I will be at a conference in downtown baltimore of Saturday Nov. 14. I will be done at 300pm and then have an international flight at 715pm out of Dulles.
What is the best way to get to Dulles in time? I don't plan on having a car.
Since you have an int'l flight at IAD you probably need to be there about 5pm. Baltimore to IAD is at least a 90 min trip on a Sat with no traffic. So I'd say your only real choice is a taxi or a shuttle service, both of which should be about $90 or so.
You could take Amtrak from Baltimore into DC for $11 one-way if you book in advance, then take a taxi from Union Station. A taxi from there will be about $60 so probably not worth doing that. A bus/subway combination would take you well over 2 hours so that's not a choice either.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Capt. V
I researched this issue and found the easiest way was to rent a car. Saved about 50%
I've done it in both directions many times and agree since the major rental companies consider the three WAS airports to be one location and there is no dropoff charge.
The only sticker is that to me it seems that the rental car facility at BWI is located somewhere in Delaware and that I have killed the better part of an hour by the time that I get on the road.
the conference is in downtown balt, that is over a 60 mile trip, with some of downtown balt to drive. the person would have to find an open rental in downtown balt, get a car, and dump it at dulles. just getting out of balt, is no fun. very tight for two hrs.
i would be uncomfortable calling to be met by a service. the may not show up for an extra hour. at least you should be able to find a service that can find dulles.
i do not think you will find anything but a local balt street cab, but that's probably the only way to do it. try to ask the driver if he knows where dulles airport is, and hope to get a correct answer. maybe your hotel concierge can arrange a car.
if someone knows how to get a bwi cabbie to downtown, that would be preferable. good chance the driver at least knows that iad is in virginia, even though the person may not know where is virginia.
sat pm is not a slow time for intl flights out of iad. UA must have half a dozen leaving between 6 & 9, and i think each must be processed by an agent.
Rent the car that morning in Baltimore before your conference. Have the step-by-step instructions ready, both a primary routing and a secondary routing dependent on traffic. Park near to your meeting.
At 3pm, check traffic online, and depart for Dulles. You should be able to get to the Dulles car rental facility by 4:30pm, and should be at the terminal by 5pm
Rent the car that morning in Baltimore before your conference. Have the step-by-step instructions ready, both a primary routing and a secondary routing dependent on traffic. Park near to your meeting.
At 3pm, check traffic online, and depart for Dulles. You should be able to get to the Dulles car rental facility by 4:30pm, and should be at the terminal by 5pm
Now that is a plan! Will go with that. Thanks all.
the conference is in downtown balt, that is over a 60 mile trip, with some of downtown balt to drive. the person would have to find an open rental in downtown balt, get a car, and dump it at dulles. just getting out of balt, is no fun. very tight for two hrs.
If the conference is near the Inner Harbor, which is likely, Baltimore is very easy to get out of. Quick and easy to get on 95.
__________________ Wish I was going out of bounds! - BOO DOO VI
With no traffic that drive is closer to an hour, not 90 mins.
I was thinking the same thing but coming from downtown and not being familiar with the area could make it closer to 90 minutes. Really would depend on where in Baltimore he is.
__________________ Wish I was going out of bounds! - BOO DOO VI
If the conference is near the Inner Harbor, which is likely, Baltimore is very easy to get out of. Quick and easy to get on 95.
I got turned around once -- it was in the middle of rush hour and took me awhile to recover and get "out".
At any rate -- if the OP is a driver, renting the car the night BEFORE is the best bet. Pick up near BWI/Baltimore (poss even from your hotel) and return the next evening at Dulles. If the OP is NOT a driver, then arrange with a sedan company the day before for a timed pickup. I wouldn't rely on a taxi in Baltimore, those cars are literally falling apart!!
Assume a 90 minutes for the ride -- if you have a GPS, bring it along and program it beforehand. As soon as the meeting is over, you need to be gone just in case you run into a problem with traffic (that is a frequent problem in this area)
ps and if there is any way to switch the flight to BWI, look into that as well
