Which Airport in Washington D.C?

[woody5]

We are hoping to take a trip to D.C. this summer. We have some credits from Southwest to use. We will be flying in from Chicago. Which airport Reagan or Dulles is more convenient. We do not plan on renting a car. Ideally we would like to use a shuttle or the metro to get to our hotel from the airport. Any suggestions using one airport vs the other. The price is identical from Midway. Thanks.

 

[REL1203]

having grown up in DC, and having flown out of all 3 major metro Airports (BWI, Dulles and reagan), each has pros and conss. Dulles is the big one, but is about 20 miles from DC and not close to the metro at all. Reagan has a metro stop locally and is about 200 yards across the river to DC. BWI is about 45minute drive to DC. If your flying south west, i dont think they fly into Reagan very much , BWI is a huge hub for them, and Dulles has ALOT of SW flights now. If price is the same, Reagan is MUCH MUCH closer

 

[bavaria]

I fly into IAD all the time. But if you are planning on using the metro to get from the airport you will need to take a Washington Flyer bus to the metro station and then transfer.

DCA is much closer and more convenient to DC itself, as another poster noted.

For suburban areas, IAD is usually more convenient (assuming that one uses a car service or rents a car)

 

[kkmauch]

If you're planning to metro, you definitely want to fly into DCA. It's the most convenient airport for getting into DC, seeing the sights on approach and it's directly on metro. If it's the same price, for sure fly into DCA.

 

[AllyBri]

We flew into both airports in the past 6 months. Dulles took us close to 45 minutes to get into DC, Reagan took us 5 minutes.
The last time we stayed at the Grand Hyatt Washington and the Metro makes a stop right at the hotel.

 

[ymn]

If you fly into BWI, there is a bus (B30) that will take you to the subway in Greenbelt, MD. You can also take an Amtrak train from BWI to Union Station in DC. DCA is the closest airport to the attractions in DC. There are links to transportation options from the airport websites.

 

[woody5]

Thanks for the input. SW has about four flights a day into DCA and right now they are $36 each way from Chicago Midway. It seems that would be the best airport for us since we will not have a car. Many on the disboards recommends the Marriott at Crystal City to stay at. I understand it is close to the airport and has a metro stop at the hotel. How long would it take to get to the major sites from here? I always vacation at WDW so this is new for me. Any other hotel suggestions? The marriott is $139 a night for the time we are looking on going. That sounds pretty good for the D.C. area. Thanks for any new information.

 

[REL1203]

Thanks for the input. SW has about four flights a day into DCA and right now they are $36 each way from Chicago Midway. It seems that would be the best airport for us since we will not have a car. Many on the disboards recommends the Marriott at Crystal City to stay at. I understand it is close to the airport and has a metro stop at the hotel. How long would it take to get to the major sites from here? I always vacation at WDW so this is new for me. Any other hotel suggestions? The marriott is $139 a night for the time we are looking on going. That sounds pretty good for the D.C. area. Thanks for any new information.

Here is a good Metro Map
http://artificialeyeclinic.com/images/subway.jpg
The crystal City Marriott is nice, and is one metro stop from Regean Airport, so a short ride.

Crystal City is technically in Arlington/Alexandria VA, not DC... If you wanted to actually stay in DC there are better places I am sure. Hotel Washington is always nice

 

[LuvENDisney]

You should also look into staying in Rosslyn, which is off of the metro. Also, some hotels in the area, close to the airport have a free shuttle service to/from the airport. It is worth asking. When making reservations, I would ask the hotel how close you are to the metro station too.
Have fun!

 

[kkmauch]

I can tell you from personal experience...STAY IN CRYSTAL CITY...you will love it there.

I've stayed at the Marriott and also lived in the apartment building accross the road. The metro stop is just a 10 minute jaunt from Crystal City to DCA. You will be, if I remember correctly, just two stops from DCA.

You won't want to stay anywhere else once you've been at the Mariott there. You will be just a short metro from all the DC attractions but you'll be far enough out to not have to deal with the noise and traffic. You can still see quite a bit from Crystal City, so ENJOY!!!

 

[safetymom]

I agree with the suggestions to fly into DCA and stay at the Crystal City Marriott. It is my favorite hotel in DC. I don't rent a car anymore after staying there.