Washington DC peeps -- worth the premium to fly into DCA?

[snowbunny]

My DD and I are attending an event in Crystal City in August. I can drive 97 miles from here to MHT and get a USAir nonstop to DCA, then free hotel shuttle and back to the airport after our stay. RT fare for the two of us $414 including tax.

Or we can fly JetBlue to Dulles from our home airport (PWM), change at JFK, currently $406 including tax but may go down. Arrive at Dulles, $30 cab ride to Crystal City or bus to Rosslyn then orange line Metro, transfer to yellow line, get off at Crystal City, walk or cab to hotel (Hyatt Regency).

I'm thinking it is worth the sucky drive to MHT to have the convenience of flying into DCA...yes?

 

[Jestocost]

If your flight to Dulles were a direct one this would be a closer call, but the added inconvenience/risk of the transfer in JFK (yuck) would cause me to vote for the DCA option. Add to that the fact that it appears the Dulles option will wind up costing you more by the time you add in cabs, etc. and I'd make the drive.

 

[snowbunny]

Just remembered to check Airtran also (they starting seasonal service up here this summer)...nonstop PWM to BWI, $315 for the two of us.

How much hassle and expense is it to get from BWI to Crystal City? Baltimore to DC doesn't sound close, although Dulles is 30 miles away too...

 

[ZekeKelso]

My thinking - the $8 price difference is nothing. It's a matter of drive + flight to National, or no drive but transver and flight to Dullas. For me, a very easy choice - flight to National. The dive at home balances against getting from Dullas to Crystal City, so the direct vs transfer makes the difference - a big one for me.

The cheapskate route from BWI to Washington is to take a bus to an outlining metro stop and ride in from there. Works good if you aren't in a hurry, but isn't exactly quick. There are many fans that go from BWI to the major DC hotels, but I don't think they go to crystal city. They may have vans that go to National - that would probbly be your best bet if it exists.

 

[snowbunny]

Well now I'm thinking...for $100 less to fly from my own airport into BWI, I could rent a car at BWI and drive to crystal city. Factoring in hotel parking, it would eat up the $100 savings, but the drive would be substantially less than the 4 hours to MHT and back. Right?

 

[PlutoPony]

Well now I'm thinking...for $100 less to fly from my own airport into BWI, I could rent a car at BWI and drive to crystal city. Factoring in hotel parking, it would eat up the $100 savings, but the drive would be substantially less than the 4 hours to MHT and back. Right?

Maybe it would be less but not by much if you hit rush hour going and coming (honest). Crystal City is south-central of DC and you're coming from the north so probably 45-90 minutes each way. If you fly into BWI, look at taking MARC into Union Station then switch to Metro to Crystal City. MUCH MUCH easier IMHO than getting a car. Given traffic in this area and how unpredictable it can be, I'd opt for National unless you're saving big bucks....

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I would do just about anything to avoid JFK! If I were you, I'd take the USAir flight. Why risk a delay at JFK with a connecting flight (every time I've taken JetBlue with a stop at JFK, I've had a significant flight delay). Plus, DCA is so much closer to your destination.

 

[kkmauch]

If you're flying into BWI then you should really look into taking the train into Union and then metro to Crystal City. If ti were me, I would fly direct into DCA and then metro to Crystal or take the free shuttle. Either way, I hate Dulles.

 

[solotraveler]

If you decide to go the BWI route, my suggestion would be to take the B30 Metro bus to Greenbelt Station and take Metro to Crystal City from there. The bus is $3.00 each way. My parents live right near this metro station, so I use this bus all the time.

I would avoid, at all costs the transfer at JFK option.

 

[dis-happy]

We used to live in the area and these days my dh flies into BWI and then drives to DC every single week. If you plan your flight times well the traffic shouldn't be much of an issue (or at least workable). With the rental car take the 295 to the 395, straight into Crystal City. Travel time post rush-hour should take 45 mins. or less. When you leave make sure you head to the airport by 4:30pm at the latest to avoid traffic headed back (this timeline would work if your flight home was at 7:30 pm).

Otherwise, do the non-stop into National.

 

[snowbunny]

Many thanks for the responses. I'll definitely take one of the direct flights, trying now to decide between the 93-mile drive each way to Manchester so that we can fly direct into National, or the 37-mile drive BWI to Crystal City.

I am a fan of public transport, love the metro, but the bus and subway are more of a hassle with luggage. Factoring everything in, the price comes out the same...I think I'm leaning toward the drive from BWI. We'd be in the car at 9:30 am, so morning rush hour should be over, and the flight back is at 8:18 pm on a Sunday night, so hopefully traffic would be OK.

A couple of weeks ago I drove a rental from O'Hare into Chicago, from Chicago to the western suburbs and back, and then to O'Hare again from the loop. It can't be worse than that!