Travel to downtown Washington D.C. is provided by the Silver Line Metro. Local buses provide connections to the surrounding neighborhoods and the famous Air and Space Museum.

Car rental

If you'll be moving outside the big cities, renting a car is definitely the best form of transport in the US.

Dulles Airport is home to all the major rental companies and prices for a weekly rental start at 300 usd depending on the season and availability.

Compare prices - book a car at IAD

Metro to Washington

The fastest way to get downtown is via the Silver Line subway. You'll find the metro station about 250 metres from the main terminal, and the walking route is very clearly signposted.

The subway runs through downtown Washington (Metro Center, L'Enfant Plaza, Rosslyn stations). To get from the airport to downtown, follow the direction "Downtown Largo", and in the direction of the airport, follow the terminus "Ashburn" (the airport is not a terminus).

Metro tickets for 6 usd buy them from a vending machine in the station (cash or card) or from the SmarTrip mobile app. The price is calculated according to distance and 6 usd will get you from the airport to the whole centre.

A day pass valid for the entire WMATA Metro and bus network costs 13 usd, but you'll need to pay extra 2 usd to get to/from the airport.

• Travel time - 53 minutes (per station Metro Center)
• Price - 6 usd / 15 usd all-day and airport surcharge
• Frequency - 12 minutes (late evening 15 minutes)
• Last subway from airport - 23:09 (0:09 on Saturday)
• First metro to airport (station Metro Center) - 5:32am (7:32am on weekends and holidays)
• Official website and journey planner: wmata.com/schedules

Transfer to Reagan Airport

Take the Silver Line subway to the Rosslyn station, where you will transfer to the Blue Line subway in the direction of "Franconia". Reagan Airport is the 5th station from Rosslyn.

In total, the trip itself will take at least 60-70 minutes including the wait. Both the Silver Line and Blue Line subways run once every 12 minutes.

The fare is 6 usd and there is no need to buy a new ticket when transferring.

Buses 952 and 983

Local bus routes have a final stop at the airport. While the 952 route goes to the nearby town of Reston and is not heavily used by tourists, the 983 bus goes to the famous aviation museum south of the airport.

For information about the Air and Space Museum, visit the official website: airandspace.si.edu/visit

The trip to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center takes 25 minutes on the 983 and runs 1-2 times per hour.

A ticket on both lines costs 2 usd and is paid for with cash from the driver or through the SmarTrip mobile app.

• Line 953 to Reston - frequency 20 minutes, runs from 6:20 a.m. to 11 p.m.
• Line 983 to the Air and Space Museum - frequency 30-60 minutes, runs from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

For schedules, go to fairfaxcounty.gov/connector/routes, click on "Reston" under the "Routes by Area" heading.

Night service

Public transportation to the airport does not run overnight. The first subway from downtown doesn't leave until around 5:30 a.m. (even 7:30 a.m. on weekends), and the last one leaves the airport at 11:09 p.m.

During the night, only taxis can be used for transport to/from the airport.

Taxi

The most popular transport to the city centre is via Uber or Lyft, for which there is a dedicated stand immediately outside the arrivals hall.

Prices to the city centre vary according to times and availability. When traveling to the Metro Center area in the core of Washington D.C., expect prices between 55 usd and 70 usd.