BWI to DC: Rent a car or uber?
 

My hubby and I are flying into BWI, then heading to DC. I'm considering either renting a car (avis has a $20 rental deal- pick up at BWI, return downtown DC) or taking uber (approx $50-65).

I have never left BWI so wondering if anyone has advice/input?

You may want to check the Amtrak timetable, as well, since there is a BWI stop for the Northeast Regional that goes into Union Station.

not a difficult trp. will not get lost, just keep going south. traffic is hell in morning and afternoon. as i recall, avis has many drop off sites downtown. union station is one.

If going to downtown DC, I would take a train from the BWI rail station unless I was sure I was travelling during non-peak times. The BWI rail station is 6-8 minutes from the terminal. On weekdays, MARC commuter trains go to DC as well as Amtrak.

Now, if I needed to pick up a car once I got to DC, that might change things.

MARC train now runs on weekends to Union Station as well. Cost is $7 each way I believe.

Either that, or the 35A(?) express bus will take you from BWI to the Greenbelt stop on the DC Metro rail that can take you downtown. Cost is $7 cash plus Metro fare once you get on the train.

Don't drive unless it's the middle of the day or if you need a car in DC. Do not underestimate DC traffic during rush hour, which could be 6AM-10AM and 3PM-7PM, and worse on weekends.

Are you planning to drive throughout the city and then drop it off at an Avis location in DC? Unless you are planning to go to places that the metro is lacking or tough to get to by public transportation( Annapolis, Mount Vernon(well aware of the buses from Huntington Station), WV, Everything south of Springfield, Frederick etc I don't think having a rental car is worth it. Hotels in DC charge a lot for nightly parking. Then you have awful city traffic and then so-so parking availability at best on the street and parking lots. Then most of the sites anybody would ever see is close by plus metro accessible.

Where did you find this rental deal? I make the BWI to DCA trip often but can't get lower than $40.

We took Uber from BWI to downtown (actually to the Fairmont). Landed about 8:30 PM on Thursday night and it was a little over $50 for 4 people to go straight to the door. They even swung through McDonalds to feed my nephew in route. Subtract a $20 referral fee and it was pretty handy and well priced for 4 people with carry-on luggage with no transfers.