Washington DC airport question

[IDKaren]

Not exactly a cruise/air question but there are so many knowledgable people here I thought I would start here. If I was flying into Washington DC in the spring WHICH airport would I use to be closer to see all the 'govt" things...also any good ideas on hotels? Probably have to be aways from town to be less expensive and take the train, bus etc into DC proper? Thanks!

[ab0si]

Reagan National.

 

Dulles in WAY outside the city.

[parody]

While Regan Washington National Airport (DCA) is located only 3 miles south of DC (BTW, the only airport named after 2 presidents)--with easy access on WMATA--flights to it are restricted (with a couple of exceptions) to 1,250 miles. Thus, from Idaho, you may only be able to get nonstop flights to Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) located some 25 miles west of the CBD. But, if one can fly into Baltimore (BWI), one can get to Union Station in DC for only $6 pp on MARC (weekdays). On weekends, one must use Amtrak.

[IDKaren]

While Regan Washington National Airport (DCA) is located only 3 miles south of DC (BTW, the only airport named after 2 presidents)--with easy access on WMATA--flights to it are restricted (with a couple of exceptions) to 1,250 miles. Thus, from Idaho, you may only be able to get nonstop flights to Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) located some 25 miles west of the CBD. But, if one can fly into Baltimore (BWI), one can get to Union Station in DC for only $6 pp on MARC (weekdays). On weekends, one must use Amtrak.

 

 

Hee Hee that is actually FUNNY- cuz we can't get ANYWHERE from Idaho nonstop except pretty much Portland, Seattle-LV-Boise- arrggh we are in the sticks! SOOO since we have to go United and connect in UGH Denver- I guess Reagan would be it. I wonder why it is restricted like that? Interesting. Thanks to both of you!

[alcpa1]

A few more thoughts...

Hotels in the city are very expensive especially in the spring during the Cherry Blossom Festival.

Washington has a wonderful metro system. It can be a little confusing but if you can find a reasonably priced hotel on the metro line you can be anywhere in minutes.

I have flown into all three airports and the travel time [and cost] between BWI or IAD and downtown Washington makes these airports less user friendly. I have also taken the train from BWI as well as a limo and taxi. The train works well if you do not have a lot of luggage.

[parody]

I wonder why it is restricted like that?

 

The restrictions are generally to reduce noise and traffic. Note that one of the exceptions involves nonstop flights from Seattle to DCA on Alaska Airlines.

[flhokie]

National Airport is definitely much closer to the attractions/government stuff. It is also a very easy airport to navigate and the Metro stops right at the airport. It is in Arlington, VA (right across the river from DC). Minutes from the airport is Crystal City, VA where there are quite a few large chain hotels (Crystal City has it's own Metro stop). It's a great alternative if you want to stay outside the downtown DC area, but be able to be in DC in a few minutes.

[6rugrats]

Not exactly a cruise/air question but there are so many knowledgable people here I thought I would start here. If I was flying into Washington DC in the spring WHICH airport would I use to be closer to see all the 'govt" things...also any good ideas on hotels? Probably have to be aways from town to be less expensive and take the train, bus etc into DC proper? Thanks!

 

You may also want to check fares for flights into BWI. Sometimes from the west coast, they are a lot less expensive. It's a bit more of a hassle, but the $$ savings can be worth it.

[Jinn]

I took my grandson to D. C. this past Spring. We flew into Reagan and stayed at the Hampton Inn Convention Center which I thought was a good location, near the Metro and several restaurants. If you have children with you, take them to the Spy Museum. Jinn

[Shorex]

We've had great success with priceline for hotels in the DC area. Start your research with biddingfortravel.com to get an idea of what successful bids have been.

[newbiecruiser09]

I would search the 3 airports (Dulles-IAD, Reagan National-DCA and BWI) to see what flight times, costs, stops etc are best for you. Once you get here, getting from one of the farther airports to the hotel may be less expensive than flying into DCA. As long as you are at a hotel on a metro line you should be able to get into and out of the city fairly easily. I would look for hotels in Crystal City, Alexandria, or Springfield in VA or Rockville, Bethesda or Silver Spring in MD. Many hotels even have shuttles to the metro stops if they are not walkable (and the closer to the metro, the more $$$$) The red line tends to have more commuter traffic than the blue or green line so depending on when you are planning to travel that may be a factor. The metro is fairly easy to navigate (similar to London's system) and they have passes you can get for your stay. Good Luck and enjoy your trip!

