Washington D.C. (including Baltimore) - Dulles to Baltimore

I'm looking at taking a flight that lands at 5:40 AM at Dulles on a Sunday and I need to be in Balitmore by 8 AM. I'll be renting a Hertz car.

How bad is traffic on Sundays that early? Is Hertz on site at the airport? Any other recommendations?

Thanks.

welcome to FT. i am not familiar with the delivery system at hertz, but they should take no more than an hour. the hertz corrall is about a mile or so from the terminal. balt is a bit over an hour from iad. getting into the bowels of balt can take a bit of time, and it is easy to get lost.

use a gps with traffic, or listen to 103.5 for road repairs.

i once brought someone from bwi to dc(a 45min drive) at midnight. they were paving the parkway, and the beltway. took 2.5 hrs.

welcome to FT. i am not familiar with the delivery system at hertz, but they should take no more than an hour. the hertz corrall is about a mile or so from the terminal. balt is a bit over an hour from iad. getting into the bowels of balt can take a bit of time, and it is easy to get lost.

use a gps with traffic, or listen to 103.5 for road repairs.

i once brought someone from bwi to dc(a 45min drive) at midnight. they were paving the parkway, and the beltway. took 2.5 hrs.

On a Sunday, it should be OK. Weekdays would be problematic. Hertz is on the property, but is grouped with all the rental agencies - on the north side of the airport property. Hertz buses will run relatively frequently and its the first rental agency on "rental row".

One tip can never go wrong. Take the DC beltway to US29 North then take that to I-70 East, which will drop you at the Beltway with no fuss and less traffic than I-95.

One tip can never go wrong. Take the DC beltway to US29 North then take that to I-70 East, which will drop you at the Beltway with no fuss and less traffic than I-95.That frequently is a good alternative but I do not agree with that if you are traveling that route on a Sunday morning at 7AM. At that hour, I-95 will run at the speed limit.

Oh, one piece of advice on leaving IAD.

DO NOT speed excessively on the Dulles Acces Road. Even if its Sunday at 6:30 and the road is wide open. MWAA needs to find ways to pay for the damned Metro extension to Dulles and one way they're offsetting costs is by posting extra radar enforcement on the Access Road.

Oh, one piece of advice on leaving IAD.

DO NOT speed excessively on the Dulles Acces Road. Even if its Sunday at 6:30 and the road is wide open. MWAA needs to find ways to pay for the damned Metro extension to Dulles and one way they're offsetting costs is by posting extra radar enforcement on the Access Road. ^ This is advice to take to heart.

And pay close attention as you approach the interchange between the Dulles Toll Road and I-495 (let up on the gas pedal when you see the Route 7 exit). Take the wrong lane and you could end up in DC (or southern Maryland)!