Best travel tips around the Annapolis area during a holiday weekend?
April 20, 2015 9:59 AM Subscribe
Can you recommend Annapolis/DC area travel destinations for me? Complication: Fourth of July holiday weekend.
My husband and I are flying in to DCA at 4pm on Friday, July 3rd, for a wedding in downtown Annapolis on the 4th. We already have a rental car reserved and a hotel booked downtown. We are flying out Monday, July 6th at 5 pm.
First sub-question, how terrible is traffic from DCA to downtown Annapolis going to be at that time of day/pre-July 4th? Google maps says it takes about 45 minutes in good traffic, I figure it could be double that?
We're pretty set on plans through Sunday morning, but then are trying to figure out what to do. The holiday weekend also makes me a little concerned we might not be optimizing our plans right.
Right now what I'd like to do is leave late morning Sunday for some kind of driving destination, I'm thinking along the water for lunch and maybe a little time hiking or exploring a park, just kind of meandering in a low-key way. Are there good areas to generally head towards or try to hit? Or things to avoid in terms of traffic, etc?
For Monday, we're talking about heading back to the airport to return the car early, and then public transit from DCA into the downtown area, maybe heading to the Mall or something like that, until mid afternoon. Is that a terrible plan on the Monday after the 4th? I realize it'll be somewhat crowded and hot...will it be massively crowded and hard to get around? Also, we'd probably be at DCA at least 8 hours before the flight...if we can't check in for the flight I'm not sure what we'd do with our bag as it looks like there is no luggage storage at the airport.
Another possibility would be staying someplace other than Annapolis Sunday night...I'm up for it but need some ideas if you think it makes more sense. Thanks for all your tips!
My husband and I are flying in to DCA at 4pm on Friday, July 3rd, for a wedding in downtown Annapolis on the 4th. We already have a rental car reserved and a hotel booked downtown. We are flying out Monday, July 6th at 5 pm.
First sub-question, how terrible is traffic from DCA to downtown Annapolis going to be at that time of day/pre-July 4th? Google maps says it takes about 45 minutes in good traffic, I figure it could be double that?
We're pretty set on plans through Sunday morning, but then are trying to figure out what to do. The holiday weekend also makes me a little concerned we might not be optimizing our plans right.
Right now what I'd like to do is leave late morning Sunday for some kind of driving destination, I'm thinking along the water for lunch and maybe a little time hiking or exploring a park, just kind of meandering in a low-key way. Are there good areas to generally head towards or try to hit? Or things to avoid in terms of traffic, etc?
For Monday, we're talking about heading back to the airport to return the car early, and then public transit from DCA into the downtown area, maybe heading to the Mall or something like that, until mid afternoon. Is that a terrible plan on the Monday after the 4th? I realize it'll be somewhat crowded and hot...will it be massively crowded and hard to get around? Also, we'd probably be at DCA at least 8 hours before the flight...if we can't check in for the flight I'm not sure what we'd do with our bag as it looks like there is no luggage storage at the airport.
Another possibility would be staying someplace other than Annapolis Sunday night...I'm up for it but need some ideas if you think it makes more sense. Thanks for all your tips!
Why not just keep the rental car and park on or near the Mall? There are meters, and although there are always tourists and crowds in the summer, I don't think its impossible to find a space. You could always park in the lot behind Union Station and leave it there all day while you walked around.
You also might try to return the rental car at Union Station and then take the Metro to DCA...
posted by jindc at 4:37 PM on April 20, 2015
You also might try to return the rental car at Union Station and then take the Metro to DCA...
posted by jindc at 4:37 PM on April 20, 2015
PS I think 45 minutes from DCA to Annapolis is pretty optimistic, even on a Federal holiday. it takes me 35 minutes from my house on Capitol Hill and I live very close to US 50.
posted by jindc at 4:38 PM on April 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by jindc at 4:38 PM on April 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: DC area native and I will be honest, I don't touch DC or most VA/MD tourist points (I'm looking at you, parks, camp sites and nature trails) with a twenty five mile pole on 4th of July weekend.
