Ok, so I bet you’re wondering, “I am really excited and want to come down to DC. But what’s the best way to do so?” Fear not, intrepid exchange traveler. Here’s the skinny on making it to the nation’s capital. We don’t endorse any of the commercial transportation services here. We’re just showing you some options.
DRIVING
For the most part, driving to DC is an easy task that makes for a fun road trip. Many DC residents say that the monuments are best at night, so having a car would allow for some adventerous site seeing. What is not reccommended, however, is arriving during rush hour (5:00pm-8:00 pm). Arriving around rush hour is like… getting that cute girl’s name, whom you met yesterday, tattooed on your arm to show how much you dig like her. The DCLX committee hopes you understand that both are ill-advised. Estimated travel times from near-by cities without traffic:
- Philly: 2.5 hours
- NYC: 4-5 hours
- Pittsburgh: 4-5 hours
- Raleigh/Durham: 4 hours
- Rochester: 7.5 hours
- Boston: 8 hours
FLYING
Planes are great. You hop on, make a friend or two when you’re groped at the security lines, get some sub-par food, and arrive in a totally different place. If you live over six hours away, it may be worthwhile for you to look into a flight. The three airports local to the DC Metropolitan area are:
- Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). DCA is right on the metro line so you can easily take the subway to another destination serviced by the metro.
- Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD). IAD is not on the metro line, but convenient if you have access to a car. You have some ground transportation options from IAD if you don’t have a car.
- Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI). Lots of cheap flights to and from this airport. But no easy public transportation to DC. Good if you have a friend in Baltimore who’s willing to pick you up, though…..
BUS
There are many different buses available in the DC metropolitan area including Bolt, Megabus, and the “Chinatown” buses. Many of these buses will drop you off at the heart of DC and plenty cheap.
TRAIN
T
he AmTrak train has a convenient stop at Union Station, which will put you in downtown DC. From Union Station, you can take the metro to most anyplace in the DC area. It’s important to note that there is also a Metro stop on the red line here.
HORSE
Of course, you can go old school and take a horse to the exchange. You can ride the horse or in a horse-drawn carriage. But it’ll be kinda slow and there are no promises of having someplace to tie your horse while you’re here. On the plus side, you don’t have to pay any extra baggage fees.
