<p>We will be visiting Baltimore for a weekend and want to take a Saturday trip to D.C. using transit. What’s the best way to get from the Harbor area hotels to D.C.? Bus, train, subway? Weekend schedule?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I would use Amtrak, but it’s expensive. Probably at least $50 round-trip, depending on which trains you choose.</p>
<p>The MARC commuter trains don’t run on the weekends.</p>
<p>There’s no subway that runs between the two cities, but once in Washington, you will likely find the Metro system very useful. Check their site, <a href=“http://www.wmata.com%5B/url%5D”>www.wmata.com</a>, though, for notices about delays due to weekend track maintenance.</p>
<p>Hugcheck,I have been looking into this for my son as he needs to get from Baltimore back to D.C. after one of the holidays. You can go Greyhound for about $20 roundtrip. The D.C. bus station is pretty near Union Station. Have fun in Baltimore and D.C.!</p>
<p>If you’re budget minded, you can take the Baltimore light rail from downtown to BWI airport for $1.60 - </p>
<p>[Light</a> Rail | BWI Airport](<a href=“http://www.bwiairport.com/en/travel/ground-transportation/trans/lightrail]Light”>http://www.bwiairport.com/en/travel/ground-transportation/trans/lightrail)</p>
<p>And then hop on the WMATA bus that goes to the Greenbelt Metro station for $6 - </p>
<p>[Bus</a> Services | BWI Airport](<a href=“http://www.bwiairport.com/en/travel/ground-transportation/trans/mta]Bus”>http://www.bwiairport.com/en/travel/ground-transportation/trans/mta)</p>
<p>From there, you can take the Metro anywhere in DC. Except Georgetown. But you can take the circulator Bus to G-town from Union station, DC or get off the Metro at Foggy Bottom and walk a few blocks. All these run 7 days a week.</p>
<p>I just checked the schedules for both Amtrak and Greyhound for a random Saturday (well, Oct 30th to be precise).</p>
<p>Amtrak rates ranged from $15 to $89 and they had many, many trains.</p>
<p>Greyhound was $11 to $13 but they only had two buses, one leaving at 7:35 AM the other at 3:25 PM.</p>
<p>If you take Amtrak, know that their prices go up as departure time gets nearer and more seats are sold, so it’s best to reserve in advance. </p>
<p>Then again, that $6 bus from the airport runs every 40 minutes! And the light rail, probably more often.</p>
<p>greenwitch-you are only finding 2 buses with Greyhound because you are looking at the DC station at Union Station. It is not the main station in DC and has very limited service. The main station is a couple of blocks away (NEAR Union Station) and has a bus going back and forth to Baltimore all day on Saturday’s, very regularly. Greyhound is not for everyone but you can get roundtrip tickets in advance online for about $20. Your idea sounds interesting as well.</p>
<p>I see. I just google-mapped it and saw it’s between the Union Station metro stop and the NY Avenue metro stop.</p>
<p>I am not sure about the safety of the locations of the Baltimore Greyhound station and the one that most of the buses travel to in DC. We discussed this with our daughter who was traveling from Wilmington to DC, we looked at the map in DC (where my DH does work) and he didn’t like her being alone there, at night, walking to Union Station to get to where she needed to go next. We had her take a train instead - because she was travelling at night and alone and we were not 100% certain of the safety of the walk. Had it been day time and other people present, the decision might have been different.</p>
<p>Does megabus take travelers from white marsh to DC? see if that works.</p>
<p>The light rail is SLLLLOWWWW, but a good safe mode of travel. We’ve tended to try to take the train if we are not in the mood to drive to DC.</p>
<p>Megabus does go from ‘Baltimore’ to DC and back…the tix range from $2 to $16 round trip. Drop off is in a pretty great spot in DC. The drawback is that the spot in Baltimore to pick up the bus, while emminently safe, is in the 'burbs slightly - if you live in the area, it is not really in Baltimore - it’s in White Marsh. Travel from the Harbor to there would by cab would be costly.</p>
<p>There is a lot of construction/lack of sidewalks near the Greyhound stop in DC. Do the google ‘little man flyover’ and you can see the area around the station. </p>
<p>A lot of the amtrak trains are $22 round trip - I think that’s not bad for the convenience and speed.</p>
<p>The OP seemed to be talking about a group of people traveling together, so perhaps the dicey neighborhoods near the bus stations are less of an issue.</p>
<p>For a woman traveling alone, the need to use a taxi to or from the bus stations because walking might not be safe pretty much cancels out the cost savings of using the bus versus the train.</p>
<p>I may be making an error, but I think the greyhound bus is only a tiny bit cheaper than the train - if you get the $22 round trip train tix. It is not worth the hassle or the safety issue.</p>
<p>I have folks coming to visit me from abroad next summer and I am helping their day trips form here, and I would not suggest they take Greyhound from Baltimore. Customer service may be an issue as well.</p>
<p>The stations on Haines and O’Donnel are sort of in industrial areas.</p>
<p>I have a conference at the Marriott Baltimore Harbor in the spring and may want to do a side trip to DC as well. Very interested in this post and what the outcomes are. Thanks for the tips!</p>
<p>It looks like the train station and bus station are about equidistant from the Harbor area (so cab fare may be similar). Maybe the hotel will provide a free shuttle to train or bus station? The bus would be cheaper but the train probably more pleasant. I’ve taken both Amtrak and Greyhound many times as well as flown many times. They all have their unique charms! If trying Amtrak, suggest planning ahead and getting a ticket in advance. Same with bus so you can avoid waiting in lines at the bus station to get a ticket. I looked at a random Saturday and looked like cheapest train was $15 each way. Planning ahead could probably get you close to what a bus would cost (as pumpkin65 said as low as $22 RT). Other things besides bus or train , have of course, also been suggested. And there is always renting a car or driver for the day. Have fun, Montegut!</p>