However, I *do* think you'll be fine in DC on the Monday after the 4th. Traffic is going to be a nightmare on Sunday. Stay away from the Beltway on Sunday. Monday will just be a matter of avoiding the typical M-F rush hour, which means driving southbound into DC will be killer until 9 or 10. Same with the metro line (public transit) in terms of rush hour crowds.
I hesitate to recommend the very very nearby islands like Kent, or even Solomons (bit more of a distance) just because the only way to and from them is a bridge, which means bottleneck traffic. But, if you have already accepted that it's 4th of July weekend in the greater DC area, you should be fine. I've done a lot of "driving around coastal VA/MD without any particular goal" on Memorial Weekend and it was not too bad, if it was bad at all. Which may indicate that I could be overstating how bad July 4th will be? If you want to go a little further out, you can cross the bridge into Virginia and visit Colonial Beach or Caledon Park, the latter of which is home to bald eagles. And good hiking!
The other option (and the one I would most strongly recommend, were I in your situation) would be to shack up in a Crystal City (Arlington, VA) airport hotel (Marriott, Hilton, etc) right outside of DCA the night before. You can drop off your rental in DC, take the metro line into Crystal City, get in your hotel and be all ready to go for the airport the next day. Crystal City may strike you as a bit bourgeoisie, or you may appreciate all of the restaurants and shops within walking distance. Either way, it's a clean, safe and straightforward place to hang out.
I am someone who used to overplan/load up my itinerary and always ended up miserable. Given your circumstances - out of town, holiday weekend, in the vicinity of the only city in the country that rivals LA for traffic - I'd take it easy and after leaving Annapolis and dropping off the rental, station myself in Crystal City and just ride the metro all around until it's time to go home. Maybe you can work out a late check-out with the hotel, or have them hold your luggage for a few hours until you're ready to pick it up and go to the airport?
posted by nightrecordings at 4:41 PM on April 20, 2015
However, I *do* think you'll be fine in DC on the Monday after the 4th. Traffic is going to be a nightmare on Sunday. Stay away from the Beltway on Sunday. Monday will just be a matter of avoiding the typical M-F rush hour, which means driving southbound into DC will be killer until 9 or 10. Same with the metro line (public transit) in terms of rush hour crowds.
I hesitate to recommend the very very nearby islands like Kent, or even Solomons (bit more of a distance) just because the only way to and from them is a bridge, which means bottleneck traffic. But, if you have already accepted that it's 4th of July weekend in the greater DC area, you should be fine. I've done a lot of "driving around coastal VA/MD without any particular goal" on Memorial Weekend and it was not too bad, if it was bad at all. Which may indicate that I could be overstating how bad July 4th will be? If you want to go a little further out, you can cross the bridge into Virginia and visit Colonial Beach or Caledon Park, the latter of which is home to bald eagles. And good hiking!
The other option (and the one I would most strongly recommend, were I in your situation) would be to shack up in a Crystal City (Arlington, VA) airport hotel (Marriott, Hilton, etc) right outside of DCA the night before. You can drop off your rental in DC, take the metro line into Crystal City, get in your hotel and be all ready to go for the airport the next day. Crystal City may strike you as a bit bourgeoisie, or you may appreciate all of the restaurants and shops within walking distance. Either way, it's a clean, safe and straightforward place to hang out.
I am someone who used to overplan/load up my itinerary and always ended up miserable. Given your circumstances - out of town, holiday weekend, in the vicinity of the only city in the country that rivals LA for traffic - I'd take it easy and after leaving Annapolis and dropping off the rental, station myself in Crystal City and just ride the metro all around until it's time to go home. Maybe you can work out a late check-out with the hotel, or have them hold your luggage for a few hours until you're ready to pick it up and go to the airport?
posted by nightrecordings at 4:41 PM on April 20, 2015
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Friday is the Federal holiday for the 4th, so I wouldn't expect traffic heading to Annapolis to be an issue. There will be no rush hour, and most of the beach traffic will have gone east on Thursday evening.
Monday the 6th will be a normal work day, so I think you'll just have the normal summer tourist crowd. It won't be unmanageable, but whatever Smithsonian you really want to see, I would hit that one first thing so that you beat the crowds.
I work in DuPont Circle if you want to say hi :)
posted by COD at 11:13 AM on April 20, 2015