How hard (and expensive) to get to Arlington from BWI?

Here is my situation:

I live in Buffalo, NY and am planning a family trip for 4 nights to Washington in April of 2008. Through a promotion, I have 2 free nights of hotel in Arlington, and am working on the other two. The hotel is near Pentagon City metro station.

The question is: how to travel?

I have credits with Southwest Airlines, which flies 7 nonstop, 1 hour flights to BWI a day. Fast, but I%26#39;d have to get from the airport to hotel and back.

I could drive (about 7.5 hours). Slow, but I could go right to hotel, although about $20/night parking. I plan on using metro in DC and leaving car parked.

Any thoughts? Thanks!

How hard (and expensive) to get to Arlington from BWI?

Try googling ';BWI Transportation'; and you%26#39;ll get some hits for various transport options.

How hard (and expensive) to get to Arlington from BWI?

Here is the BWI ground transportation page:

bwiairport.com/ground_transportation/鈥?/a>

There are other ground options in the top menu of that page.

Food for thought, if you do use MARC or Metro (you would need to get from BWI to Metro somehow) take into consideration the time of day you are traveling. With luggage, getting on Metro or the commuter (MARC) trains is not fun during rush hour.

Either pack light, or try to do your train transportation at the right time of day to save yourself lots of aggrivation.

BWI towards DC in the afternoon would be reverse of rush, but once you get to Union Station (say you do MARC), once you head into Virginia, you will be with rush.

How much might a taxi (or equivalent) be?

Thanks for your help. I think you make a good point about the baggage and rush hour.

Since you%26#39;d be getting the plane tickets for free, I think it would be worth it to fly into BWI. A taxi would be about $70 one way to Arlington. Depending when you arrive, it would take anywhere from 45 minutes to 1.5 hours. You could also look into Super Shuttle (I think that%26#39;s an option from BWI, but not sure). If you prefer to take the train, keep in mind that Marc only runs on weekdays so depending when you come, Amtrak might be your only option for train service.

Thanks. Your comments really make me think about flying and taking a taxi. Do you think a 90 minute cab would only cost $70. Sine there are 4 of us, that price seems acceptable.

People in my office in Arlington have always said it%26#39;s cost them about $70 plus tip. But that%26#39;s usually for a single person and we%26#39;re in North Arlington. I just looked at the BWI website and they estimate $90 to National Airport. That%26#39;s near where you%26#39;re going so it should be about the same. However, if you have additional people and baggage charges, it could be more like $100 plus tip. Still $30/per person isn%26#39;t bad.

I have taken super shuttle many times from BWI to DC and Arlington. I can%26#39;t remember the price, but it should be about $30-40 (before any tip). It%26#39;s much cheaper than a cab, which would run you (as others have said) possibly up to $90. There is some waiting involved (the van doesn%26#39;t leave until there are enough people at the airport going to DC or Arlington) and you might get dropped off towards the end if the other people in your van are going to DC. That said, it%26#39;s pretty convenient overall.

I%26#39;ve also taken the MARC train, which only runs on week days, and costs under $10 (or did the last time I took it). You take a free shuttle from the airport to the train station (5-10 min drive), and can buy your ticket at the station. Amtrack also runs from the station, but is much pricier (about $30 last time I looked). You then take MARC to Union Station, which is on the metro%26#39;s red line. You%26#39;d have to transfer to the blue line at Metro Center to get to Pentagon City.

Super Shuttle would be more convenient, especially if you have luggage.

There is also a Metro Bus (#30) that leaves right from Southwest Arrivals and takes you to the Greenbelt Merto (Green Line) which cost $3.10 per person. Here is the link to the bus schedule: http://www.wmata.com/timetables/md/b30.pdf

From the Green Line Metro transfer to the Yellow Line at ';Mt Vernon Sq 7th St-Convention Center'; towards Hungington. This will take you right to Pentagon City. Most folks will tell you to transfer at Gallery Place however, this is a bigger transfer point and it tends to get crowrded. If you transfer at Mt. Vernon Square there are less folks and you%26#39;ll be able to get a seat because it%26#39;s the stop just before Gallery Place.

Again, you have to remember rush hour in this area is BAD (not just traffic but the subway too). The taxi might be more thatn 100 bucks in rush hour traffic (If it%26#39;s a Friday it starts about 2pm Mon-Thur about 3pm... in the morning 6:30-9:30am).