Washington D.C. (including Baltimore) - 10hr Layover in IAD

Hello, I have a 10hr layover in IAD (Washington Dulles) between an international flight and an domestic flight back home. My light gets in around 7am and departs again at 5pm. I know that I have to go threw customs baggage re-check, and security again would it be worth it to leave the airport and see a museum, or catch a movie outside of the airport or would it be better to just stay at the airport do some shopping get a massage or whatever there??? This is my first international flight and i have no clue what to do or what i am supposed to do.

Air and space museum near Dulles if that's your thing. There is a shuttle that runs between Dulles and the museum. It's pretty cheap last time I did it.
Or you could go into DC and see some of the sights, given your amount of time.

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Air and space museum near Dulles if that's your thing. There is a shuttle that runs between Dulles and the museum. It's pretty cheap last time I did it.
Or you could go into DC and see some of the sights, given your amount of time.

Concur. Or go spend some leisure time at Reston Town Center.

A 5:00 pm departure is smack in the middle of the EU departure bank. I'd really want to be there 2 hours ahead of time as security is bad, bad, bad at 3:00 pm.

10 hours is plenty to come into the city, if anything there catches your fancy. There's very little to do at the airport.

I *might* be able to do 10 hrs at PDX (rocking chairs, live music, decent restaurants) but 10 hrs at IAD? Never. Lousy seating, lousy food, just horrible. Hate IAD.

If your flight lands at 7, you won't be out of the airport until at least 8:30, and then RUSH HOUR into the city. Figure an hour without traffic. So that's 9:30 at the earliest.

If you have an outbound flight at five, that means leaving the city by 3; maybe a little earlier if you do Metro rather than taxi. For an international flight leaving at that time of day, I would err on the side of being early.

So you would have about six hours. I'm thinking that if you wanted to do something specific in DC, it would be OK but if you just want to wander around, kind of pointless. I think the Udvar Hazy Air & Space out near Dulles would be a good idea.

I just checked the IAD website. No luggage storage. That's an issue.

Concur. Or go spend some leisure time at Reston Town Center.

A 5:00 pm departure is smack in the middle of the EU departure bank. I'd really want to be there 2 hours ahead of time as security is bad, bad, bad at 3:00 pm.

+1 for Air and Space. You'll have plenty of time.

Hello, I have a 10hr layover in IAD (Washington Dulles) between an international flight and an domestic flight back home. My light gets in around 7am and departs again at 5pm. I know that I have to go threw customs baggage re-check, and security again would it be worth it to leave the airport and see a museum, or catch a movie outside of the airport or would it be better to just stay at the airport do some shopping get a massage or whatever there??? This is my first international flight and i have no clue what to do or what i am supposed to do.

The closest movie theater is in Herndon Worldgate. It is 5-10 mins away.

I had a 6:20am arrival into Dulles from LAX back in November with an international flight leaving around 11-12 hours later. Found out I couldn't check-in until 2:30pm so was stuck with my case and laptop bag which meant I couldn't really pop into DC without dragging both with me.
Had I known this in advance, I would have hired a car for the day, even if it were only to store my belongings in whilst I took the Washington Flyer / Metro in the city.

Landside at IAD is really boring. Few seats, couple of shops selling newspapers etc and one or two food places. A lot nicer airside as it's more modern, more shops, lounges etc.

Had I known this in advance, I would have hired a car for the day, even if it were only to store my belongings in whilst I took the Washington Flyer / Metro in the city..

I'll second the car rental recommendation. Just wait out rush hour until 9a or so, and then it's a straight shot into the city. Just follow 66 all the way in to Constitution (Rt 50). About 2 minutes down Constitution and you'll be in front of the White House (and the Lincoln Memorial will be to your immediate right when you get off the highway).

I'd also recommend getting back on the highway at 2p - you never know when 66 or the Beltway will back up for no particular reason.

Any good breakfast places near the airport?

Any good breakfast places near the airport?

Eggspectation in Chantilly is pretty good. It's on 28, in the shopping center by the Westfields Blvd exit.

If you like IHOP, there is one in a shopping center on Route 50 about a block east of Centerville Blvd.

I *might* be able to do 10 hrs at PDX (rocking chairs, live music, decent restaurants) but 10 hrs at IAD? Never. Lousy seating, lousy food, just horrible. Hate IAD.

If your flight lands at 7, you won't be out of the airport until at least 8:30, and then RUSH HOUR into the city. Figure an hour without traffic. So that's 9:30 at the earliest.

If you have an outbound flight at five, that means leaving the city by 3; maybe a little earlier if you do Metro rather than taxi. For an international flight leaving at that time of day, I would err on the side of being early.

