getting from Washington Dulles airport to Baltimore cruise port

Hello

I need some help . I am from Canada and am looking to fly into Baltimore to sail on the Pride Sept 20, 2015. Problem is to fly into BWI airport is alot more than to IAD . If I fly into IAD what is the cheapest way to get to the port from there ? Hopefully somewhere in area can help .

Thanks in advance for any suggestion .

There must be a shuttle between the two airports, but it is quite a distance and traffic can at times be horrendous. You could then take a cab to the ship. You don't say how early your flight will be but I would not chance flying into Dulles on the day the ship sails, so you will be adding the cost of a hotel stay to the cost of the extra transportation.

Options are a little pricey. There are shuttles. Just do a search. Airport to airport on a group shuttle will be about 75 pp plus 20% gratuity. Then you have transport to the port. You can look at renting a car, especially if you want to come in the day prior. I would call a few shuttle companies and see if they will take you directly to the port. Cab will be very expensive and might not do it as they can't do a pickup the other way because they are crossing state lines. You could take a bus to the metro station then metro to amtrak and take the train from DC to BWI then cab. That could take several hours. If you fly into DCA you could also loOK into metro and train from there. Direct drive is probably 90 minutes with average traffic. Could be 4 hours with rush hour/accident/weekend traffic so plan accordingly!!

Uber XL

If you fly to IAD is actually in Virginia, about 30ish miles away from Washington. If you fly into Dulles, you'll be about 1.5-2 hours away from Baltimore. A cab is going to cost you hundreds of dollars and you'll be stuck in some of THE WORST traffic in the states.

There are shuttles to get you from IAD to BWI. It involves getting on a bus to the Metro Train (subway), then taking the subway to Penn Station in DC; then getting on an actual train and going to BWI. HUUUUUUUGE PITA.

Time is money. Pay the extra money and fly into BWI. You'll save yourself in patience and time.

Also, depending on where you are in Ontario, you could drive to Buffalo or Detroit, which have rather inexpensive direct flights to BWI.

It's about 60 miles from Dulles to BWI. There is a shuttle that runs between the three airports in the DC area. It is $59 per person. From their website: "Passengers will ride in a large 7 to 10 passenger Ford van and may share a ride with other passengers traveling in the same direction. The distances and traffic are substantial so at least 5 hours are recommended between flights. Due to the nature of shared rides, please, allow up to an hour for your scheduled pick-up time." Go to the airport shuttle .com and select to/from airports. You'd still have to get to the port from there. Unless the price difference is substantial, though, I don't see how it could be worth it.

also keep in mind, the "rush hour" in the D.C. area is pretty much Mon - Fri, all hours besides midnight - 4 AM :rolleyes:

also keep in mind, the "rush hour" in the D.C. area is pretty much Mon - Fri, all hours besides midnight - 4 AM :rolleyes:

And on weekends you have beach traffic, game traffic, tourist traffic. I live right at the 395/95/495 interchange.y inlaws left our house at 4 am on Sunday morning a couple of weeks ago and hit an hour long traffic jam for the first 20 miles South on 95!!

Bottom line, if the price difference is greater than 150 pp and you have an extra 3-4 hours, you will either break even or maybe net about 50-100 at most fot 2 people. For a family of 4, a price difference of about 100 and about 2 hours in a private sedan and you break even. If you can fly in the day before for less, stay in a hotel and enjoy the inner harbor and you will still save money.

One more factor is customs and security at IAD. Because it is the only airport that can handle the big jets, it is the only one for direct flight overseas to Europe/near east. DH used to travel through there quite a bit with an official U.S. Passport and would still spend an hour getting through customs. As a non- US citizen, I would budget 2 hours for arrival and 3 hours to get through security on the other end. I one showed up about one hour and 40 minutes before my flight and after spending over an hour in the security line, I had to be pulled out and brought to the front or miss my flight!! BWI has much less international traffic and is a smaller airport in general so much faster to get in and out of!

