Washington Highlands Travel Forum

We are taking our first trip to Washington , D.C this year and we are staying at the Chevy Chase Embassy wich has the metro underneath and this sounds great but how easy is this going to be getting on the metro to and from the airport with LUGGAGE??? And do we need to go ahead and purchase over the internet our all day pass for the metro?? Any help with this would be great.;;-)))
Thanks, Debbie

Welcome to DC -

Luggage - UGH ! I use the DC metro system every day for work and I see many people STRUGGLE with their luggage every day and they SOMEHOW manage, they survive (BELIEVE ME) - that said here are some pointers,

at the airport at least, avail of the luggage cart and leave it at the metro station,

try and limit your self to one large piece per person

try and avoid rush hour traffic ( before 7.30 - 9.00 am and 3.30 - 6.30 pm)

at the station LOOK for the elevator instead of using the escalator - there is always going to be one - PROBLEM sometimes they are not working (welcome to Washington DC metro system)

if travelling in a group, keep your minors close together

You will do fine !

Welcome to DC -

Luggage - UGH ! I use the DC metro system every day for work and I see many people STRUGGLE with their luggage every day and they SOMEHOW manage, they survive (BELIEVE ME) - that said here are some pointers,

at the airport at least, avail of the luggage cart and leave it at the metro station,

try and limit your self to one large piece per person

try and avoid rush hour traffic ( before 7.30 - 9.00 am and 3.30 - 6.30 pm)

at the station LOOK for the elevator instead of using the escalator - there is always going to be one _ PROBLEM sometimes they are not working (welcome to Washington DC metro system)

if travelling in a group, keep your minors close together

You will do fine !

Hi, Jagdish,
Thanks for your help, The rush hour you are talking about is it just during Mon-Fri? We are arriveing on a Sat around 3;30pm and we will be leaving on a wed around 10;00am so maybe this will not be so bad???;-) OO and what did you do about the metro tickets did you buy them in advance or just wait until you got there? I went to your homepage and your pix are great!!!

Thanks Again!!;-))
Debbie

There is no rush-hour on Federal Holidays. ON other days, Mon-Fri the metro system can be very crowded duirng the rush-hour.

Forgot to reply to your question re: all-day pass - it is going to be valid only after 9.30 AM. You can easily purchase them at the station.

When you arrive, you will be also able to pick up a map (very handy) for all points of interest. I would go for the large-print version if they have one.

There is a URL for the metro system - WMATA.COM which has a system wide map in color and it is also clickable for each station which shows you the street map close to each metro station. All the maps include points of interest

Enjoy !