Submitted by adiboy36 t3_z3r29a in washingtondc
I'm not sure whether it I can ask this question here, but here you go.
I plan to travel to DC in January 1st week and would probably land by 8:10 AM. From there, I have to catch a MegaBus to my university. So, I wanted to know if I can make it in time or not.
Thanks in Advance
Dang. Would there be any internet shuttles within the airport? Or any other electric cars?
There are internal shuttles (you actually can’t walk straight from gate to baggage claim from the gates anymore) but there’s still usually a long walk on either end.
Gotcha. Thanks!
I’m assuming you’re coming from overseas? If so, plan at least an hour to take the shuttle to the immigration/customs building and go through immigration. By the time you get through that, your luggage will be ready and waiting for you.
Where do you plan to get on the MegaBus and what university are you going to?
It's https://virginiabreeze.org/routes/ (uses megabus for ticketing), which stops right at the main terminal building.
Bus is once a day at 1040. I think op will use all of the 2h30, but it should be plenty.
Yep. I'm a foreign traveller and would be going to Virginia Tech. Bus would arrive IAD at 10:40 and that's one of the recommended mode of transport by the university. Apart from that, Amtrak is also recommended.
Yeah that should be fine as long as your flight isn’t significantly delayed or you have problems getting through immigration. For international flights arriving at IAD, it’s a short walk and then you get on a shuttle bus to take you to the international arrivals building for immigration. Then wait in line for a bit until you present your passport/visa/etc. That can take a while depending on several factors but I think you should have plenty of time to make your bus. The Mega Bus pickup is right outside the exit from the international arrivals building so you will not have to walk far at all.
Amtrak is great but I would not recommend it in your case. You would have to take a metro train from IAD into DC, then change trains to get to the Amtrak station to pick up the train to Blacksburg. It is easily 1.5 hours to just get from IAD to the Amtrak station
Thanks a lot for your detailed guide!
So it all depends on whether the flight lands on time(which would be possible if there's no self transfers/check-in in between), and then I get my baggage immediately and finally finish my immigration process. I guess the entire process is gonna be a race against time in order to catch the bus which is expected to arrive by 10:40 at the Arrivals.
Carrying luggage (2+1 bags) with myself to the railway station and changing the station would also be a bit tedious.
I'll find out if there's any early arrivals to IAD or else, only option is to arrive late(maybe in evening or night) and stay over the night and leave early on the next day.
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I mean, the silver metro line opened this month, and that runs pretty frequently and will get you pretty much anywhere in DC and a little beyond.
Maybe check that route out on Google Maps? Literally opened last week so unlikely your university would have it listed as a mode of transport yet..
I wouldn’t book a bus before 10am.
It's scheduled for 10:40
I have had customs take 10 minutes, and I have had it take 4 hours. 1-1.5 hours is most common in my experience (as a foreigner). So I think you will likely have enough time.
This helps. Thanks for the info!
ZonaPunk t1_ixn44sq wrote
Domestic flights it will take about 30 min-45 minutes. Most of that time is spent walking to the baggage area. Dulles is a massive airport.