Getting There

By Plane

Domestic Airlines -- Domestic airlines with scheduled flights into all three of Washington, D.C.'s airports -- Washington Dulles International (IAD), Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA), and Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall (BWI) -- include AirTran (tel. 800/247-8726; www.airtran.com), American (tel. 800/433-7300; www.aa.com), Continental (tel. 800/525-0280; www.continental.com), Delta (tel. 800/221-1212; www.delta.com), Northwest (tel. 800/225-2525; www.nwa.com), United (tel. 800/241-6522; www.united.com), and US Airways (tel. 800/428-4322; www.usairways.com).

Quite a few low-fare airlines serve Washington's airports, including one, AirTran, that serves all three. My favorite discount airline, because it is so reliable and consistently gets me the cheapest fares, is BWI's anchor, Southwest Airlines (tel. 800/435-9792; www.southwest.com), whose flights to nearly 40 cities provide more than half of BWI's passenger business. Frontier (tel. 800/432-1359; www.frontierairlines.com) and USA 3000 (tel. 877/872-3000; www.usa3000.com) also serve BWI.

Discount airlines, in addition to AirTran, that serve Washington Dulles Airport are United Airlines's subsidiary Ted Airlines (tel. 800/225-5833; www.flyted.com), America West (tel. 800/428-8322; www.usairways.com/awa), JetBlue (tel. 800/538-2583; www.jetblue.com), and, as of October 2006, Southwest. On the horizon is Virgin America (www.virginamerica.com), which was aiming to start up service at Dulles sometime in 2008.

Five discount airlines, including AirTran, use National Airport: Frontier, America West, American Trans Air (ATA) (tel. 800/435-9282; www.ata.com), and Spirit (tel. 800/772-7177; www.spiritair.com).

Shuttle Service from New York, Boston and Chicago -- Delta and US Airways continue to dominate the lucrative D.C.-East Coast shuttle service. Between the two of them, the airlines operate hourly or almost hourly shuttle service between Boston's Logan Airport and Washington, and New York's La Guardia Airport and Washington. The Delta Shuttle (tel. 800/933-5935) travels daily between New York and Washington, while the US Airways Shuttle (tel. 800/428-4322) operates daily between Boston and Washington and New York and Washington. Both airlines fly into and out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Discount airline Southwest offers nearly hourly service daily between BWI and Buffalo, Chicago's Midway Airport, Providence, Hartford, Long Island, Manchester (New Hampshire), Orlando, and Nashville.

International Airlines -- The one international airline with scheduled flights into Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is Air Canada (tel. 888/247-2262; www.aircanada.com).

International airlines with scheduled flights into Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport include Air Canada , British Airways (tel. 0870/850-9-850 in the U.K., or 800/247-9297; www.ba.com), Mexicana (tel. 800/531-7921; www.mexicana.com), and Icelandair (tel. 800/223-5500; www.icelandair.com).

Washington Dulles International Airport, with its roster of 21 international airlines and 40 international destinations, dominates the city's overseas travel market. Airlines with flights into Dulles include Aeroflot (tel. 888/686-4949; www.aeroflot.org), Air Canada , Air France (tel. 800/321-4538; www.airfrance.com), ANA Airways (tel. 800/235-9262; www.anaskyweb.com), British Airways , Lufthansa (tel. 800/645-3880; www.lufthansa.com), Saudi Arabian Airlines (tel. 800/472-8342; www.saudiairlines.com), South African Airways (tel. 0861/359-722 in South Africa, 800/722-9675 in the U.S.; www.flysaa.com), MAXjet (tel. 888/435-9629; www.maxjet.com), Aer Lingus (tel. 800/474-7424; www.aerlingus.com), and Virgin Atlantic (tel. 08705/747-747 in the U.K., or 800/862-8621 in the U.S.; www.virgin-atlantic.com).

D.C. Area Airports

General information follows that should help you determine which airport is your best bet.

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) lies across the Potomac River in Virginia, a few minutes by car, 15 to 20 minutes by Metro from downtown in non-rush-hour traffic. Its proximity to the District and its direct access to the Metro rail system are reasons why you might want to fly into National.

Approximately 13 airlines serve this airport, which has nonstop flights to 74 North American destinations, including one Caribbean and two Canadian cities. Nearly all nonstop flights are to and from cities located within 1,250 miles from Washington. The exceptions are flights between National and Phoenix, Denver, Las Vegas, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake City.

While Washington's two other airports remain in the midst of extensive renovations, National is up-to-date with new terminals, ticket counters that provide access to passengers with disabilities, more than 100 restaurants and shops, commissioned artwork displayed throughout the terminals (go on a tour if your flight's been delayed), and climate-controlled pedestrian bridges that connect the terminal directly to the Metro station, whose Blue and Yellow lines stop here. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority oversees both National and Dulles airports, so the website is the same for the two facilities: www.mwaa.com. Check there for airport information, or call tel. 703/417-8000. For Metro information, call tel. 202/637-7000.

Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) is 26 miles outside the capital, in Chantilly, Virginia, a 35- to 45-minute ride to downtown in non-rush-hour traffic. Of the three airports, Dulles handles more daily flights, with 31 airlines flying nonstop to 120 destinations, including 39 foreign cities. And though the airport is not as convenient to the heart of Washington as National, it's more convenient than BWI, thanks to an uncongested airport access road that travels half the distance toward Washington. A decades-long expansion has so far added new concourses, a parking garage, and a pedestrian walkway between the main terminal and concourses A and B that offers travelers an option over the mobile lounges. Eventually, the airport will more than triple its annual passenger traffic to 55 million, add a runway, and add an underground airport train system that will completely replace those inconvenient and unwieldy mobile lounges that transport most travelers to and from the main and midfield terminals. The airport's website is www.mwaa.com, and its information line is tel. 703/572-2700.