If you travel light,try Greyhound bus,rates are good, luggage is free but handlers do not like big or heavy suitcases, in Baltimore you come into the center of town,a casino and a hotel are walkable,you can see them from the bus terminal. The hotel has a shuttle to the ship if you are a guest.

Some of the options are better,BWI has hotels with ship shuttles and airport shuttles.

Good luck, you will like leaving from Baltimore I take Greyhound from center city PHL,then a cab to ship. But taking the airport train to center city Philadelphia and then walk to Greyhound terminal , then bus to Baltimore is time consuming. Just another option.

OP was looking for options from Dulles in DC not PHI. Nearest greyhound to Dulles is about 10 miles via taxi. Probably about $25-30.

Cheapest way, but it may take a while. Take the Washington Flyer Silver Line Express for $5 per person to the Reston Metro Station. Washflyer.com from there it's the following.ITINERARY 1 **(approx 2 hr 32 min transit) *

*Walk*0.08 mile E*from*WIEHLE-RESTON EAST*to*WIEHLE-RESTON EAST METRO STATION**[Directions]

*Rail*departs from*WIEHLE-RESTON EAST METRO STATION*at*11:59am

*Board*SILVER LINE**Rail*(towards*LARGO TOWN CENTER)

*Arrive*L'ENFANT PLAZA METRO STATION*at*12:45pm*

*Rail*departs from*L'ENFANT PLAZA METRO STATIONat*12:49pm

*Board*GREEN LINE**Rail*(towards*GREENBELT)

*Arrive*GREENBELT METRO STATION*at*1:17pm*

*Bus*departs from*GREENBELT STATION & BUS BAY Dat*2:00pm

*Board*B30 BUS**(towards*BWI/THURGOOD MARSHALL AIRPORT)

*Arrive*BWI AIRPORT STOP 2*at*2:31pm

**

*There are active advisories that may affect your trip:***View advisories

$ 10.10 SmarTrip Fare

$ 5.95 SmarTrip (Senior/Disabled/Medicare)

$ 11.60 Cash / Farecard

$ 6.95 Cash / Farecard (Senior/Disabled/Medicare)

Once at BWI a cab ride will likely be your best bet for roughly $20-30.

Good luck and try to find a flight into BWI. If DCA is an option, it would be a bit quicker because you could avoid the first bus ride since the metro stop is right there.

Your best bet is to pay the extra to fly into BWI...Or as another poster said Drive to a city closer to you that has cheaper BWI flights. If you sail on Monday thru Friday you would have to get a flight that gets into Dulles by no later then 10 am to guarantee getting to baltimore by 3:30 PM as even on Sundays traffic can be horrendous

Starting from ON, Canada to Baltimore's Cruise Terminal, about 20 or 30 minutes from BWI (airport) - the whole trip is going to take 3/4 of a day, seriously ... flying, airporter bus to shuttle to train, another train, and then taxi to port, and, not "cheap" or saving money, IMO.

OP might be better off driving to the port, park there for the week & then reverse - if saving money is a primary objective, it's a long drive but doable, even if 1 night of hotel pre-cruise is necessary. There're previous thread discussing the option - just search for it here, might be specific to CCL's thread in the sub-forum there.

Starting from Scarborough, ON - suburb just east of downtown Toronto - it's about 765 miles of driving or a little over 8 hours driving time at the posted speed limit along the routing, in practice - about 10 hours of driving and can be done with 2 drivers and rest & meal breaks, plus US border crossing time (mid/late September should be okay, mostly) - might even see a bit of Fall colors or foilage. Cross into US via Niagara, down thru Central NY into PA, down the major interstate & direct into greater Baltimore area, and there's minimal to zero toll on that route - might be worth checking with others on the Roll Call.

