Need advice - cruising out of Baltimore port

[crazy4cruzin]

We live in the NYC area and have the option to either fly into Washington Dulles airport (cheapest flight of the 3 airports) or take Amtrak into Baltimore.

My question is can anyone tell me how we would get from the Dulles airport to the Baltimore port cheaply, has anyone done this? I am not familiar with the Baltimore area, so don't know what my options are when flying into a Washington D.C. airport. Would I need to rent a car at the airport and drive to the port, drop off the car near the port somewhere? Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Betsy's Mom]

Living in Baltimore I would just take Amtrack. If you come in the day before stay in the Inner Harbor area and taxi to the port. Flying into Dulles-

the airport is a good hour and a half (maybe more) from Baltimore, lots of traffic and interstates. Why hastle? You can also make a train connect in DC, but that would take almost as long as the trip from NYC on Amtrak. There is a good "regional" train at 3:30 from Penn Station that takes about 2 hours and 15 minutes to Baltimore. I believe the cost is about $80 for seniors (which I am) an easy trip.

Enjoy your cruise!

B.

[signman]

First question, why don't you just drive to Baltimore and park at the pier? A hired ride to/from Dulles to the pier will cost in the $125-150 range. You could catch a Washington Flyer bus to somewhere in DC and then via the Metro make your way to DC Union Station and Amtrak to Baltimore Penn Station, then cab to your final destination. Look at the Dulles website for more detail on this.

 

If you rent a car at IAD you could drop off at BWI and then you might need to shuttle to the terminal to catch an Airport Cab. Don't know if there are drop fees involved or not. Plug it in and see.

 

Certainly Amtrak right to Penn Station is an option. But why isn't a flight from Islip or Hartford on Southwest direct to BWI on the table for you?

[crazy4cruzin]

Signman - thanks for suggesting Southwest Airlines. I hadn't thought of them. I think this is the way we will go, less hassle. Can you tell me how far the BWI airport is from the pier and how much a taxi would cost?

 

Betsy's Mom- thanks also. Amtrak will be our alternative if we can't get reasonably priced air tickets.

[signman]

BWI is about 12 miles and a 15 minute ride to the pier. Cost runs about $25 +/-, if cabbie takes Rt. 295, which is undergoing constructioin and is prone to backups. Could run up to $10 more if Rt.195/95 used, longer, but could be quicker at certain times of day.

[Lightsluvr]

SWA wants to be the top dog at BWI. I haven't checked their fares from W. Islip to BWI lately, but histroically they have been very comptetitive.