Last but not least is Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI), which is located about 45 minutes from downtown, a few miles outside of Baltimore. A just-completed expansion has added 11 gates to a newly improved concourse, skywalks from parking garages to terminals, and triple the amount of parking spaces. One factor especially accounts for this tremendous growth, the same that recommends BWI to travelers: the major presence of Southwest Airlines and its bargain fares. Find out whether Southwest serves your city, if you want to save some money. In all, 25 airlines serve BWI, flying nonstop to 71 destinations, including 10 foreign cities. Call tel. 800/435-9294 for airport information, or point your browser to www.bwiairport.com.

Immigration & Customs Clearance -- Foreign visitors arriving by air, no matter what the port of entry, should cultivate patience and resignation before setting foot on U.S. soil. U.S. airports have considerably beefed up security clearances in the years since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, and clearing Customs and Immigration can take as long as 2 hours.

People traveling by air from Canada, Bermuda, and certain Caribbean countries can sometimes clear Customs and Immigration at the point of departure, which is much faster.

By Car

A full third of visitors to Washington arrive by plane, and if that's you, don't worry about renting a car. In fact, it's better if you don't, since the traffic in the city and throughout the region is absolutely abysmal, parking spaces are hard to find, garage and lot charges are exorbitant, and hotel overnight rates are even worse. And you won't even need a car: Washington is eminently walkable, subway-accessible, and taxi-abundant.

But if you are like most visitors, you're planning on driving here, traveling on one of the following major highways: I-70 and I-270, I-95, and I-295 from the north; I-95 and I-395, Route 1, and Route 301 from the south; Route 50/301 and Route 450 from the east; and Route 7, Route 50, I-66, and Route 29/211 from the west.

No matter which road you take, there's a good chance you will have to navigate some portion of the Capital Beltway (I-495 and I-95) to gain entry to D.C. The Beltway girds the city, about 66 miles around, with more than 56 interchanges or exits, and is nearly always congested (especially during weekday morning and evening rush hours, roughly between 5:30 to 9:30am and 3 to 7pm). Commuter traffic on the Beltway rivals, maybe surpasses, that of major L.A. freeways, and drivers can get a little crazy, weaving in and out of traffic.

Get yourself a good map before you do anything else. The American Automobile Association (AAA; tel. 800/763-9900 for emergency road service and for connection to the mid-Atlantic office; www.aaa.com) provides its members with maps and detailed Trip-Tiks that give precise directions to a destination, including up-to-date information about areas of construction. AAA also provides towing services should you have car trouble during your trip. If you are driving to a hotel in D.C. or its suburbs, contact the establishment to find out the best route to the hotel's address and other crucial details concerning parking availability and rates. The District is 240 miles from New York City, 40 miles from Baltimore, 700 miles from Chicago, 500 miles from Boston, and about 630 miles from Atlanta.

By Train

Amtrak (tel. 800/USA-RAIL; www.amtrak.com) offers daily service to Washington from New York, Boston, Chicago, and Los Angeles (you change trains in Chicago). Amtrak also travels daily between Washington and points south, including Raleigh, Charlotte, Atlanta, cities in Florida, and New Orleans. Amtrak's Acela Express trains offer the quickest service along the "Northeast Corridor," linking Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington. The trains travel as fast as 150 miles per hour, making the trip between New York and Washington in about 3 hours and 30 minutes and between Boston and Washington in about 7 hours. Amtrak runs fewer Acela trains on weekends, and honors passenger discounts, such as those for seniors and AAA members, only on weekend Acela travel.

Amtrak offers a smorgasbord of good-deal rail passes and discounted fares; although not all are based on advance purchase, you may have more discount options by reserving early. The bargain fares can be used only on certain days and hours of the day; be sure to find out exactly what restrictions apply. Tickets for children ages 2 to 15 cost half the price of a regular coach fare when the children are accompanied by a fare-paying adult. For more information, go to www.amtrak.com and click on the website's "Hot Deals" section, where you'll find assorted discount possibilities. Amtrak also offers tour packages through its Amtrak Vacations program (tel. 800/268-7252; www.amtrakholidays.com).

Note: Amtrak requires reserved seating on its regional trains running between Boston and Newport News, Virginia, which means that every traveler is guaranteed a seat -- in the past, during holiday and other busy travel times, passengers would cram themselves into crowded cars on this popular route, standing the whole way, if necessary.

International visitors who plan to travel to other places in the country can buy a USA Rail Pass, good for 5, 15, or 30 days of unlimited travel on Amtrak (tel. 800/USA-RAIL; www.amtrak.com). The pass is available online or through many overseas travel agents. See Amtrak's website for the cost of travel within the western, eastern, or northwestern United States. Reservations are generally required and should be made as early as possible. Regional rail passes are also available.

Amtrak trains arrive at historic Union Station, 50 Massachusetts Ave. NE (tel. 202/371-9441; www.unionstationdc.com), a short walk from the Capitol, across the circle from several hotels, and a short cab or Metro ride from downtown. Union Station is a turn-of-the-20th-century Beaux Arts masterpiece that was magnificently restored in the late 1980s. Offering a three-level marketplace of shops and restaurants, this stunning depot is conveniently located and connects with Metro service. Taxis are almost always available.