Travel into DC from Annapolis?

[KrisM]

Anyone know how easy it is to get from Annapolis to DC? We are thinking of going next year and could stay with ILs in Annapolis.

[egoldber]

It's a straight shot on Highway 50 from Annapolis into DC and takes about 30 minutes with no traffic. But in the mornings and afternoons, that's a commute direction. Many people live in the direction of Annapolis/Anne Arundel County and commute into DC. You could also drive to an end of the line Metro stop like Largo or New Carrollton and take the metro into town.

[babystuffbuff]

I work in DC and I commuted for a year when we lived in Annapolis. I worked semi-off hours (9:30-6:30) at my employer's suggestion, which helped, but traffic could still be bad, especially leaving after work. Assuming a weekday, your best bet would be probably leaving Annapolis at 9:00 or 9:30 (or super early, but that would get you here before anything was open) and then waiting until 7 PM or so to drive back. The Metro from New Carrollton is a good option since you then don't have to find and pay for parking in DC, but the garage there can fill up early. I tried commuting that way a few times but with my off hours (arriving later in the morning) I had trouble finding spots and decided to just drive in since I could park at work for free. But you could leave Annapolis earlier in that situation and would probably be fine traffic-wise; in my experience, it didn't tend to get bad until closer to the city.

[alirebco]

I would drive straight in but during non-rush hours - route 50. Probably will take about an hour or so. Metroing is easier on the weekends because of the parking like PP said.

[KrisM]

What are rush hours? 7-9 and 4-6 or so?

[egoldber]

Or so. The commute hours are long.

The heaviest traffic in and out of the city is from 7-9:30 and 3:30 - 6:30.

[mommylamb]

I don't live out that way, but I'm pretty sure that route 50 has a HOV2 that should save you time if you need to come in during commute hours. And yes, commuting hours are most of the day here. Traffic sucks.

[TwinFoxes]

I don't live out that way, but I'm pretty sure that route 50 has a HOV2 that should save you time if you need to come in during commute hours. And yes, commuting hours are most of the day here. Traffic sucks.

The HOV lanes are really short out that way. But the good news is I think they're 24 hours, not just during commute time.

OP, I think the evening commute is worse than the morning commute. Either decide to get dinner in the District, or leave town before 3pm.

BTW, Annapolis is really nice, plan to spend time there. You can also go to Baltimore, which has fun things (like the Aquarium) to do.

[KrisM]

I'll have to google HOV

I guess we need to decide if we want to stay in Annapolis for the entire time or just for a few days and 'do Annapolis' those days and then visit DC from a more local hotel. We are thinking spring break, which is the week after Easter next year. I imagine it'll be super busy that week.

[egoldber]

The good news is that while the city itself is busy with tourists, traffic does tend to be a bit lighter the week before and after Easter, which are the local spring break weeks. But I think that DC is more enjoyable if you stay in the city, or at least closer than Annapolis. Many peoplw where I work drive in from Annapolis every day, but they tend to do it very early and only 3-4 days a week.

The HOV lane on 50 is between the Beltway and 301, so not all the way to Annapolis, but where most of the traffic is.