Washington D.C. (including Baltimore) - Which is easier to get to from Falls Church - DCA or IAD?

Looks like the place I will be renting is just across 66 from the WFC Metro stop, which of course allows me to either hop the Flyer to IAD or connect to Blue Line in Rosslyn down to DCA. So I'm curious, which will be a shorter trip? I'm interested in both Metro/Flyer and by car, so comments on either or both are appreciated.

Taking the Metro one-way from West Falls Church to DCA will run either $2.15 (off-peak) or $3.90 (peak) and should take about 30 mins.

Taking the Washington Flyer will cost $10 one-way ($18 RT) and also take about 30 mins.

The Wash Flyer bus is probably a bit easier and a nicer ride since you don't have to change anywhere. Taking the Metro is easy enough and changing at Rosslyn isn't too bad (if the escalators are working) but I'd try to avoid it at rush hours when the Orange Line trains can be very crowded.

Basically I think both options are more or less equal, but overall I find DCA much easier to deal with than IAD.

Welcome to the DC area - expect traffic everywhere and anywhere you go. I would fly out of which airport gives the better schedule/price options. But if having to pick - I would like go with DCA if using public transportation and if driving, go with IAD. the time of day for travel would be taken into consideration as both options could have issues with delays/traffic

Welcome to the DC area - expect traffic everywhere and anywhere you go. I would fly out of which airport gives the better schedule/price options. But if having to pick - I would like go with DCA if using public transportation and if driving, go with IAD. the time of day for travel would be taken into consideration as both options could have issues with delays/traffic

Like the previous poster, I prefer DCA overall, but now that I will be staying relatively further out than normal (when DCA has always been the default for me), I will start giving IAD a look to see if it's cheaper or has better schedule offerings.

i would think that destination, price, airline preference would have some influence on your airport choice.

i would think that destination, price, airline preference would have some influence on your airport choice.

Definitely. This will just be first time I will be staying in a place that is even remotely more convenient to IAD than DCA (having always stayed in the District or right across the river in Pentagon City/Crystal City). I'm actually kind of excited to get a chance to fly from IAD so I can get some spotting done from the sterile area instead of just in the terminal when I go on spotting trips out there.

Definitely. This will just be first time I will be staying in a place that is even remotely more convenient to IAD than DCA (having always stayed in the District or right across the river in Pentagon City/Crystal City). I'm actually kind of excited to get a chance to fly from IAD so I can get some spotting done from the sterile area instead of just in the terminal when I go on spotting trips out there.
Spotting at IAD is best done from the U-H museum's tower as the afternoon bank of european flights start arriving ... good luck with your move.

Spotting at IAD is best done from the U-H museum's tower as the afternoon bank of european flights start arriving ... good luck with your move.

That's interesting. I've found the roof of Garage 1 to be better when they operate in a southbound configuration (in good weather of course). Most of my shots from the UHC tower aren't that great due to the reflections and such.

All things being equal, I would always fly out of DCA. The checkin / gate / security process is infinitely shorter.

The downside is that there are fewer direct options so you often end up with the choice between DCA with a connection or more expensive ticket vs. an IAD flight that is direct / cheaper.

If you're right at the metro, its a toss up. Wash Flyer to Dulles is quick, but the convenience of DCA mitigates any negatives incurred on Metro which is quickly being labeled as My Extremities Torn Right Off....

If you're right at the metro, its a toss up. Wash Flyer to Dulles is quick, but the convenience of DCA mitigates any negatives incurred on Metro which is quickly being labeled as My Extremities Torn Right Off....

It's about .6 miles according to Google, so I'm thinking that I will still be a bit easier to get to DCA given the aforementioned hassles at IAD.