# Driving from IAD to OTA and then to Williamsburg



## Denise L (May 21, 2014)

Hello!

We are planning our first touring trip to D.C. and Williamsburg.  We are flying into IAD/Dulles.  Not sure why I didn't fly into National, but I must have had my reasons when I booked it months ago .

I have never driven in that area.  I used Google Maps and it indicated that I could drive via Dulles Access Road and I-495 South.  Says it's 31.8 miles.  Does that sound about right?  We don't land until 6:00 PM...hoping traffic will be gone by the time we get our luggage and our rental car and our courage.

Six days later, we leave for Williamsburg.  Then after four days, we go back to Dulles for a 4:40 PM flight to fly home.  Any tips for driving routes from OTA to Parkside Williamsburg Resort, and back to IAD?  I'm wondering if I just map everything out in Google Maps and go from there. 

Thanks for any tips .


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## Luanne (May 21, 2014)

You may have booked into Dulles to get a direct flight?  When we would fly there from the west coast that's what we always did.  To fly into National we would have to change planes somewhere.

Traffic in and out of the airport can be horrible, it can also be not too bad.  There is a commute lane (that's not really what it's called, I think it is the Dulles access road) but a direct lane that goes back into the airport.  If you get off of that you're on a toll road.  There is also a gas station right on the airport premises, so if you need to gas up your rental car you can wait until then, instead of having to get off.

Personally we hate driving in the DC area, and Virginia as a whole.  Even with a GPS it can be a nightmare.  The biggest problem is, if you miss your turn there is usually no way to recover easily.  Don't mean to scare you, just to make you aware.


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## lynne1956 (May 21, 2014)

Are you planning to use the rental car when you're in Alexandria? I actually think it's more of a hindrance there unless you're extensively touring outlying areas. Most everything in the DC area is easily accessible by Metro, which is right beside OTA.  I would take a shuttle from IAD to the timeshare & then pick up the rental car near National airport (2 Metro stops away) on my way to Williamsburg.
Lynne


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## Denise L (May 21, 2014)

lynne1956 said:


> Are you planning to use the rental car when you're in Alexandria? I actually think it's more of a hindrance there unless you're extensively touring outlying areas. Most everything in the DC area is easily accessible by Metro, which is right beside OTA.  I would take a shuttle from IAD to the timeshare & then pick up the rental car near National airport (2 Metro stops away) on my way to Williamsburg.
> Lynne



We don't plan to use the car when we are at OTA, but I rented it because we were driving to Williamsburg for four nights.  Since we are flying home out of Dulles, what do you recommend for getting to IAD from Williamsburg?  Returning the car to Dulles?  I will look into rates, but they were double what they were when I originally booked the rental for 10 days.  What kind of shuttle for two adults, two kids, plus luggage?  Or is a car service/town car/SUV service available?

Thanks for any advice!


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## Miss Marty (May 21, 2014)

*About Washington Dulles International Airport*

_
Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) is _
located in Chantilly, VA on 12,000 acres of land 
approx 26 miles from downtown Washington DC. 

The Main Terminal opened in 1962 
and was dedicated on Nov 17, 1962. 

Flights operate from midfield concourses A, B, C, D 
and from Z-gates connected to the Main Terminal.

National Air & Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center 
Dulles Va is located just a few miles from the Main Terminal. 

http://www.metwashairports.com/dulles/208.htm


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## Miss Marty (May 21, 2014)

*Wyndham Old Town Alexandria Virginia*

_
From Washington Dulles International Airport _

From the airport, merge onto VA-276 E. Merge onto I-66 E. Exit 69 toward US-29/VA-237/Washington Blvd./Lee Hwy. Merge onto Fairfax Dr. Make a right at US-29 S/VA-237 W. Turn left at E Broad St. Continue onto Leesburg Pike, then continue onto S. King St. 

Wyndham Old Town Alexandria features Free Garage Parking!  

