Baltimore to DC

[bigmjh]

Hi - We're planning on taking a day pre-cruise and traveling from Baltimore to Washington, DC to spend a day touring. We will be taking the train from BWI to DC and back on a Saturday. I understand that the MARC trains only run Mon-Fri. Are there any other options other than AMTRAK? I have nothing against AMTRAK ... but their weekend schedules are a little "light". Is there another alternative rail connection? Thanks.

[smeyer418]

look at a car rental its not far and Washington Parking is not THAT difficult or expensive....give you a chance to drive to arlington and the cemetary much better than on and off the buses(in my opinion)...

 

go to the space museum get tickets to the Holocost Mueseum...have your congress person get you tickets to the white house tour(at 6 am)... Drive and Park...

[signman]

Car rentals at BWI are cheap. No other option for train on weekends except Amtrak.

[Lightsluvr]

Has anyone taken the tourmobile in DC?

 

LL

[duchess720]

I think I would just rent a car at the airport and then drive to a metro stop and leave the car there and take metro into town. This may sound crazy, but you can get one day passes on metro and they take you everywhere. Parking is not that easy and if you don't know your way around, you will spend lots of time just going up and down one way streets. Guess it depends on what you want to do during the day, but its another option.

 

At least you have a car waiting to get back to Baltimore when ever you have done enough of being a tourist in DC. Actually, you need at least a week to see all the main tourist sites.

 

We live outside DC, on the Va. side, and take metro out of Springfield into DC. Traffic here is HORRIBLE!

[ParrotRob]

I think I would just rent a car at the airport and then drive to a metro stop and leave the car there and take metro into town. This may sound crazy, but you can get one day passes on metro and they take you everywhere. Parking is not that easy and if you don't know your way around, you will spend lots of time just going up and down one way streets. Guess it depends on what you want to do during the day, but its another option.

 

At least you have a car waiting to get back to Baltimore when ever you have done enough of being a tourist in DC. Actually, you need at least a week to see all the main tourist sites.

 

We live outside DC, on the Va. side, and take metro out of Springfield into DC. Traffic here is HORRIBLE!

 

100% Agreed. You can rent a full size car at BWI for less than $40 for the day. Then, drive to the GREENBELT metro station on the Green Line. That will take you 21 miles, less than a half hour, straight down MD-295. Park all day for $4.00 and buy all-day metro passes for $5 per person (can't use before 9:30am during the week, though). The Greenbelt station is a 25 minute ride from most of the major stations downtown (Smithsonian area, for instance). www.wmata.com will help you plan your metro trip, but it's very easy.

[duchess720]

My daughter worked on a tourmobile one summer while in college. I think she can still recite the entire tour. They are very informative and you do get to see the major sites. Some let you get on and off as you wish.

 

I am thinking of doing the tourmobile thing in NYC.

[BND]

I agree, rent a car. Believe it or not, I've lived in the DC suburbs for more than 35 years and have never been on the tourmobile. We just drive downtown and park most of the time, but you have to get there early to find parking. I agree the subway is easiest. You can see a lot in a day, but be aware the drive between Baltimore and Greenbelt can have heavy traffic, but is very easy to do. Traffic can be horrible, it isn't always. I guess because I grew up in MD, I am very comfortable driving all over including into DC. Otherwise, Amtrak is easy to use also.