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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Obscure2k
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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.

Ten hr layover at IAD = ugh
 

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

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.