Cheapest way BWI-Washington D.C 2-4 adults
 

I am trying to figure out the cheapest way to get 2-4 adults from BWI to Washington D.C. downtown. I was wondering if anyone had any reccomendations.

Thanks in advance

Cheers

Timo

MARC Train it. 6 bucks each way, there is a free shuttle from the airport to the train station across the street. Its between 25-45 minutes on the train into DC and it takes you right into Union Station.

You can view the schedules at mtamaryland.com and click on Marc Train.

It does not run on weekends, you would have to take an Amtrak train.

I agree that the MARC train is the best way if you're not driving, but it is bad that it doesn't run on weekends. The Amtrak train is much more expensive than the Marc train. If you want the cheapest transit, there's a Metrobus that runs from BWI to the Greenbelt Metro station 7 days a week, and then you can take the Metro downtown.
http://www.wmata.com/timetables/md/b30.pdf

Hopefully you'll arrive on a weekday. The Marc trains are quite frequent and fast.

I agree ... bus to Metro station is your best bet on a weekend.

I arrive on a Thursday, so I will grad that train on the way there. On the way back, I guess I need to decide between a bus and Amtrak. I might go Amtrak just as I prefer trains to buses. I really appreciate your help, online, the airport lists so many choices, that it is hard to choose.

Cheers

Tim

Amtrak on a regular reserved train is usually $14.00 on a Saturday and $17.00 on a Sunday from Union Station to BWI. All Amtrak trains on the Northeast Corridor are reserved unlike the Marc trains, so you'll have to book the Amtrak train in advance if you want to take the train back to BWI.

How often do the shuttles from the Amtrak station run to the airpot? I'll be going from Arlington->BWI on a Sunday and was planning on using the Metro -> Amtrak -> Shuttle. The above-mentioned B30 shuttle from Greenbelt runs every 40 minutes. How long is the Metro ride from Arlington to Greenbelt?

The B30 isn't a shuttle. It's a regular WMATA Metrobus from the Greenbelt Metro station $3 each way. The shuttle from the BWI Rail Station is free and runs on the weekdays every 15 minutes or so, but I'm not sure about the weekends since the MARC train isn't running. Are you planning to take Amtrak from Union Station to BWI, or are you planning to take Metrorail to Greenbelt and then the B30 Metrobus?

Metrorail to the B30 will take an exorbitant amount of time so I'm planning on taking Amtrak to BWI and using the free shuttle bus. This will be on a Sunday. My flight leaves BWI at 2:30pm and I'll already be checked in for my flight with only carryon. Can I assume a 12:25pm train from Union station will get me there with enough time? By my calculation I should be arriving at security over an hour before flight time.

The BWI rail station airport shuttle runs daily and much more frequently than once every 40 minutes.

Arlington to Union Station (Amtrak) by metro will take probably no more than 20 minutes.

www.metroopensdoors.com will give you exact times.

Forget the toy trains. With 2-4 people you will save $ and aggravation by renting a car, which will automatically include a free drop in downtown DC or at DCA (then take Metro from DCA to your destination). The only drawback is that it is a fairly long bus ride to the BWI centralski rent-a-car facility. Sure beats waiting and waiting and waiting on a cold, wet platform for MARC/Amtrak trains.

Xyzzy: This also works in reverse. Rent at DCA and drop at BWI. Allow 45-60 extra minutes to find and navigate your way through the BWI facility and ride the bus.

You need not pre-arrange or otherwise inform the car rental co. that you are going to drop the car at another DC area airport, all local rentals allow this.

I've only taken the Amtrak-BWI shuttle a couple of times, but I have never waited more than 10 minutes for the bus to arrive. Sometimes it sits and waits for a few minutes at the Amtrak station, but they let you get on the bus and sit.