Traveling to and from Washington, DC

Three airports serve Washington. Washington Dulles International Airport, 25 miles out in the suburbs of Virginia, handles the longer flights into the region, including most international flights. Baltimore-Washington International Airport (or BWI) is a lot closer to the first half of its name but easily accessible from Washington by public transport, and is popular for its cheaper fares and more bearable traffic. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (most people still use the old name ‘National’) is the closest to DC, located just across the Potomac River from Downtown, and gives a great view of the monuments as you fly in; it’s used mostly for short- and medium-haul flights within the US and Canada. The airports have their own official websites, but for general information, including ground transport, shops and services, hotels and maps, go to www.quickaid.net or www.metwashairports.com.

Getting to Washington from BWI can often be expensive, a hassle, or both. A cheap combination (best if you have little to haul) to downtown DC is the shuttle-train-Metro option. Take the free shuttle bus (marked BWI Rail, 1-410 672 6169) from the BWI terminal to the train station about a mile away, then catch a MARC ($6 one way, www.mtmaryland.com) or Amtrak (from $20, www.amtrak.com) train south 25 minutes to Union Station from where you can get on the Metro. BWI is also served by cabs, private car companies and the Super Shuttle (see above), but beware of the long waits for the latter. You can get complete BWI ground transport information from the booth in Pier C or by calling 1-800 435 9294. A cab from BWI to downtown DC costs about $60 plus tip.

National Airport is served by the Metro subway system (Yellow and Blue lines). It’s about a 20-minute ride to Downtown. Going by cab is another option: signs outside each baggage claim area will direct you to the taxi stand. The taxi stand operator will point you to a particular cab depending on whether you’re going to DC, Virginia or Maryland. Virginia-licensed cabs can take you anywhere; DC- and Maryland-licensed cabs can’t serve Virginia.

Since Reagan National Airport is in Virginia, only cabs registered there will take you to the Downtown area. The fare for Maryland, Virginia and DC cabs is determined by meter. All pick-ups from National Airport add a $1.75 surcharge. A cab to downtown Washington costs about $15-$20 plus tip (Virginia Yellow Cabs, 1-703 522 2222). Reagan is also served by Super Shuttle.