Driving into Baltimore

[Carbri]

Let me first say how THRILLED I am that we can drive to another port! I have sailed out of almost every port (except NY and Boston) and I never dreamed I could sail from Baltimore from Western NC but the drive is only 8 hours!

I was wondering something off the wall. We are staying in Winchester Virginia for 2 nights before our June 3rd sailing on the Pride. Can anyone tell me if there is anything to do here? We like Aloft hotels and there is an Aloft here (this will be our wedding night). Winchester looks tiny.

Anyone?:D

[jackretired]

Check out http://www.visitwinchestervirginia.com/

[jackretired]

You may arrive in Baltimore early enough to visit http://www.nps.gov/fomc/index.htm

 

Which I recommend.

[Carbri]

Thanks so much for the superior links! This information is great!

[Eng23]

Let me first say how THRILLED I am that we can drive to another port! I have sailed out of almost every port (except NY and Boston) and I never dreamed I could sail from Baltimore from Western NC but the drive is only 8 hours!

I was wondering something off the wall. We are staying in Winchester Virginia for 2 nights before our June 3rd sailing on the Pride. Can anyone tell me if there is anything to do here? We like Aloft hotels and there is an Aloft here (this will be our wedding night). Winchester looks tiny.

Anyone?:D

Just drive straight to Baltimore. There is an Aloft Hotel at BWI airport that is a very short ride to the cruise port. There is more to do in Baltimore than there is in Winchester, Va. Plus Winchester is still about an hour to one and a half hours from Baltimore. I'd rather be 20 minutes from the port the day of departure than more than an hour.

[Carbri]

Just drive straight to Baltimore. There is an Aloft Hotel at BWI airport that is a very short ride to the cruise port. There is more to do in Baltimore than there is in Winchester, Va. Plus Winchester is still about an hour to one and a half hours from Baltimore. I'd rather be 20 minutes from the port the day of departure than more than an hour.

 

We thought about the Aloft in Baltimore but were not sure an airport location would be what we are looking for, esp for a wedding night. Sometimes hotels close to an airport tend to be in areas not so desireable, but I will look a bit closer! We also thought the drive into Baltimore would be more fun in daylight hours so we wanted to wait til the next day since its an 8 hr drive and we won't arrive in Baltimore until after dark if we drive entire way. But I might reconsider since the town does sound neat and fun! Thank you for your reply!

[DanJ]

I'm not familiar with that particular hotel, but the airport hotel area around BWI isn't a "less than desireable" area. I mean, there's nothing fancy about the area either, but I certainly didn't feel like we were going into some slummy area or anything. If you come in on I-95, you don't really miss much in the dark, as you basically hit the airport area before the city. The Pride doesn't start boarding until later than usual, because it doesn't arrive until about 9am most mornings, so you have time in the morning to do some sightseeing if you want. We actually did a tour of the Camden Yards baseball stadium before heading to the ship.

[Eng23]

We thought about the Aloft in Baltimore but were not sure an airport location would be what we are looking for, esp for a wedding night. Sometimes hotels close to an airport tend to be in areas not so desireable, but I will look a bit closer! We also thought the drive into Baltimore would be more fun in daylight hours so we wanted to wait til the next day since its an 8 hr drive and we won't arrive in Baltimore until after dark if we drive entire way. But I might reconsider since the town does sound neat and fun! Thank you for your reply!

The Aloft at BWI airport is in what is called the "Hotel Zone". There is a large concentration of hotels in this area. The area is not undesirable(as in not a slum or high crime area) The Aloft is behind the Airport Marriott and next to the Airport Hilton. There are restaurants and a shopping area within a mile of the hotel. If you want to go into downtown Baltimore most hotels provide a shuttle to a light rail stop that will take you to downtown and you would get off at the Convention Center stop, the Inner Harbor is about three blocks away with restaurants, the Aquarium, Science Museum, The USS Constitution (old Navy Sailing warship, the USS Torsk (a WW2 submarine), and many other attractions.

[mikedw]

I live about 45 minutes north of Winchester in Hagerstown, MD. It's a very nice little city with a ton of history. I'm a civil war buff and you could easily spend several days in the valley around the area visiting the historic sites. Not to mention the dozen or more vineyards and wineries around the area.

 

Enjoy your trip.

[elzapato]

Winchester is definitely a good place for history buffs and wouldn't be a bad stop but keep in mind that traffic in Baltimore can be backed up no matter what day you travel!