So you would have about six hours. I'm thinking that if you wanted to do something specific in DC, it would be OK but if you just want to wander around, kind of pointless. I think the Udvar Hazy Air & Space out near Dulles would be a good idea.

I just checked the IAD website. No luggage storage. That's an issue.
1. If you have a 5 PM departure, you should be at IAD and in the checkpoint line at 3 PM (leave DC no later than 2:15).

2. In addition to the Udvar Hazy (Air & Space Annex next to IAD and accessible by shuttle bus), if you are wiped out and want some sleep, you should be able to find a dirt cheap day rate at one of the IAD hotels. The best rates aren't published, but simply booked by calling the front desk (not the 800#).

3. If you go into the city, I'd make arrangements for a car service for the day.

Haven't yet had the opportunity to book through them, but this site lists hotels (primarly near airports) with day rooms:http://www.between9and5.com/

Maybe I missed what day you are arriving, but breakfast/brunch options significantly improve on the weekend.

1. If you have a 5 PM departure, you should be at IAD and in the checkpoint line at 3 PM (leave DC no later than 2:15).

2. In addition to the Udvar Hazy (Air & Space Annex next to IAD and accessible by shuttle bus), if you are wiped out and want some sleep, you should be able to find a dirt cheap day rate at one of the IAD hotels. The best rates aren't published, but simply booked by calling the front desk (not the 800#).

3. If you go into the city, I'd make arrangements for a car service for the day.45 minutes from downtown DC to IAD? You guys live more dangerously than I! I've had middle-of-the-day cab rides that took a fair amount more time than that (traffic that came out of nowhere, or so it seemed to me).

But absolutely anyone with time to kill should see the Udvar Hazy complex. What an incredible place! Two hours killed easily, more if you want, and they have inexpensive storage lockers.

Air and space museum near Dulles if that's your thing. There is a shuttle that runs between Dulles and the museum. It's pretty cheap last time I did it.
Or you could go into DC and see some of the sights, given your amount of time.

Seeing the traffic can happen responses, I second the museum idea.

I have been there. maybe you can have b fast in the terminal. take the shuttle to the museum.

there are guided tours by volunteer docents. A Space Shuttle, SR 70' and several other aircraft.

Shop and cafeteria on site.

The Space Museum is fascinating displaying all sorts of aircraft from a very impressive spy plane to an old prop passenger plane. There is a cafeteria of sorts, very expensive, but a place to eat. This is definitely your best option. IAD has nothing of interest...very boring airport....and little more than four hours in DC would, in my view, not be worth the trouble. Hope it works out as you would like!

The Space Museum is fascinating displaying all sorts of aircraft from a very impressive spy plane to an old prop passenger plane. There is a cafeteria of sorts, very expensive, but a place to eat. This is definitely your best option. IAD has nothing of interest...very boring airport....and little more than four hours in DC would, in my view, not be worth the trouble. Hope it works out as you would like!I didn't find the cafeteria to be that expensive... and even if it were, with free admission I don't mind subsidizing things a bit with (possibly overpriced) food.

Some of the volunteers are incredible! Lots of interesting background stories, and if you're (un?)lucky, you'll get the guy I did who made it sound like the fatal demise of the Concorde was a certainty, only a matter of time until something terrible happened. OK, no biggie, except when you're standing 10 feet away from it, and it's as real as any other plane you've ever traveled in.

I didn't find the cafeteria to be that expensive... and even if it were, with free admission I don't mind subsidizing things a bit with (possibly overpriced) food.

Some of the volunteers are incredible! Lots of interesting background stories, and if you're (un?)lucky, you'll get the guy I did who made it sound like the fatal demise of the Concorde was a certainty, only a matter of time until something terrible happened. OK, no biggie, except when you're standing 10 feet away from it, and it's as real as any other plane you've ever traveled in.

AAD ON

At this museum, make sure you wait for a guided tour. It was fascinating to hear about fueling the SR 71 Spy plane.

Take all the pics you want.

An unconventional choice but if you want to unwind there is a Asian-style spa / bathhouse 20mins away in Centreville with pools, hottubs, sauna, fitness center etc, $35 admission for the day.

Spa World (http://www.spaworldusa.com/index.html)

It's in a mini-mall together with Korean restaurants (BBQ, chicken, Korean-Chinese) plus a huge supermarket and an IHOP. You would need a car (or cab ride) to get there from Dulles.

http://g.co/maps/ykyz9

+1 for Air and Space. You'll have plenty of time.

