Teresa Said:

A few questions about Washington DC?

We Answered:

OK, for starters, you don't have a lot of time. Dulles (IAD) is located outside of the city,and if you are flying internationally, that is where you would land. The Greyhound terminal is located in the city at:

WASHINGTON GREYHOUND STATION
1005 1ST ST NE
Washington, DC 20002

There are no trains from Dulles, so you need to take a bus to the subway, a shuttle bus, or a taxi. Taxi rates are:

Rate Breakdown/Service Charges, effective 2/5/06:
$2.80 First 1/4 mile or part thereof
$ .45 Each additional 1/4 mile or part thereof
$1.50 Each additional passenger
$ .50 Each suitcase in excess of one per passenger
$2.00 Each trunk or similar size article
$2.00 Personal service
$ .45 Each 77 seconds of waiting time ($21.04 per hour)
$2.50 Surcharge when snow emergency is declared

I normally tip a few dollars, $10 fare = $2 tip, $30 fare = $5 tip.

It will cost about $50-55 to get to D.C., depending on location.

A group shuttle will cost around $26 (SuperShuttle, found near the exit doors from baggage claim). It will take quite a bit longer than a taxi though. Tip $2-3.

You can also get the Washington Flyer ($9) to the Metro (subway) at West Falls Church, and get the metro to D.C. for a few dollars. Or take a public bus for $3 to Rossyln Metro Station and take it into D.C. for a few dollars.

You can pay exact fare on the bus, once on you are on. For the Metro, buy a ticket at the station from a kiosk (fares are listed on the side) you need the ticket to get into the stylus and back out when you finish your journey. No ticket collector, no punching tickets.

You can buy tickets for the Greyhound bus a few hours before departure. Not sure if you can leave luggage there or not.

Another option is, if you get a cab into D.C., see if the cabbie will drive you around for an hour. Determine a rate up front, but for $75-100 you could probably get the cabbie to drive you from the airport and take you around the mall, stop, get some pictures, and get to the bus station.

Probably the best things to take pictures of are going to be around the Mall. The Capitol building, White House, Monuments, etc. Given that it will probably take you an hour to get out of the airport and an hour to get to D.C., you don't have a lot of time, so probably best to focus on the Mall, which has lots of stuff to see.

Hope this helps and you have a great trip!