do 1 or maybe 2 museums in a day as they are pretty huge.

 

There is a map of the DC metro here:

https://www.wmata.com/schedules/maps/upload/2017-System-Map.pdf

 

The key to the metro is getting on the train going the right direction.  All metros show the last stop on the line so you know which way you are going (from Union Station - you would go toward Shady Grove to get to Metro Center).  I think the metro in DC is relatively easy to use and most stations now have signs that tell you when the next train is coming.  They run every 10 minutes or so during the weekday (much closer during rush hours).  

[SRF]

54 minutes ago, Michelle c said:

Thank you. We are staying at Hyatt Place Inner Harbor. Is it easy to get to the MARC trains from there? Also which stop would we get off at in DC? We are planning on visiting a couple of Smithsonians. Does it depend on which one or are the close together? As you can tell we are not to knowledgeable on using public transportation but are willing to learn.

 

Easiest would be a taxi/Uber/Lyft to Penn Station.

 

Union Station in DC is the last stop.  So they will tell you to get off the train. 😄

 

Once in DC, you can walk, take Metro, do the HOHO bus, or use the Circulator bus to get around.  Circulator it $1 per ride.  https://www.dccirculator.com/

 

There is also the Old Town Trolley, which is like the HOHO, but uses a tram like vehicle. https://www.trolleytours.com/washington-dc   It stops near Union Station, and it stops at most of the museums.

 

You will have a hard time really doing one museum in a day.

[mskaufman]

Unless you have a particular museum you want to see I tell  my out of town guests who only have one day to use one of the HOHO options so they can see the Capitol, Washington, Lincoln & Jefferson Memorials, White House, WWII, Korean and Vietnam memorials, etc.

[Turtles06]

8 hours ago, Michelle c said:

We are planning on visiting a couple of Smithsonians. Does it depend on which one or are the close together? As you can tell we are not to knowledgeable on using public transportation but are willing to learn.

 

The various museums that are part of the Smithsonian are spread along the border of the National Mall.  (If you look at a map, that will help orient you.)  The museums are quite large, and you could easily spend a full day in just one of them.   Since you said you haven't been to DC before, that might not be the best use of your time, unless you have a very strong desire to see a particular museum/exhibit.   For a first time visitor, I like mskaufman's advice to see DC's monumental core, and perhaps take time at some of the Memorials (like the Lincoln and Jefferson).  One of my favorites is the FDR Memorial.