Click link to view floorplans.

http://www.extraholidays.com/washington-dc/wyndham-old-town-alexandria.aspx


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## Miss Marty (May 21, 2014)

*Quantico Virginia*

_
Plan a visit along the way to the _

National Museum of the Marine Corps

Admission is Free!

Semper Fidelis
"Always faithful," 
a phrase known the world over.

Driving directions 
Alexandria  I-395 HOV S and I-95 S
approx 35 miles, 45 min To Quantico

http://www.usmcmuseum.org/


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## Miss Marty (May 21, 2014)

*Virginia Travel Guide and Map*

_
Order your free _

2014 Virginia is for Lovers 
Travel Guide & Road Map.  

http://www.virginia.org/TravelGuide/


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## GrayFal (May 21, 2014)

Denise L said:


> We don't plan to use the car when we are at OTA, but I rented it because we were driving to Williamsburg for four nights.  Since we are flying home out of Dulles, what do you recommend for getting to IAD from Williamsburg?  Returning the car to Dulles?  I will look into rates, but they were double what they were when I originally booked the rental for 10 days.  What kind of shuttle for two adults, two kids, plus luggage?  Or is a car service/town car/SUV service available?
> 
> Thanks for any advice!



http://www.supershuttle.com/Locations/IADAirportShuttleWashington.aspx
These are the rates to OTA

Shared Ride Van Service 
First Passenger :$35.00
Each Additional Passenger :$10.00
Fuel Surcharge : $0.00
Max Passengers :10


Exclusive Non-Stop Van Service 
First Passenger :$125.00
Each Additional Passenger :$0.00
Fuel Surcharge : $0.00
Max Passengers :10


ExecuCar Hybrid Prius - Meet and Greet 
First Passenger :$89.10
Each Additional Passenger :$0.00
Fuel Surcharge : $0.00
Max Passengers :4


ExecuCar Hybrid Prius - Will Call 
First Passenger :$80.10
Each Additional Passenger :$0.00
Fuel Surcharge : $0.00
Max Passengers :4


ExecuCar Sedan Service Meet and Greet 
First Passenger :$99.00
Each Additional Passenger :$0.00
Fuel Surcharge : $0.00
Max Passengers :3


SUV Meet & Greet 
First Passenger :$119.00
Each Additional Passenger :$0.00
Fuel Surcharge : $0.00
Max Passengers :5



You could do a car rental for 4 days only picking up the car in Alexandria and returning to Dulles. Someone else on the board is doing this in NY and is saving over $300 on airport pickup and drop off.
And as Luanne says, try Costco for car rentals.


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## Nancy (May 22, 2014)

I live in Alexandria and if I were coming from Dulles, I'd take the Dulles toll road, Airport Express part (free side) to I 495 Southbound, which eventually I 95 and get off at either Telegraph Road or Route 1 into Alexandria.

Nacy


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## Denise L (May 22, 2014)

Luanne said:


> You may have booked into Dulles to get a direct flight?  When we would fly there from the west coast that's what we always did.  To fly into National we would have to change planes somewhere.



Hi Luanne, I think you are right.  I knew I must have had a reason for choosing that airport !


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## Denise L (May 22, 2014)

GrayFal said:


> You could do a car rental for 4 days only picking up the car in Alexandria and returning to Dulles. Someone else on the board is doing this in NY and is saving over $300 on airport pickup and drop off.
> And as Luanne says, try Costco for car rentals.



Hi Pat ,

Thanks for the airport ride information.  I could save $300 and then use about $120 of that for the one way trip to OTA, still saving net $180.  DH says, what if we want to get out of town and drive somewhere some day, which is a good point.  Hmmm .  We are thinking about it.  Maybe I'll book a car at National, returning it to Dulles, just in case.  I have booked my 10-day car rental through Costco right now and have been checking prices a lot.  The cost is $477.  At one point, it was $900.  The 4-day, 5 hour rental would be $151 for the same full-size car right now.  I'm thinking of trying PL for these rentals when it gets closer.


