Here are your options for not only getting to the Hyatt hotel once
you arrive in DC, but for getting around DC and to DC as well.
By plane -
Obviously, many of you will fly to DC. We strongly recommend that you
fly into the Reagan National airport (DCA), the hotel operates a
courtesy shuttle service to and from the airport and is available
5:00am-12:00am. The shuttle picks up passengers every 20 min at the top
of the hour and 20 minutes and 40 minutes past the hour. Of course, you
can also grab a taxi to the hotel for about $6.
If you have no choice but to fly into the Dulles airport (IAD) then you have several options to get to the hotel:
1) For just $10 one-way or $18 round-trip (per person), you can use the
"Washington Flyer Coach Service" which will take you from the airport
to the West Falls Church DC Metro stop. Once at the Metro stop, take an
Orange line train heading toward New Carrrollton. Get off at the
Rosslyn metro stop and transfer to a Blue line train heading to
Franconia-Springfield. Get off at the Crystal City metro stop and hop
on the Hyatt courtesy shuttle service to the hotel. The hotel shuttle
leaves the hotel every 15 minutes on the hour and 1/4 hour, 1/2 hour and3/4 hour
to
the Crystal City Metro and arrives at the station about 5 to 10 minutes
later, so plan accordingly. This is a good option for those who travel
light with a small suitcase or "pilot" bag. For more detailed
information, go here:
http://www.washfly.com/flyer_bus_about.htm
2) For $3.10 one-way (cash only), you can catch a route 5A DC Metrobus
that will take you from the airport to the Rosslyn metro station and
then compete your journey to the Crystal City metro stop and the hotel
using the directions described in #1 above. The 5A bus is and "express"
bus, meaning it makes limited stops - in this case, the bus will make
two stops before arriving at the Rosslyn metro station. Again, this
would be a good option for those who travel light. Go here for more
details:
http://www.wmata.com/bus/timetables/dc/05a.pdf. At Dulles, the Metrobus stops at the Ground Transportation Curb (Arrivals level, down the ramp) at curb location 2E.
3) Another option for getting to the hotel from Dulles airport is the
"Washington Flyer Super Shuttle". The Super Shuttle's door-to-door
shared ride van service is available to and from Washington Dulles
International Airport. The Super Shuttle ticket counters are located on
the far ends of the Ground Transportation Level of the Main Terminal.
Shuttles operate on an on-demand basis. No reservations are needed for
outbound service from the Airport. This would be a good option for
those who travel "heavy" and/or have multiple members in their party.
The cost is $29 (each way, round-trip) for the first passenger and $10
for each additional member in the party going to the hotel. The
drawback to this method of transportation is the shuttle won't leave
the airport until it has at lease 7 passengers on board (and it may
wait until it has 10) and it may take longer to get to the hotel
depending on how many other locations it will stop at for the other
passengers in the van before it gets to the hotel. The advantage is
that you won't need to worry about using the metro and the hotel
shuttle. More information is available here:
http://www.washfly.com/flyer_ss_about.htm
4) Taxi - cost is about $60
All of the above information was taken from this website:
http://mwaa.com/dulles/parking_transportation_3/ground_transportationBy car -
One other option to get to the hotel from the airport is to rent a car
and drive there yourself. If you decide on this option, be sure to
either bring your own GPS device or rent one from the car rental
company - unless you happen to be very familiar with the area and know
how to find your way around.
One word of advice - driving in DC can be both confusing and hectic,
and since the start of the conference is scheduled for about 7pm,
there's a good chance you'll find yourself in rush-hour traffic, which
is even worse.
By train -
The DC Amtrak station is located in Union Station which is downtown
near the Capitol buildings. Union Station also has a DC Metro stop,
which is on the "Red" line. In order to get to the hotel, take a train
headed toward Shady Grove and then transfer to the Blue line at Metro
Center which is just two stops away. To complete your trip to the
Crystal City metro stop, refer to direction #1 in the "by plane"
section above as if you got on at the Rosslyn metro stop.
By bus -
The Greyhound bus station is located between the Union Station and New
York Ave-Florida Ave metro stops. Union Station is about 2 blocks to
the south and the New York/Florida Aves station (also on the Red line
(see "By train" above)) is about 1 block to the north.
Of course, if you're riding on a chartered bus, then it will take you
straight to the hotel. We hope to have more on chartered buses in the
near future.
Getting around DC and Crystal City -
The absolutely best way to get around DC (especially for our Storm the
Hill event on April 15th) is the DC metro system. Riding the metro is
hassle-free and cheap! According to the hotel, the Crystal City metro
stop is about a 10 minute walk from the Hyatt hotel, but I'm personally
not sure that is accurate. Again, the hotel runs a courtesy shuttle
service to and from the hotel and the Crystal City metro stop. Go here
for compete information and an interactive map of the metro system:
http://www.wmata.com/rail/maps/map.cfm
According to Hyatt's website: "there is also a Crystal City trolley
available throughout the city, cost is 50 cents per ride and picks up
at the hotel in 7 minute intervals, MON-FRI 6am-6:30pm". I have not
been able to find any additional information on the trolley and it may
be defunct. Here is a website about getting around Crystal City:
http://www.commuterpage.com/art/villages/crystalcity_tran.htm
You might also want to check this out if you're planning to walk to the metro stop from the hotel:
http://maps.google.com/maps?daddr=38.858088%2C-77.051687%20%28Cryst...