Washington D.C. (including Baltimore) - DCA or IAD or BWI for national monuments ?

I am not planning to rent a car..Just take cab to hotel and walk to national monuments, WH etc. I am thinking DCA is the most ideal airport for this?

Yep. ^

Yep. ^

Thanks...I am planning to get a cheap(?) hotel room near DCA ..are the monuments walkable from any DCA hotels?

Yes and there's also the metro (newish subway) system that connects DCA directly to most areas of downtown, including hotels and monuments. Prices vary with the distance and time of day, but figure about $2 for most short rides.

D.
C.
A.

the metro (newish subway) system
That's the funniest description I've heard for Metro in years.

All kidding aside. DCA is best. Metro is perfect option between DCA and DC (Mall, Cap Hill, Etc.).

cab from bwi or iad is over $50. no real walkable monuments from near dca. you have to go downtown next to the mall.

Well, Baltimore does have its own Washington Monument, but that is probably not what OP had in mind.

Well, Baltimore does have its own Washington Monument, but that is probably not what OP had in mind.

so does alexanderia, which is worth the visit.

car in dc is a big problem. $20-25 for parking, and the traffic jams from hell.

cab from bwi or iad is over $50. no real walkable monuments from near dca. you have to go downtown next to the mall.

Closer to $70....

DCA, yes.

And, yes, if you are even mildly fit, you can walk to all of the 'main' monuments from the airport and from the hotels close to DCA (Reagan).

There is a direct trip up on a bike/running trail (no cars) from the airport to the city, with access to each of the bridges crossing the Potomac into Washington, and directly off the 14th Street Bridge will be the Jefferson Memorial, then Northwest to the FDR, MLK Jr and Lincoln Memorials - then East from there will get you to Korea & Vietnam, WWII and the Washington Monument.

All together, it won't be that tough on a body, especially if you are slightly fit and/or want to do it. Given that you asked about it specifically, you should be fine and the benefits of taking feet as transportation are numerous. You won't have to worry about trains, maps, stations, closing/opening times and of course the best - price.

If you are curious on walking distances, try http://www.mapmyrun.com.

Cheers - If you have any specific questions, let me know! I live within a 15 minute walk from DCA and commute on foot to work, plus run into town 5/6 days a week.

-jeremy

Thanks...I am planning to get a cheap(?) hotel room near DCA...

If you want to keep it cheap, the hotels in Crystal City (right next to DCA on the Virginia side of the river) can be inexpensive on the weekends when they are not full of the business crowds that fill them during the week. Metro access is right there at Pentagon City and/or Crystal City metro stations.

1. DCA is a 10-minute cab ride, 15-minute Metro ride to downtown DC. Cab = $20 incl. tip. Metro = $2. IAD is roughly $75+tip=$90 and BWI is now $90+tip=$108. There is nominally public transportation from IAD & BWI to DC, but, it's clunky and slow.

2. Forget a car in DC. Will cost you $30-40 to park at hotel + $10-15 every time you want to park it downtown.

3. Stay downtown. Lots of nice places with good rates on weekends. Tons of good restaurants. Mall (monuments walking distance). Crystal City (near DCA) is an office park / shopping mall. Might as well go to Peoria as DC.

You don't mention price of flights. Flights into DCA sometimes more expensive than those to IAD or BWI. DCA obviously closer to the Mall (you can see that on a map). You can find a few hotels within walking distance of some monuments (not all), but they can be more expensive. DCA is right at a Metro station. From BWI, you can take Marc commuter train or Amtrak to Union Station and Metro from there. From Dulles, there's taxi (expensive) or a Metro bus (regular-size bus) to Rosslyn or L'Enfanta Plaza, or a Washington Flyer bus to the West Falls Church Metro station.

Above suggestions on locations are good. The last two visits we stayed in Rosslyn and took the Metro. Look at a map (e.g., Google Maps, Mapquest) and also the Metro Web site (www.wmata.com). Consider Hotwire or Priceline for hotels (see www.betteribdding.com to see what hotels others have gotten).