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## Denise L (May 22, 2014)

Nancy said:


> I live in Alexandria and if I were coming from Dulles, I'd take the Dulles toll road, Airport Express part (free side) to I 495 Southbound, which eventually I 95 and get off at either Telegraph Road or Route 1 into Alexandria.
> 
> Nacy



Thanks for the route information!  Sounds like a good way to go if we end up with the car for 10 days. Thanks again!


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## Denise L (May 22, 2014)

Miss Marty said:


> _
> Order your free _
> 
> 2014 Virginia is for Lovers
> ...



Hi ,

Thanks for the great information and links!  We are really looking forward to this trip and hope to see as much as we can during our visit :whoopie:.


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## GrayFal (May 22, 2014)

Denise L said:


> Hi Pat ,
> 
> Thanks for the airport ride information.  I could save $300 and then use about $120 of that for the one way trip to OTA, still saving net $180.  DH says, what if we want to get out of town and drive somewhere some day, which is a good point.  Hmmm .  We are thinking about it.  Maybe I'll book a car at National, returning it to Dulles, just in case.  I have booked my 10-day car rental through Costco right now and have been checking prices a lot.  The cost is $477.  At one point, it was $900.  The 4-day, 5 hour rental would be $151 for the same full-size car right now.  I'm thinking of trying PL for these rentals when it gets closer.



I know I had suggested you might like to go to Mt Vernon which is a short ride from OTA, so pick up the car the day before....and remember that most times picking up a car at a non airport location can be significantly cheaper...so no need to go to Reagan airport to get it...actually why not call OTA and ask them where people pick up cars locally...there might be a place within a block or two of the hotel.


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## Nancy (May 22, 2014)

*Bus to Mt Vernon*

As someone previously posted, you can get to Mt. Vernon via bus.  Probably metro to Huntington then bus to Mt. Vernon.  There may be a bus that you can pick up at King Street metro station that goes directly to Mt. Vernon.   

Me personally, I'd only rent a car for days needed.  I'm sure there are rental cars near OTA.  It would also be easier to get to OTA from Dulles.  I've used supershuttle (but not from Dulles) and Execucar which is from Supershuttle.

Nancy

ps.  Ask me any local questions that you have.


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## Big Matt (May 22, 2014)

Nancy's route is the best one.  

What days are you arriving at Dulles and going to Williamsburg?  That makes a huge difference in how to do any of this.

If you land on a Saturday or Sunday into Dulles, you won't hit any traffic unless there is a back up on 495 due to the draw bridge opening which probably won't happen.

Landing on a weekday you should miss most rush hour traffic anyway.

Heading to Williamsburg is a different story.  Any weekday you need to leave OTA before noon to guarantee you miss the afternoon rush hour, but that still doesn't get you home free in the summer time.  If you are a decent driver and not in a hurry, you may want to do the following to avoid 95 south at all costs:

Take Telegraph road to 495 North and cross the Potomac into Maryland
Exit onto Maryland 210 South (Indian Head Highway)
Merge onto 228 South (Berry Road)
Exit onto 301 South and drive all the way over the Potomac River Bridge to Virginia.
Take 301 either all the way to 295 in Richmond to 64 east 
Or
Take 301 to 30 through West Point to Route 60 to Williamsburg

Some of this route on 301 in Virginia is rural, but safe and easy with small towns on the way.  Very relaxing and much better than sitting in bumper to bumper traffic.


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## Luanne (May 22, 2014)

Okay, I have to ask [since I don't know], what is OTA?


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## hjtug (May 22, 2014)

Denise L said:


> Maybe I'll book a car at National, returning it to Dulles, just in case.



Check to see if there are any accessable car rental offices away from the airport.  Sometimes you can find better rates.


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## Nancy (May 22, 2014)

*OTA*

It took me awhile to figure out it must mean Old Town Alexandria.  

Nancy


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## Don (May 23, 2014)

DW is from Alexandria.  We used to take US 1 from there to Woodbridge then get on 95 S after visiting her family.


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## Nancy (May 24, 2014)

*US 1*

We use Route 1 a lot.  Live close to it.  If I-95 gets backed up, it won't take long for Route 1 to get backed up also.  

