Washington D.C. Travel Forum

Hi, I'll be staying in the Washington DC area next week and I'd like
to spend part of the week tourist-ing downtown: I'll have a car but read
about how bad it is to drive and park downtown, so I also read about
the possibility to park and ride, but couldn't find clear information:
is it possible to go with the car to a metro station outside Washington,
park there, and then take the metro downtown? Any metro station?
Or, do I need to go to some other places where I park, take a bus
which leads to the metro station?
Can somebody shade some light? The Web isn't of much help, and the
official washington sites are terrible to this regard :(

Thanks so much in advance!
Massimo

The metro is the way to go.....there are parking lots at the metro stations, here's their website that will give you more info.

http://www.wmata.com/metrorail/systemmap.cfm

Hi there:-) The Metro parking spaces are right by the metro station, and you don't need to take a bus to go to the station. Not all metro stations have parking, and Iluvtrvl gave you the site which shows the stations that has parking spaces - the one with the funky car symbol. Additionally, here's the site that tells you more about Park N Ride http://www.wmata.com/metrorail/daily-parking.cfm. In general, you can park for free during federal holidays and weekends. In other days, you have to pay for it through a SmarTrip card. The card can be purchased in machines inside the Metro stations, and you pay the fee when you leave the parking garage/space. Moreover, you can use the SmarTrip card to ride the metro, and metro buses (i'm not sure about Maryland buses). Fees vary according to the station, but you can check the fees for a particular station in the website i gave you (ie. parking in Anacostia cost $3.50/day).
Parking is a first-come first serve thing so some stations (i.e. Grovesnor) can be quite full during weekdays. Check the website I gave you to check which parking spaces fill easily, which parking spaces allow multi-day parking, and what time the metro station closes. Additionally, check http://www.wmata.com/riding/visitors/visitors.cfm for visitor passes, and if any applies to you. Hope you have a good time in DC, and if you have any more questions just email me :-)

Hi

As the previous posts indicate, the Metro is the way to go. You didn't indicate where you are staying in the DC area. Lots of the suburban hotels have free shuttle to the nearest Metro station. The parking is always better the farther out the station (On the Maryland side, anyway). Hope you have a marvelous time in our area.

Lou

The Crystal City Marriott is located right at the Crystal City Metro station. There are some other hotels nearby, as well.

Joan

Hi,

Everyone's comments have been right on, I just have something small to add. You may want to check out Metro's pdf route maps of the DC bus/train system on wmata.com for exact locations. The general Metro map is vague to say the least. Also, if you plan to take a bus after using the Metro into the city remember to grab a bus transfer (they're usually next to the escalators down to the train platform. That makes the bus $.35, and you can get a 2 hour transfer pass from the bus driver. This may be a better way to Dupont Circle or Georgetown from the Smithsonian.

Greenbelt will be your best choice if you are coming from anywhere in the north like Baltimore, NYC or Philly. That's the one I always use. Cheap and on weekend trains ride until 3 AM I think... If you are coming from 95 it's right after you hit the beltway, either 2nd or 3rd entrance after you hit the beltway going east.
Good luck! Go to Georgetown and hike all the way up to the hill in Arlington, there is an excellent view from there. National Cathedral is also beautiful and close to Georgetown.