How about land at 1120am and departure on a Sunday at 511pm? Really would love to see the blackbird and shuttle... Hour there, Hour back and an hour to see the highlights?

How about land at 1120am and departure on a Sunday at 511pm? Really would love to see the blackbird and shuttle... Hour there, Hour back and an hour to see the highlights?

You should be able to do it - although you might have to take a taxi in one direction or the other. On weekends, the 50 cent shuttle leaves the airport 10 minutes past each hour starting at 11:10am - and leaves Udvar-Hazy at 30 minutes past each hour. Taxi fare should be around $13-$14. No problem getting a taxi from the airport to the museum. But you might have to wait for a taxi to be called from the museum for the return trip - check with the information desk inside the museum.

Note that the "real" shuttle will be arriving at Udvar-Hazy next week. A big series of celebrations is planned.

Here's a link to the 50 cent shuttle schedule: http://www.vatransit.org/route%20maps/Dulles2Dulles.pdf

You already know it won't be 10 hours-- maybe6-7-- given the time to get through Immigration and Customs and then come back for your onward, domestic flight. Under that if you need to allow time to rent a car and return it. The amount of time you'd actually have in DC, after finding parking, could end up being fairly limited. If it's a weekend, traffic will be less than on a weekday, obviously, but I still think it would be a bit of a rush. If it's your only chance to see DC at all, even a quick drive-by (so to speak) might be worth it.

How early you can check your bags for your onward flight (i.e., whether you can just hand over your checked bags at the transit desk outside Customs) can sometimes vary by airline, so first thing is to call them first. We're assuming you're on one through ticket, and that the two airlines have an interline agreement for the transfer of bags (e.g., not transferring to Southwest). I haven't seen the Air & Space annex near Dulles but would like to. I'd probably shoot for that in your situation. But it's your trip.

I have a 7 hour layover at IAD prior to an international departure. Arrival time is 3pm on a Friday. The Udvar-Hazy Center is only open till 5:30. If our flight arrives on time perhaps that's a way to kill a couple of hours. However, having never been to DC I wonder if it's feasible to see any of it. Hire a car/driver for 5 hours (expensive I know but maybe worth it for the efficiency of travel) and take in some of the attractions. However mid-winter at this time of day will be pretty dark. Are we really going to get to see much? The mall at night? The capitol I assume is closed. Any ideas on what to see? I assume if we leave IAD around 3:30, we are in DC by 4:30 (or is Friday traffic worse?), then leave DC by 7:30 and back to the airport by 8:30?

This is not sounding like a great idea.....but with a car and driver we could at least potentially see a bit of DC pretty quick.

A good thing about hiring a car is that it give a place to stash your carry-ons. You could get downtown by 4:30 or 5. The museums close at 5:30, so they're pretty much out, but you could stroll the Mall and get dinner.

A possible better plan is to see if the IAD-Udvar Hazy shuttle could get you there and back and then grab a cab to Reston Town Center where you could stroll around and get dinner in a more leisurely manner.

If you can get into the space center before close they may stop entry at 5:30 they MAY still allow people inside to finish their tour and maybe actually close the doors at 7.....something to look into.

I agree with Eric...Reston town center is more manageable and there are a bunch of restaurants.

To get to DC and come back can be a bear. At night the monuments of the white house Washington monument and Capitol are lit up so you can do a driving tour. It's a half hr drive with no traffic.

Another option is Tyson's corner where there are two separate malls with restaurants. Off mall property there are a bunch of restaurants as well. It's about 15-20 min from the airport

If you can get into the space center before close they may stop entry at 5:30 they MAY still allow people inside to finish their tour and maybe actually close the doors at 7.....something to look into.


That's not going to happen. They start making "countdown to closing" announcements at 5:15pm or so. And then security "sweeps" everyone out of the museum by 5:30pm. You might get a few extra minutes past 5:30pm, but not much.

I wouldn't waste my time with Reston Town Center unless I had some specific shopping needs. It's almost all chain shops and restaurants. Much better to do some advance research and find a good ethnic restaurant not too far away.

I wouldn't waste my time with Reston Town Center unless I had some specific shopping needs. It's almost all chain shops and restaurants. Much better to do some advance research and find a good ethnic restaurant not too far away.

Agreed. I like Thai Basil, which is on a shopping center on Route 50, a block or so west of 28.

herndon has a good collection of india indian restaurants. standard indian, but well prepared.

Thanks for all the tips. If we arrive in time the museum seems like a must do. We're from CA and going to Rio so we're not well outfitted for a lot of outdoor time. Probably should pick a restaurant and just take a cab directly to it. Any specific ideas are appreciated.