We prefer to stay off interstates, so often take US 17 from Fredericksburg south to Yorktown, then Colonial Parkway to Williamsburg.  Any way, but interstates will take longer.

Nancy


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## Denise L (Jun 10, 2014)

Nancy said:


> As someone previously posted, you can get to Mt. Vernon via bus.  Probably metro to Huntington then bus to Mt. Vernon.  There may be a bus that you can pick up at King Street metro station that goes directly to Mt. Vernon.
> 
> Me personally, I'd only rent a car for days needed.  I'm sure there are rental cars near OTA.  It would also be easier to get to OTA from Dulles.  I've used supershuttle (but not from Dulles) and Execucar which is from Supershuttle.
> 
> ...



Sorry for the late reply .  My rental car has gone down from $477 for 10 days to $157 now.  I think that a car service for the four of us from IAD to the timeshare would be $120, so I think we will keep the car.  I have been checking prices and they are dropping every day.

Can I walk to Whole Foods from the Wyndham OTA?  Also, where would the nearest and easiest to get to Jamba Juice be?  My daughter takes vitamin supplements that need to be mixed in smoothies that contain no gluten or casein or anything artificial .


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## Denise L (Jun 10, 2014)

Big Matt said:


> Nancy's route is the best one.
> 
> What days are you arriving at Dulles and going to Williamsburg?  That makes a huge difference in how to do any of this.
> 
> ...



Thank you for the tips!  We arrived into IAD on a Saturday, landing at 6:00 PM.  So is Nancy's route the best route on a Saturday night?

We leave the area for Williamsburg on a Friday.  We will need to check out by 11:00 so should be on the road by then.  How long will your scenic route take versus the highway route, do you think?

Thanks for tips!


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## Denise L (Jun 10, 2014)

Luanne said:


> Okay, I have to ask [since I don't know], what is OTA?



Sorry, I used OTA for the Wyndham Old Town Alexandria timeshare in Virginia .  I haven't stayed there before!!  Not sure why I am using the acronymns like I know the place .


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## schoolmarm (Jun 10, 2014)

If you really want to save money, you can take public transportation and not a shuttle from Dulles.  This takes a while but there are a couple of options.  Old Town Alexandria is across the street from the King street station (BLUE LINE).

Too bad they don't have the SILVER line complete yet...you still have to take a bus to the metro line.  

Here are the options from the Dulles Airport website...If taking the Washington Flyer bus, you will need to change to the blue line (at Rosslyn) once on the Metro. If taking 5A, get off at Rosslyn and take the Blue line:

To get to the Metrorail station: The Washington Flyer bus (tel. 1-888-927-4359) connects to the West Falls Church Metro Station. Buy your Bus ticket at the counter at Arrivals Door 4 of the main terminal and board the bus right outside, which runs about every 30 minutes (listen to announcement). On arrival at the Metrorail station, buyy your Metrorail fare card and board the train headed for 'New Carrollton' (downtown Washington).  For general information about Metrorail open: wmata.com or call 202-637-7000 /TTY 638-3780.  

The 5A Express Metrobus to downtown Washington makes stops at Terminal's arrivals level, down the ramp at curb location 2E and continues to:
(a) Herndon-Monroe (Virginia) at Park & Ride lot, 
(b) the Rosslyn (Virginia) Metrorail station (with connections to Orange/Blue lines),
(c) L'Enfant Plaza (Washington) Metrorail Station.
The Fairfax Connector bus, Route 981, takes you from from the Airport to Herndon-Monroe transfer station where you can change to the 5A bus to the Airport; and to Reston Town Center and Tysons Westpark.

NOTE:  Connect ing the Airport to Washington, D.C. via the Metrorail's Silver Line - should eventually happen by 2016.


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## tlwmkw (Jun 10, 2014)

Have you considered coming to Charlottesville and touring Monticello?  You could drive down the blue ridge parkway and come to Charlottesville, see Monticello and then drive on 64 east to Williamsburg.  It would take a day but would allow you to see Monticello which is worth the trip.

tlwmkw


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