Washington DC and public transportation ?'s

[MommyinHonduras]

We are planning a trip to Lancaster/York the fall and want to take a few days to head to DC. We are a family of 6 so car share is not an option that fits well for us. We are looking at coming down on the metro with friends able to drop us off at Greenbelt station or possibly drive and park there.
We plan to stay 2-4 nights to be determined later.

Questions:
1) Luggagee on metro lines as well as on the Circulator. We are not sure where we are staying but want a place with easy transportation options. We will most likely fly in and out of BWI so travel directly to or from the airport is a possibility so will have larger luggage or maybe just small bags if we go mid trip.
2). Food and drinks on public transportation. I usually carry water at all times. I like to have snacks on me too. I am all good with not drinking and eating while on public transportation but wondering about having it on my person.
3)As an international traveler who won't have a cell phone or US credit card, what should I know. I see about getting the cards in machines for the metro but is cash an options at the machines? Prepaid Visa cards an option?
Thanks. Share anything else you think would be helpful to know.

 

[BrianL]

Hi, I've used the DC Metro a bit and the subways are actually pretty good. Luggage should be fine on the trains but if it is very large it may be cumbersome. I don't know that there are strict limits or anything but there are a lot of escalators and such to navigate at the stations. Food and Drink is definitely fine to carry with you - many workers commute every day with a lunchbox, etc. If I recall you are not supposed to actually eat or drink while on the trains, but that also never stopped anybody. I think at least one machine at each station will take cash, but not all do. It has been a while so I can't say if that has changed.

 

[NotUrsula]

If you come in via BWI, you can take MARC/Amtrak from there to DC Union Station for very little cost. Two different services, but they run trains on the same track, the choice depends mostly on your schedule. These are full-sized train cars, with cushioned seats that are more comfortable for the longer ride. https://www.bwiairport.com/to-from-bwi/transportation/transit/mta-marc-train https://www.bwiairport.com/to-from-bwi/transportation/transit/amtrak

Getting in from the MD suburbs via WMATA transit is a bit clunkier, but it is doable. You can buy WMATA visitor passes through the mail ahead of your trip if you like, as long as you have a standard-branded credit card; one less thing to worry about when you arrive. WMATA's stations have been undergoing a lot of work lately; check the site to be sure that the station you choose has working elevators or escalators, so that you don't end up hauling luggage on stairs.

ETA: I got the impression that the OP was arriving via plane or via a ride from a friend, and that they would not have a vehicle to be parked. However, for what it's worth, please note that the WMATA commuter garages cannot be paid in cash; to pay for WMATA garage parking, you either need to use a SmartTrip card with sufficient cash value on it, or a credit card. The WMATA stations only have limited overnight parking spaces; the better choice for a visitor with a car to store in the District is to park it in the Union Station garage if your hotel doesn't offer reasonable guest parking.

BTW, since we're talking about transit, I recommend a rented bike for seeing the monuments, rather than the expensive bus tours. Sign up for Capital Bikeshare before you go if you want to use the bike kiosks.

 

[elphaba91]

We are planning a trip to Lancaster/York the fall and want to take a few days to head to DC. We are a family of 6 so car share is not an option that fits well for us. We are looking at coming down on the metro with friends able to drop us off at Greenbelt station or possibly drive and park there.
We plan to stay 2-4 nights to be determined later.

Questions:
1) Luggagee on metro lines as well as on the Circulator. We are not sure where we are staying but want a place with easy transportation options. We will most likely fly in and out of BWI so travel directly to or from the airport is a possibility so will have larger luggage or maybe just small bags if we go mid trip.
2). Food and drinks on public transportation. I usually carry water at all times. I like to have snacks on me too. I am all good with not drinking and eating while on public transportation but wondering about having it on my person.
3)As an international traveler who won't have a cell phone or US credit card, what should I know. I see about getting the cards in machines for the metro but is cash an options at the machines? Prepaid Visa cards an option?
Thanks. Share anything else you think would be helpful to know.

Luggage is fine on the metro - we used public transport from Dulles to our hotel with a large suitcase and small suitcase each and it wasn’t a problem (apart from finding the elevator at one station!). I don’t think I’d take it on the circulator bus, although I guess it may be alright on one of the quieter routes.

I seem to recall that we bought our cards at the machine and didn’t have any issue. I can’t recall if we used cash, Australian credit cards or a debit card with US dollars loaded on it. I often have difficulties with the machines in the New York subway (as they require a US zip code that matches your credit card) but I don’t think we had any issues with DC.

 

[NYCgrrl]

We are planning a trip to Lancaster/York the fall and want to take a few days to head to DC. We are a family of 6 so car share is not an option that fits well for us. We are looking at coming down on the metro with friends able to drop us off at Greenbelt station or possibly drive and park there.
We plan to stay 2-4 nights to be determined later.

Questions:
1) Luggagee on metro lines as well as on the Circulator. We are not sure where we are staying but want a place with easy transportation options. We will most likely fly in and out of BWI so travel directly to or from the airport is a possibility so will have larger luggage or maybe just small bags if we go mid trip.
2). Food and drinks on public transportation. I usually carry water at all times. I like to have snacks on me too. I am all good with not drinking and eating while on public transportation but wondering about having it on my person.
3)As an international traveler who won't have a cell phone or US credit card, what should I know. I see about getting the cards in machines for the metro but is cash an options at the machines? Prepaid Visa cards an option?
Thanks. Share anything else you think would be helpful to know.

1. Luggage is allowed on the Metro lines in DC as well as other transport from and to the airports.
2. Yes, eating is frowned upon if not actually forbidden but its fine to carry from one point to another. No one cares if you drink water.
3. Cash, c/c and debit cards are fine for paying for your rides.

Have fun and don't forget your walking shoes; DC is NOT car friendly.
We just returned from there about 2 weeks ago and had a blast.

 

[clutter]

Not all stations allow overnight parking. Frankly, metro parking is one place I wouldn't want to leave a car overnight anyway. They just aren't well monitored. Personally, I'd get a ride/Uber to the station or do the BWI parking that NotUrsala mentioned.

 

[wgeo]

We flew into BWI and took the train with all of our luggage, we had no problems at all. You can prepurchase cards online if you want, but the machines took cash also. We saw many people with luggage on the train and many people pulling luggage along the street getting to the hotel. It was quite easy.

 

[NYCgrrl]

I had to look up the Circulator (never been on it and if we can actually leave the Mall area (LOL) it looks like a great idea) but it doesn't say anything about luggage. Does allow strollers though. On our departure and arrival dates we leave our luggage w/ the bell captain if needed so that's another possibility.