From BWI, you can take Marc commuter train or Amtrak to Union Station and Metro from there. From Dulles, there's taxi (expensive) or a Metro bus (regular-size bus) to Rosslyn or L'Enfanta Plaza, or a Washington Flyer bus to the West Falls Church Metro station.

Thanks folks..very useful info from all.

I booked 3 nights at Sheraton Crystal City Hotel (1800 Jefferson Davis Highway · Arlington, VA 22202 · United States) ..3 nights stay Friday thru Monday.

The Crystal City Metro Station is right next to this hotel. Plus hotel has free shuttle to DCA (about 0.8 miles away). This is cool as I won't be having a car with me :-)

I used 30000 starpoints for the 3 free nights.. ^

Yes and there's also the metro (newish subway) system that connects DCA directly to most areas of downtown, including hotels and monuments. Prices vary with the distance and time of day, but figure about $2 for most short rides.

I would pay the $9 and get the 24-Hour Metro pass.

I would pay the $9 and get the 24-Hour Metro pass.I wouldn't.


It's not a 24-hour pass, but a one-day pass.
You cannot even enter the system until 9:30am.
If you are sticking close to the National Mall, you won't be riding the Metro much aside from the trip in and the trip out, as the major sights are within walking distance of one another.
During rush hour, Crystal City to L'Enfant Plaza is $2.15 each way; during off-peak hours $1.60 each way.

Thanks folks..very useful info from all.

I booked 3 nights at Sheraton Crystal City Hotel (1800 Jefferson Davis Highway · Arlington, VA 22202 · United States) ..3 nights stay Friday thru Monday.

The Crystal City Metro Station is right next to this hotel. Plus hotel has free shuttle to DCA (about 0.8 miles away). This is cool as I won't be having a car with me :-)

I used 30000 starpoints for the 3 free nights.. ^

Not a bad location. Hopefully no airplane noise. Some good restaurants in the area (e.g., on 23rd Street, a decent Thai restaurant a well as sports bars, etc.),. but you'll be on both the Blue and Yellow lines of the Metro rail system (www.wmata.com), so you can quickly be in many places in DC or Old Town Alexandria. Yellow Line probbly slightly shorter ride, and you get a decent view when crossing over the Potomac (Blue Line goes under the Potomac up near Rosslyn). As you discovered, weekend rates are less than during the week in the area hotels (as in many other cities). Enjoy.

i think traffic noise will be a bigger problem than dca. get a room on the west side(side away from street)

why should anyone be so special as to not get a ton of dca air noise. anything within a 5 mile radius of the place has to put up with the convenience of the airport. i live under the flight path 5 miles south of dca. thought it was bad. have some friends who live 5 miles north in north arlington. the noise is worse there. the planes seem to be lower, and they cannot use a scatter plan(the planes taking off south turn when about 3 miles out)as they have to follow the river further out.

Thanks folks..very useful info from all.

I booked 3 nights at Sheraton Crystal City Hotel (1800 Jefferson Davis Highway · Arlington, VA 22202 · United States) ..3 nights stay Friday thru Monday.

The Crystal City Metro Station is right next to this hotel. Plus hotel has free shuttle to DCA (about 0.8 miles away). This is cool as I won't be having a car with me :-)

I used 30000 starpoints for the 3 free nights.. ^

That hotel is in a nice location, near metro and also some nice restaurants right around the corner. I dont know what the rates are like during your trip but usually I can get those Crystal City properties pretty cheap...mainly on priceline. This is usually one area where I save the points and forget about earning them. Solid location and it will do you well though.

That hotel is in a nice location, near metro and also some nice restaurants right around the corner. I dont know what the rates are like during your trip but usually I can get those Crystal City properties pretty cheap...mainly on priceline. This is usually one area where I save the points and forget about earning them. Solid location and it will do you well though.

My thought as well: I'd save the 30k SPG points and priceline that specific zone for ~$90 on the weekend. ^