First time out of BWI from Malvern, PA--any last minute recommendations?

[SSDonut]

Hi. We live West of Philly and for the first time are flying out of BWI. Our flight is on Thursday morning at 11:15, so I'm shooting to be at the airport by 9:15. . .

I'm a little worried about the traffic on I-95 at that time of the morning (hope to leave Malvern @ 6:30). . .any advice? Would we do better to take Rte. 1 at least part of the way?

Plan to use Fast Park blue lot. . .

TIA! 3 days to go! Woo Hoo

 

[rwdavis2]

You will probably hit traffic going south on I-95. I would recommand you visit traffic.com and watch the local Baltimore traffic for a few days to get a feel for any delays. Also, plot some alternate routes in case there's a major accident on 95. As an alteranative could you stay at one of the airport hotels the night before. That eliminates any potential traffic disasters.
Bob

 

[andrews_dad]

Depending on how long you are staying, it might be cheaper to park and fly rather than deal with rush hour. Figure parking might run you more than a 1 night stay. The hotel shuttles you to and from for free. Usually no charge to park car at hotel (if under a 14 day stay or so). Consider it. You will use 95 and then 83, I think. Bith are brutal heading into town on a work day between 7-10 AM.

 

[Mouseaholic!!!]

I second the Park & Fly.

Even if you do not save the entire cost of parking at one of the airport or private lots, your peace of mind and comfort should be a deciding factor.

Even if you arrive late to the hotel.....you will be rested and have plenty of time to grab a bite.....then complimentary shuttle to the airport.


At one point DH and I were looking at ALL options to fly from the Baltimore area to LAX for our DL trip ( in 12 days - yea ). We had looked at Philly as an option but ONLY if we stayed overnight at a hotel near the airport.

So....checkout Park & fly.

Your comfort should be part of the decision.

 

[Buzz's Buddy]

We live in Florence, NJ, just north of Philly, and we flew out of BWI on 11/4. I was also concerned about running into traffic on 95. We ended up staying in a hotel near the airport the night before which included 10 nights of parking for about $100 including tax. I highly recommend this. Depending on how long your stay is, it won't be that much more than parking alone and at least you won't have to worry about traffic.

We were able to sleep in and take the free shuttle to the airport. When we got back, we called and the shuttle was at the airport within 10 minutes to pick us up.

 

[bookwormde]

If you go RT 1 and then down 272 to 95 you will miss the Wilmington traffic, you will still have the tail end of the Baltimore traffic but you should be ok. Beware there is construction on 95 as you get to Baltimore.

bookwormde

 

[SSDonut]

Thanks for all the input--much appreciated! We can't do the stayover thing because our Wed night schedule is just too crazy and that would actually cause more stress than leving very early on Thursday morn!

We'll leave extra early and "go RT 1 and then down 272 to 95 you will miss the Wilmington traffic, you will still have the tail end of the Baltimore traffic but you should be ok. Beware there is construction on 95 as you get to Baltimore." (THANKS, Bookwormde!)

One of my favorite things about our WDW vacations is that I don't drive at all--I can put up with some Baltimore traffic to get to that bliss!!!

 

[puffkin]

I have nothing to add but good luck! We are leaving 12/4 out of BWI for the first time! Couldn't beat the $49 flights (half the price of Philly!). We are also going to use the Fast Park Blue lot. Lots of friends have told us that even if we hit traffic, it won't be any worse than trying to get to PHL in traffic....I don't think it gets much worse than the 76/476/95 traffic we always hit!!!!

We have a 6:20 flight and are planning to leave here around 1:30. Hoping to eek into BWI before the afternoon rush!

 

[Missytara]

I also live in DE and have flown out of both Philly and BWI. I much prefer BWI, and it is amazing the difference in pricing from one to the other.

Have fun; I am flying out on the 28th!!!!

 

[Paradise East]

We also live in DE near the beach. We are flying AirTran on Nov.30 at 12:00 noon and are spending the previous night at the Comfort Inn Baltimore on their Stay-Park and Fly plan for Peace of Mind.
We have flown out of PHL and BWI many times but, IMO, BWI is by far the more easy airport to access.

 

[stitchlovestink]

Oh you should be fine at that time of the morning. the worst of the rush hour is 6:15 to 8:15 just north of the 95/695 split.
BTW, here's a link to the website for the parking lot we use. We just flew out of BWI on 10/30/09 and have used this lot multiple times now. Left the truck for 11 days and it was less than $80 total.
DH drops me and DDs off at terminal to do curbside check in of our luggage. He takes truck to lot and takes shuttle back to terminal and meets us inside. total trip time for him about 15 min. Then we all head off to security together.
Hope this helps someone. I love the price and have NEVER had a problem w/ a vehicle we have left there either.

http://econoparkexpress.com/

 

[annnewjerz]

We live in Florence, NJ, just north of Philly, and we flew out of BWI on 11/4. I was also concerned about running into traffic on 95. We ended up staying in a hotel near the airport the night before which included 10 nights of parking for about $100 including tax. I highly recommend this. Depending on how long your stay is, it won't be that much more than parking alone and at least you won't have to worry about traffic.

We were able to sleep in and take the free shuttle to the airport. When we got back, we called and the shuttle was at the airport within 10 minutes to pick us up.

We live in Florence, NJ also (what a small world! ) and drove down to BWI for a 9:00am flight. Left around 4:30am, arrived around 7:00am and used the Express Parking Lot. Let me tell you, compared to Philly and Newark's economy parking, BWI's express parking was FANTASTIC. The shuttle bus picks you and your luggage up at your parking spot and takes you right to the terminal.

OP, if you aren't interested in doing park and fly, consider the Express Lot, it was perfect.