Even if flying non-stop into IAD (no flights to DCA at all ??) - it's almost all CRJ or smaller regional jet services, most prone to delays & flight cancellations, etc. on any given date as they are flown by partner airlines ... making it almost mandatory to fly in a day earlier, as it's almost impossible to cushion time for even minor delays getting to the pier for embarkation on-time, not even a matter of having trip insurance.

Just my thoughts ... and traffic on/around & outside that Beltway had only gotten worst in the last 30 years (lived & worked "inside the Belt" in those years)

I live near BWI and will do, almost, anything not to have to go to Dulles. Timing is unpredictable and transportation options expensive.

I live near BWI and will do, almost, anything not to have to go to Dulles. Timing is unpredictable and transportation options expensive.

Echoing what this poster is saying.

In my experiences, BWI runs SO SO SO much smoother than IAD.

Cheapest way, but it may take a while. Take the Washington Flyer Silver Line Express for $5 per person to the Reston Metro Station. Washflyer.com from there it's the following.ITINERARY 1 **(approx 2 hr 32 min transit) *

 

*Walk*0.08 mile E*from*WIEHLE-RESTON EAST*to*WIEHLE-RESTON EAST METRO STATION**[Directions]

 

*Rail*departs from*WIEHLE-RESTON EAST METRO STATION*at*11:59am

 

*Board*SILVER LINE**Rail*(towards*LARGO TOWN CENTER)

 

*Arrive*L'ENFANT PLAZA METRO STATION*at*12:45pm*

 

*Rail*departs from*L'ENFANT PLAZA METRO STATIONat*12:49pm

 

*Board*GREEN LINE**Rail*(towards*GREENBELT)

 

*Arrive*GREENBELT METRO STATION*at*1:17pm*

 

*Bus*departs from*GREENBELT STATION & BUS BAY Dat*2:00pm

 

*Board*B30 BUS**(towards*BWI/THURGOOD MARSHALL AIRPORT)

 

*Arrive*BWI AIRPORT STOP 2*at*2:31pm

 

**

*There are active advisories that may affect your trip:***View advisories

 

 

$ 10.10 SmarTrip Fare

$ 5.95 SmarTrip (Senior/Disabled/Medicare)

$ 11.60 Cash / Farecard

$ 6.95 Cash / Farecard (Senior/Disabled/Medicare)

 

Once at BWI a cab ride will likely be your best bet for roughly $20-30.

 

Good luck and try to find a flight into BWI. If DCA is an option, it would be a bit quicker because you could avoid the first bus ride since the metro stop is right there.

The one issue with this is this is a weekday metro schedule. On Sundays there are significantly fewer trains and there can be up to a 30 minute wait for the next train at each train change. Plus, they often close stations or lines on weekends for track maintenance so then they bus between stations. You really run a risk making your ship trying to rely on the metro. If it is really a savings, you need to look for a shared ride or private shuttle.

Even flying into DCA, I would just rely on metro to Union Station then Amtrak to BWI then taxi.

I completely agree I would not try to make the trip, I just wanted to layout the proverbial "cheapest" semi viable option. It does require four different modes of transportation and way too much stress for my comfort level.

For me, I would check out a one-way car rental. Enterprise will take you to the port, but check them all out.

That "cheapest" route is about 2.5 hour + time after wheels down at IAD, getting from the remote terminal out to the "main/central terminal" building for ground transportation is another 30 to 45 minutes - we sometimes connect via IAD, and slowing down for gate-checked luggage is another 10+ minutes at the bottom of the ramp/next to the wing on the tarmac (did I say we "hate" those "commuter jets") Not worth the trouble & money saved, even if minimal stress is involved - definitely not good for one's cardio health.

OP's clock for booking flight is running @ T minus 30 days, it's virtually concensus to not try this, any money saving offset by the costs & time/risk factors involved in this multiple connections, starting from her/his home airport, which we will assume to be YYZ or Toronto. AND, strongly suggest arriving one day early - even if sightseeing in the DC/Capital area is not on the radar.

