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So you want to getaway to D.C. but you also want to save money. Understandable. Who doesn’t like saving money when they can, especially these days?
Here’s two ways my husband and I saved big money on our D.C. getaway.
1. FLIGHTS
Because his work requires him to travel, my husband had enough frequent flyer miles saved up to pay for both of our flights. That saved us a ton right there.
But you can still save on flights even if you don’t have any frequent flyer miles to cash in. How?
Three airports service the D.C. area: Ronald Reagan National Airport, Dulles International Airport, and Baltimore International Airport (BWI).
Reagan and Dulles are the closest to D.C., but if you can compromise on convenience and find a cheaper flight into Baltimore, take it. Why?
That brings me to the next way to save money.
2. GROUND TRANSPORTATION
We flew into BWI, which is about 30 minutes from D.C. Ground transportation from Baltimore to D.C. is no problem. There’s every means and mode available, from rental cars and taxis to trains and buses.
We didn’t want to hassle with renting a car. We had heard what a walking city D.C. was so we decided that was one way to save on costs. That was the best move we made right there.
But we still had to get from the Baltimore airport to D.C.
Option A was one our hotel suggested would be cheaper than getting a taxi: take a SuperShuttle. I believe they wanted something like $25 per person, one way. Not bad, but by the time we added up coming and going, it would have been only slightly cheaper than renting a car.
Option B was one we accidentally stumbled upon because we hadn’t quite worked out the next option I’ll get to. We ended up taking an Amtrak train into D.C. We paid about $12 per person. Not shabby, but on our way back to the airport we figured out an even cheaper method of transportation.
Option C had us using a combination methods: The first was to take the Metro to the Greenbelt Station where we then caught a Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) bus to Baltimore Airport. (The BWI Express/B30.) I think we paid maybe $4 a piece for the Metro, then the bus ride was $3 each, for a total of $7 per person. (Something to note: you can use a credit card to charge your Metro tickets, but only cash is accepted on the bus.)
Because we hadn’t rented a car, we ended up becoming quite familiar with the Metro during our brief stay. We felt very comfortable using it to get us back to BWI for our trip home. (And using the Metro combined with walking everywhere saved us not only time and the cost of a rental car, but also the frustration of dealing with traffic and paying parking fees.)
Definitely, using the Metro will save you BIG money on your trip to D.C.
For more info on ground transportation from:
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