Metro to Union Station (or Alexandria)......Amtrak to Richmond. Gonna be 3+ hours of travel.

My bad. Could've sworn it did go that far.

Definitely would rec. metro to Union Station or Alexandria then AMTRAK (not VRE) to Richmond.

Any way to reroute your final flight destination from Dulles Airport to Richmond Airport? Or see how much a separate flight would be from Dulles to Richmond. It is not convenient to get to Richmond by train, though do-able. Note there is a transfer at Metro Center, so IAD metro station silver line to Metro Center, transfer to red line to Union Station, then Amtrak to Richmond. Feels more like 4 hours-ish to me.

from IAD therr is a local subway/ light rail line called metro. It is not 24/7. It does not operate early am hrs ( weekends it goes after midnight). Take this line called silverline to Roslyn station thrn transfer to blue line and go to king street station which is next to an Amtrak station you can take Amtrak to Richmond. You can also take silver line to metro enter then take red to union station which is DC main Amtrak station and take a train to richmond.

VRE is a local commuter rail that operates on the same tracks as Amtrak but this only goes to Fredericksburg area 40 miles from richmond.

I don�t understand why you chose Dulles IAD to fly into when if you picked a different city you probably could do a connecting flight to Richmond

Thanks for your reply. I am not sure I can cope with multiple changes with baggage after a long flight. Maybe a taxi to Alexandria then Amtrak is easier?
I could fly into NYC but I don't think that is much easier! I would have to overnight in NYC also which is inconvenient and expensive.
No international flights fly into RIC.
I am also curious about the Amtrak train. Surely I can take on baggage? Even if it costs a bit.
I am very tempted to just take an Uber! Around $255 but no changes and I could potentially even sleep a bit.
Do you use Uber there or something else??
Thanks for all your replies guys. It is very enlightening.

Thank you for your reply. No I cannot reroute. It is actually cheaper to Uber than fly from IAD to RIC. Crazy.
With a long flight and baggage I cannot cope with multiple train changes.
Any other suggestions welcome.
Thanks again.

The drive from IAD to the Alexandria Amtrak station is ~ 33 miles. A taxi, Uber, or Lyft is certainly a possibility.

Amtrak's carry-on policy here:

https://www.amtrak.com/onboard/bagga...n-baggage.html

In addition, some (not all) of the Amtrak trains which run from Alexandria to Richmond Staples Mills Road station also offer free checked baggage. (Richmond has a second Amtrak station: Richmond Main Street; checked-baggage service is not offered to that station.)

Thumis goes back to what your route/ jntunerary is

Flying into DCA or BWI, getting to Amtrak as k is easier.

Some cities are judt too close to do s connection flight. I dont think united has an IAD-RIC flight.

Why not just rent a car, and drive?

Answered in Post #12:

"I dont see any good options after a 25 hour flight. I will be too tired to drive a car."

Matrix shows United has 5 non-stops IAD-RIC during weekdays, 4 on Saturdays over the next 30 days.

Given the constraints you are imposing I am not sure there are better options than what have already been suggested, however...

If you cannot reroute then how is NYC under consideration at all? Have you booked this trip already or not? If not, maybe if you picked a different US gateway then you could connect more easily to RIC airport -- where are you starting from?

thanks but flight is already booked. Now just to choose the best option.
Thank you for your help!

I just looked at the Uber fares to Richmond from Dulles airport. It's $130 and in peak time $170. I've also checked Lyft and the cheapest rate right now (11am) is $200.
After flying from Asia, I would just take Uber and be done with it. If you land and clear the customs, look at the fares on Uber app. If the price is high, wait 10-15 minutes and quote it again. The price wave goes in and out as the flights arrive and more people check the app.
United flies 4 times a day to RIC but the flight cost is $300 on average. You have to book it 1 month in advance to get price under $150, but then you still have to get Uber to Chesterfield etc. I think Uber is the best option, especially on a short notice.

thank you!