how to get to Washington D.C. (Silver Spring, Greenbelt: buy, live in)

[davidtanya]

Hi! We live in Rising Sun and have some family coming to town. We have only been here a few months and we want to go to Washington D.C. I don't mind driving but I have heard it is horrible and the parking is insane so I was wondering how people around here get there. Somebody mentioned a MARC train but I was a little confused trying to read the website. Any info would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

[boomtownfunlover]

You should be able to get a MARC train at Perryville and travel to Washington, down in the weekday morning and back in the evening. Also, years ago, on a weekend, I've driven to New Carrollton, a D.C. Metro stop just off the beltway with a large parking lot, and rode the Metro into the town, namely, the mall. I don't know how it is these days.

[HandsUpThumbsDown]

Originally Posted by boomtownfunlover

You should be able to get a MARC train at Perryville and travel to Washington, down in the weekday morning and back in the evening. Also, years ago, on a weekend, I've driven to New Carrollton, a D.C. Metro stop just off the beltway with a large parking lot, and rode the Metro into the town, namely, the mall. I don't know how it is these days.

You have to get to the Metro parking lots really early to get parking. If it were me I'd just take the MARC, much easier and probably cheaper. Also it's really lovely to cross the Susquehanna on the train.

[John13]

Keep in mind that MARC does not run on weekends...

If possible don't drive to DC. Take the Metro.

[htownterp]

I would drive to the Greenbelt Metro station and take the green line train (toward Branch Ave.) into DC. Depending on how many places you want to go (and how centrally located they are), you could buy a day pass.....I think they are $14 or get a plastic fare card and add like $10 on each, which should be good for the trip in, out, and a few connections once in town. You can always ad money to the card Be advised that Metro will soon start charging $1 surcharge for each paper ticket, now sure when that will be starting.

You should find plenty of parking t the Greenbelt station, but if you are going on a weekday, I would go earlier in the day to secure parking.

[J_Lurk]

When we first moved here everyone told us not to drive to DC. At first we'd always take the metro; we'd drive to Silver Spring or Greenbelt. But we've learned that since we are generally going on weekends, it is actually not that bad to drive into DC compared to taking the metro. For a family of 4, the fares add up fast, and there are often line works on the weekend that make it a very prolonged trip. We can generally drive faster. We often park in one of the decks on 7th street near L'Enfant Plaza, and it is pretty straightforward to get there.

If you are going on a weekday, I would drive to Greenbelt.

[mcleanexec]

Drive to New Carrolton Metro, cheap all day parking. No brainer. Since you have not been to DC, it would not be fun for you to try to find a parking garage close to the museums during the work week that is not full.