Washington DC is easily one of my favourite cities in the United States, up there with Seattle and Honolulu. One of the reasons for that is that it has Metrorail, making it simple to get around.
When I was last there, the Silver line had yet to be completed all the way to Dulles Airport. Recently, I went back to visit friends and for the first time I could take it all the way to downtown.
I like the Washington Metro!
As luck would have it, I had kept my 40th Anniversary metro card from the last time I was there. This wasn’t just because it was pretty, it was also because there was money on it. After baggage claim in Dulles, I followed the signs to the metro. It’s a bit of a walk, but not at all outrageous, particularly as I’ve had longer walks at London Heathrow.
Overall Thoughts
For the price and convenience, the Washington Metro from Dulles Airport is a no brainer. I think my entire journey cost me something like $6.80 which is far less than you’ll pay for an Uber or any other transport. Reagan National Airport is also on the Metro, so you could conceivable transfer between the two airports easily as well.
It’s remarkable that the United States still remains so car centric. The only other airport apart from New York that has a decent train link that I’ve been to is the RTA in Cleveland. Just as convenient, but a lot sketchier than its DC counterpart.
What do you think of the Washington Metro and it’s link to the airports? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Farragut image by Tdorante10 via Wikimedia Commons.
I don’t have the 40 year anniversary Metro Card but I do have the Obama inauguration one.
I used to take WMATA’s bus 5A quite a lot to go between DC or Arlington and IAD, and did so a bit until it ended right after the 2022 mid-term elections. The Metro rail is an improvement over the buses that had far more limited luggage room, but there are times when I still miss the 5A bus.
I live in DC and whenever I fly in/out of Dulles, I take Metro. Gets you downtown in 50 minutes for about $7. Taxi/Uber/Lyft would be about minimum $60 and save you only a few minutes.
Agreed, I saw the Uber prices for when I went there were around $60. It’s a massive cost saving and as you say, the time difference is negligible. Thanks for the comment!