Traveling to Baltimore

If you’re planning a trip to Camden Yards and Baltimore, you might have logistical questions. Should I fly, drive, or take a train to Baltimore? Do I need to rent a car to get around? Fear not — we’ve got answers! This chapter is about how to get to and from Baltimore, and how to get from the airports to the hotels. Later on our “Local Transit” chapter will cover how to get to/from the stadium.

In this chapter we’ll cover the following:

• Flying to Baltimore
• Transportation from airports to hotels
• Renting a car
• Driving to Baltimore
• Train to Baltimore

Flying to Baltimore: Which airport to choose

Baltimore has one airport, Baltimore Washington airport (BWI). Although BWI is often grouped with Reagan National (DCA) and Washington Dulles (IAD) airports as part of the greater Washington DC flying options, BWI is by far the best option when visiting Camden Yards. It is just 12 miles from the stadium, and accessible via public transit or a short rideshare or taxi.

With the light rail to BWI right outside the stadium, you can also comfortably make an evening flight after a 1:35pm Sunday game. Trust us — this isn’t a close choice. If you can fly to BWI, fly to BWI.

Second best choice for getting to Baltimore: Washington Reagan (DCA) or Dulles (IAD)?

If BWI doesn’t work for you, then your choice between Reagan and Dulles Airports largely comes down to your willingness to pay a lot for a rideshare, rent a car, or take a long adventure on public transit.

From DCA, you can use public transit if you really want to, but it will take a while. You’ll take the DC Metro Yellow Line from the airport to the Gallery Place/Chinatown station, and then transfer to the Red Line to Union Station. From there, it’s a modest walk from the Union Station metro station to the other part of the Union Station where the trains depart. Then it’s on to a Marc train (Maryland Area Regional Commuter) where you’ll take a 50-60 minute train to Baltimore’s Penn Station (you can use Amtrak, but it will be much, much more expensive, although it may be 20-30 minutes faster, depending on which train you select).  And then, from Baltimore’s Penn Station, you’ll need to catch a quick rideshare/taxi to your hotel (5-10 minutes, less than $15). So really … if you’re a diehard public transit fanatic, or are dead set on saving money, it’s doable. But given the costs and the time, it might have been better to just pay an additional cost to fly into BWI, or booked a connecting flight to BWI (it’s better to transfer at an airport than to go through this public transit hassle).

From IAD, we think it’s just too difficult to use public transit to get to Baltimore. Yes, it’s also “doable”, but it will involve multiple transfers, and will take you 2.5 – 3 hours. Google Maps can break it down for you, but seriously — this isn’t the way to go. Truth be told, it would be a little easier to take public transit from the Philadelphia Airport to Baltimore instead of from Dulles Airport.

If you must book into one of these airports, we’d probably suggest a car for getting to Baltimore, whether that’s a rental car or a rideshare. Since a rental car will include extra time, fuel, and parking fees, we think the rideshare option will be better, even if it’s a bit more expensive. Fares from DCA can be anywhere from $60-120, depending on the time of day and surge pricing.  So check your app, and if this is the way you want to go, it may be worthwhile to book the ride in advance to lock in your fare. 

From IAD, the rideshare cost will start closer to $100, and can go as high as $200.  So ask yourself — could you have found flights to BWI for an extra $100-200?  If so, then book them and save yourself this hassle.

If you do want to rent a car, Avis and Budget have local offices in downtown Baltimore. You could do a one-way rental, drive from DCA or IAD to the Inner Harbor, and then drop the car off there to avoid overnight parking charges. It’s worth considering. You could also drive directly to BWI to return the car, and then take a rideshare or the light rail from BWI to the Inner Harbor.

Here’s how all of this breaks down in terms of time and cost:

Travel Time and Cost to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor

As you can see, once you get past BWI, you’re going to have a lengthy commute from either DCA or IAD (and keep in mind, the low end of those travel times are without traffic, and let’s be serious: there’s always traffic in DC). So don’t believe Google Flights: all DC airports are not the same.  BWI is clearly the closest, cheapest, and best option. Whether you’re going via public transit, taxi, rideshare, or rental car, BWI is relatively inexpensive to get to/from, and the light rail is especially cheap and accessible. So if you can fly into BWI, it is by far the best option.

Getting from BWI to your hotel: Should you rent a car? Or stick to public transportation?

Simply stated, skip the rental car. There are always specific circumstances where a rental is warranted, but downtown Baltimore is walkable and accessible by public transit from the airports. Once you get to the city, you’ll wonder why you got a car. Parking at hotels is not cheap, and unless you have plans to visit things outside the city such as Annapolis, you won’t have any reason to use the car after commuting from the airport. (And if you do want to take a day trip to Annapolis, renting a car from a downtown location or using Zipcar for a day may be a better option. More in our “Local Transit” chapter.)

If you fly into BWI, you’ll spend as much time getting your rental car as it takes to take the light rail into the city, let alone taking a taxi or rideshare. And with car rentals a shuttle away from the terminal, you’re going out of your way to spend extra money. 

There are plenty of hotels within walking distance of Camden Yards, and many more within range of a short bus or rideshare, so don’t overthink your trip. Keep it simple and leave a car out of the picture unless you really need to have it.

Getting to Baltimore by car

If you’ve ever driven on I-95, then you know how easy Baltimore is to get to. The highway goes right over downtown, with two exits letting you off within feet of Camden Yards. Your preferred GPS will help you get to the park or hotel, but look ahead to plan around traffic. While not as bad as traffic in DC, Baltimore’s rush hour isn’t worth fighting through. If you’re driving in, give yourself a few hours of buffer between your planned arrival time and first pitch so you don’t run into trouble.

Getting to Baltimore by train

If you’re traveling to Baltimore by train, you can arrive in one of two places: BWI airport or, more likely, downtown at Baltimore Penn Station. If you get off Amtrak at BWI, you can either order a rideshare from the station, or take the short shuttle from the Amtrak/MARC station to the BWI terminal to catch the light rail into town.

Things are slightly more complicated at Penn Station. If you have luggage, we suggest spending the money on a rideshare or taxi to your hotel to make your life a lot easier. A rideshare to the hotels in the Inner Harbor can cost as little as $10. Even during rush hour, it won’t cost more than $25 and it will be significantly more convenient than taking a bus or walking. If you’re looking to cut costs, this is not where we’d suggest you do it.

But if you do want to take public transit, the 51 bus takes you to within three blocks of the stadium, and there are other, less convenient buses that also work. If you don’t mind a short walk, the light rail picks up a few blocks west of Penn Station, and goes straight to Camden Yards if you’re going directly to the game, or you can get off one stop earlier at Pratt Street, which will be closer to the hotels. If you’re not taking a taxi or rideshare, trust in Google Maps to help you choose the best route, but don’t hesitate to add a couple minutes to your trip if it saves you a transfer.

Bottom Line

Baltimore is not hard to get to. If you can fly into BWI or take the train to Penn Station, you’ll have the easiest time. If not, then follow our guide and you should be just fine.