I feel so fortunate to live in the DC-Maryland-Virginia (DMV) area when it comes to travel. It’s incredible to have three major airports to choose from that are all accessible by public transportation. I find it very helpful for trying to find a good flight price, whether it’s within the US or out of the country.
Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI)
This is our preferred airport, usually fully driven by price since we’re willing to fly low cost carriers such as Spirit, Frontier and Allegiant. I find that the security line is always super efficient here too. My daughter loves the play area at this airport which is after the D/E security checkpoint. We have been back many times to play while waiting for our flights. For trips longer than a week, we typically Uber* or Lyft* to the airport and I like that I can reserve in advance. If it’s a shorter trip, we use a place like The Parking Spot to leave our car and take their provided shuttle to the airport. I’ve only done it once, but you can take the Marc Train and then hop a free shuttle to the airport.
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)
When we lived in Northwest Washington, D.C. this was the most convenient airport. It’s metro accessible on the yellow line and it’s so convenient that the metro card can now be placed in an iPhone wallet. We took the metro back to Silver Spring, Maryland from the airport which was super affordable (because young kids are free) and took slightly over an hour. This airport has the newest play area which is sponsored by the National Children’s Museum. It’s located before going through security so we actually enjoyed it once we returned to the airport to go home and before we got on the metro.
Dulles International Airport (IAD)
We typically only fly out of this airport for international flights, particularly to Europe. In February 2023, we were flying to Portugal and it was great to have the play area near our gate. It’s found near gates B66/B70. It’s nearly equal distance from our house to here or BWI, but taking I-495 and I-66 are always a gamble, so if we’re having a friend drive us, leaving our car at the parking lot (and then taking the shuttle) or taking an Uber* or Lyft*, we leave ourselves plenty of time. The airport is now connected to metro’s Silver Line. From Silver Spring, it’s a long trip, but we did save money and take it home after our vacation.
I really appreciate when airports have child friendly spaces! Another great airport, if you are heading there or it’s a stop over is the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport (MSP). They have a great kids play area and snoopy characters. We added this one to our Airports Instagram highlight and will continue to add as we travel and find more. Thanks for reading!
* The Uber and Lyft links are referral links. There’s no additional cost to you and if you’re creating an account for the first time, I appreciate you using my link which may provide me with a small benefit in the form of a credit or discount by the provider.
About the Author
Lydia Garry and her family, TeamTravelsBaby, live in Silver Spring, Maryland, and are working to achieve “vagabond status”. Much of their affordable family travel experiences include U.S. travel, national parks and Europe. Adventure with them here, subscribe to their newsletter and follow along on Instagram!
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