[Kikkycat]

I've found BWI to have the cheapest flights as a general rule. It's a hub for Southwest Airlines if that's a consideration for you. Although if you've got a bunch of luggage, getting onto MARC or Amtrak would be cumbersome. DCA (Reagan National) is by far the easiest airport for Washington DC attractions, with the extra bonus of seeing some of the sights when you fly in and out as well. But you do pay pretty dearly for the convenience.

[greatam]

If you want a real splurge, try one of the tourist packages at the Hay-Adams. Not cheap, but as close as most can possibly get to sleeping in the White House. The view from the roof of the Hay Adams is the classic scene that you see on every newscast when they show the pictures of the White House.

 

We did the DC by Dark package 2 years ago. Limo, champagne, guide, exotic cheeses, caviar and all the fixins. The Korean War monument is REALLY neat at night. Breakfast or champagne brunch included. Fourth floor balcony room facing the White House. While we were eating breakfast Sunday morning, we watched the President, First Lady and ALL the Secret Service go to church across the street.

 

Walking distance to all the monuments and attractions.

 

DH complained long and loud about the price. But it is one of his favorite travel memories in the USA.

 

http://www.hayadams.com/washington-dc-packages.php

[IDKaren]

Thank you everyone for your very helpful advice! I need to check with United and make sure which airlines they go to--our tickets will be Frequent Flyer tickets IF we can get them so need to go where they go. I will get busy checking out VA and MD for good deals! Thanks!:D

[nparmelee]

We have to go to a conference in DC in a couple of weeks, AA to DCA was a little less than SWA to IAD. We also live in a city where you almost always have to transfer planes.

[Kikkycat]

For some reason, SWA to IAD is always more expensive than to BWI. IAD is almost never included in "Ding!" specials.

 

United is one of the largest presences at IAD (Dulles). They are at both other airports but on a much smaller scale.

[chipmaster]

Not exactly a cruise/air question but there are so many knowledgable people here I thought I would start here. If I was flying into Washington DC in the spring WHICH airport would I use to be closer to see all the 'govt" things...also any good ideas on hotels? Probably have to be aways from town to be less expensive and take the train, bus etc into DC proper? Thanks!

 

As others have said Reagon Airport is the way to go. The Metro has a stop right outside of the airport that takes you two within a couple blocks of most hotels.

 

But Dulles is also not bad with good planning. I just got back from a whirlwind tour going thru Dulles flying SW. It turned out it could have been very easy. You can pick up a $18 roundtrip ticket for a bus that leave every ~ 30 minutes that takes you to West Churchill Falls Metro Station. From there its another ~ 30-40' ride into downtown. So Dulles flyin / flyout adds probably another hour and half to the journey and extra 20 bucks. Just make sure you don't get in late as with flight delays you could get stuck trying to find a cap into the city late at night, and then you are talking serious money. That actually was what happend to us as our very delayed flight got in at 2am and had to wait in a line a hundred deep for a very expensive cab ride :eek:

[newbiecruiser09]

As others have said Reagon Airport is the way to go. The Metro has a stop right outside of the airport that takes you two within a couple blocks of most hotels.

 

But Dulles is also not bad with good planning. I just got back from a whirlwind tour going thru Dulles flying SW. It turned out it could have been very easy. You can pick up a $18 roundtrip ticket for a bus that leave every ~ 30 minutes that takes you to West Churchill Falls Metro Station. From there its another ~ 30-40' ride into downtown. So Dulles flyin / flyout adds probably another hour and half to the journey and extra 20 bucks. Just make sure you don't get in late as with flight delays you could get stuck trying to find a cap into the city late at night, and then you are talking serious money. That actually was what happend to us as our very delayed flight got in at 2am and had to wait in a line a hundred deep for a very expensive cab ride :eek:

 

 

The Metro stop is called "West (or East) Falls Church" (has nothing to do with Churchill, Falls Church is the town it is in) and it is on the Orange line. Be advised that the Metro does not run all night long (unlike NYC's subway) and shuts down around midnight most nights. So if you have a late flight, you may get to the metro station past closing. I would look into the various van/limo/shuttle services that go out of Dulles to see if the cost would be comparable (to the bus & metro options) or see if your hotel has a pickup service. I would not take a Taxi from the airport--too expensive. Hope this helps.

[steve20832]

I agree with NOT taking a taxi from or to the airport. DC area taxi drivers have no clue where anything is and they drive worse than my 92 year old grandmother. Metro does shut down at midnight except weekends which it closes at 2am. If you arrive late, look into Super Shuttle. United has a hub at Washington Dulles but they do serve all three Washington area airports.