Suggest using one of the major online sites like Kayak to price/schedule check & compare - to look at options, and compute the total costs. In brief, fares are lower on Saturday and with 2 (or more) travelers - money saved will be enough to Priceline a hotel overnight - I see lower prices for DCA vs. IAD, and, yes BWI is pricey (few flights & airlines servicing)

One-way rental is another idea - as the costs of a taxi ride to the Baltimore pier is a given, regardless. DCA would put you next to the Metro/subway system and even on a Sunday schedule, reliable enough to get you to Union Station for the train and then the taxi ride.

Assuming this cruise is returning to same port afterward, consider booking one-way trips as that will give you better options for selecting the airports used. What about flying out BUF or Buffalo, drive/trip across the border - park there & catch your flights (looks like there are some "decent" fares on UA/US, nonstop BUF-DCA on Saturday morning -priced the same as IAD)

Good luck & it's always appreciated to let us know your decision and choices, so that others cruising later on can benefit from your real life experiences. Enjoy your cruise. :cool:

Simply... fly into BWI.

Time, traffic, cost, and frustration of Dulles will exceed the expense of flying into BWI.

Simply... fly into BWI.

 

Time, traffic, cost, and frustration of Dulles will exceed the expense of flying into BWI.

Yes, please do not underestimate DC area traffic. A little rain, a motorcade, minor construction, or an accident can jam up interstates and local roads and double/triple the amount of time something can take. On a very good day during non-rush hour, driving the 60 miles from Dulles to the Baltimore cruise port is 90 minutes.

There is construction on I-95 just south of Baltimore (I think there's another thread on that) as well as on the DC Beltway to I-95 exit. I saw both on a mid-day and it wasn't pretty.

Melissa in Maryland, just north of DC

If you're flying in a day ahead of time, have a lot of patience, and a good GPS, and memorize FM 103.5 for traffic and weather on the "8"s, you can do this by renting a car and staying at BWI. But that's my 11th of 10 preferences.

The one thing you have going for you is you should clear US customs and immigration in Ottawa or Toronto, so that saves a few minutes of the gloom and doom, but not much. Dulles is my "home airport" as I fly United almost exclusively for business, and therefor for personal travel as well. I would allow at least 1 1/2 hours to get from your arrival gate to the main terminal and bags in hand. If it's less than that, great. 15-30 minutes to get to the rental counter (all require a rental company specific bus), and then the fun starts! Onto the Dulles Connector to the Beltway, then guess North or South, which everyone will call Inner Loop or Outer Loop, even though there's only one. Both will get you there by different means, and the "right" one is totally a function of traffic. And, as previously stated, if there are random acts of VDOT or MDOT, a Presidential motorcade to or from Bethesda, a tiny drop of rain somewhere over the Blue Ridge, or any of a hundred other events, you'll be stuck in traffic for 2 hours or more going 60 miles.

The Silver Line Express to Metro to Union Station to MARC or AMTRAK or all the way to Greenbelt to the BWI Shuttle Bus, with bags, is just insane!

Fly into BWI!

Fly into BWI....or even DCA... IAD is hell on wheels and I HATE it more than O'Hare or even JFK and you WILL waste lots of time...and money.

You'll be 100000 times happier flying right into BWI...of course, if you've already paid for and can't change your tickets either take super shuttle or even a cab to UNION STATION in DC, and then take AMTRAK to BWI Airport rail station.

Please do NOT even think about doing this on the day of the cruise.....if you ARE, then take a cab!!! Do NOT mess with other ways to get to the pier...

Fly into BWI....or even DCA...

I can't in good conscience recommend DCA, other than maybe a cab to Union Station and Amtrak/MARC to BWI. Driving more likely than not gets you stuck on the Southeast/Southwest Freeway, and then on the Parkway. Good day, 45 minutes. Nats game, event on the Mall, etc., and fuhgettaboutit!

And I don't hate IAD, but it's a straight shot on secondary roads home for me, and direct flights almost everywhere in the world... DCA, on the other hand!