9.5 hour layover in Washington DC (IAD)-

[soiree]

15 YO dd and I are going to Europe this summer; we already have our fights and they're fine. 
However I just stumbled upon flights for half the price I paid but it has a 9.5 hour layover in IAD. Instead of leaving our home airport at 2pm, we'd now leave at 7am. Both flights arrive at basically the same time the following day. DD is all for switching; she has not been to Washington DC and would love to explore the city. 
Is 9.5 hours enough time to get into the city and see some sights? We would land at 11am and then our next flight leaves at 8:45 pm. 
I'm trying to decide if the savings and opportunity to visit the city would be worth it? I would only switch if we would leave the airport. The savings isn't worth it to me to spend 9.5 sitting in the airport. 
Also, currently planning on carrying on only. So we would need to leave our luggage in lockers or something. I'm assuming IAD has that? 

[byjove]

IAD is about an hour away from downtown (best case scenario traffic wise). That would probably only give you a couple of hours. I don’t know. I’d say not worth it!!

I could be wrong, but 99% sure there are no luggage lockers.

[gerberdaisy]

I hate the drive getting to Dulles, but if this was the only chance to visit DC, I would go for it. You'd have 5ish hours and could explore a few museums, get a bite to eat and then back to the airport.

I have no clue about luggage lockers.

[willow]

Google search tells me that you can’t store luggage at the airport.

That being said, I tend to agree with byjove. The traffic being unpredictable with that drive would make it a very fast turnaround if you want to spend quality time at a museum or two. There is SO much to see in DC, it would be better to plan a full trip just for that, IMO. If you decide to do it, my vote would be the African American history museum. It is truly incredible.

[soiree]

Ah this is good info, thank you!
We could check our bags so that wouldn't be a deal breaker. But sounds like we would be really rushed and still need to be back at the airport early for our international flight.
DC will have to be another trip!

[caer]

I think you can take the metro from IAD to DC, which would probably shorten the trip to 20-30 minutes (definitely shorter than Uber or whatever car). Just something to consider, if you decide to look into it more. It would be a long day but you could probably get some sightseeing in.

[soiree]

caer it's so tempting!

[rhymeswithdisco]

There are some decent things in and around Dulles. The Udvar-Hazy center is great and nearby.

[fundip]

I know everyone is mentioning driving but there is a metro now that connect IAD to DC. I have never used it since it’s relatively new and I haven’t flown out of IAD in several years. I would do the layover.

I did something similar in London a few years back on my way to South Africa and it’s similar distance/time.

Yes you’d only prob have about 4ish hours in DC total but to save money and add a little adventure I would go for it.

[byjove]

Apr 9, 2024 8:06:08 GMT -6 caer said:

I think you can take the metro from IAD to DC, which would probably shorten the trip to 20-30 minutes (definitely shorter than Uber or whatever car). Just something to consider, if you decide to look into it more. It would be a long day but you could probably get some sightseeing in.

Metro to downtown is about an hour, not including the 20-30 minutes of walking from the airport to the metro each way.

I'd say best case scenario if your flight is on time, you would comfortably have 3.5 hours in DC, with a lot of effort.

[sweptaway]

Apr 9, 2024 8:49:53 GMT -6 rhymeswithdisco said:

There are some decent things in and around Dulles. The Udvar-Hazy center is great and nearby.

I don't know anything about this area but I think if you could do stuff right by Dulles I'd just treat it as a cost saving measure and do this quick side trip. It doesn't sound like enough time to go into DC proper but if you have a way to grab a meal and see one museum close by and save lots of money I'd go for it. 

[soiree]

byjove you're right. I just mapped it out and door to door via train is 1 hour. Car is 30 minutes (this exact minute) but of course we would still have to deplane, get through the airport etc.
Darn, it's a hefty savings but I really don't think it's worth sitting 9+ hours in the airport.

[byjove]

Apr 9, 2024 11:20:15 GMT -6 soiree said:

byjove you're right. I just mapped it out and door to door via train is 1 hour. Car is 30 minutes (this exact minute) but of course we would still have to deplane, get through the airport etc.
Darn, it's a hefty savings but I really don't think it's worth sitting 9+ hours in the airport.

You'd be heading back during rush hour, assuming a week day. If by car, could easily be 2 hours.

[tallb]

There is a really great Smithsonian Air and Space museum right at Dulles that you could easily spend a few hours at.. there's even a movie theater with imax and such. It is better than the one in the city since it's larger. If that's of interest, then may be okay. The metro does go to Dulles now, but it'd be kind of a tight turnaround and you likely will be tired from an early wakeup call.

[cakewench]

Udvar-Hazy is a great suggestion, since it's close by. I feel like the turnaround for getting to downtown DC would be too tight for me, personally. It doesn't take much to snarl the metro or traffic in this area lol

[rhymeswithdisco]

Teds Bulletin is a good restaurant at One Loudoun as well as Sense of Thai.

If you are looking for more to do in the Dulles area let me know.

[Bookshelves]

Udvar-Hazy is amazing! That’s my vote. Space shuttle! What could be cooler?!

[jamboree]

I wouldn’t do it. There’s actually the silver line that goes straight from IAH to DC but I still wouldn’t do it ( ~ $7 round trip, about an hour each way). If your kid likes aviation the air and space museum out there (Udvar Hazy) is part of the Smithsonian, completely cool (with a flight simulator and a space shuttle) and would take at least a couple of hours, if not more. If you want to leave the airport, Wolf Trap is pretty close and has some beautiful grounds to walk for free. IAD is shockingly small, tho, IMHO so not much to do in the gate area.

Links, since I’m on my phone and can’t embed them
Air & Space: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_F._Udvar-Hazy_Center

Wolf Trap: www.wolftrap.org/visit.aspx

[dc2london]

Apr 9, 2024 11:06:24 GMT -6 byjove said:

Apr 9, 2024 8:06:08 GMT -6 caer said:

I think you can take the metro from IAD to DC, which would probably shorten the trip to 20-30 minutes (definitely shorter than Uber or whatever car). Just something to consider, if you decide to look into it more. It would be a long day but you could probably get some sightseeing in.

Metro to downtown is about an hour, not including the 20-30 minutes of walking from the airport to the metro each way.

I'd say best case scenario if your flight is on time, you would comfortably have 3.5 hours in DC, with a lot of effort.

And TSA at Dulles can get totally jammed for no reason

Dulles is a big airport so you definitely need to arrive 2 hours before your flight leaves JIC

[soiree]

She's not really into aviation or space so I think we'll pass on the long layover. I do hate passing up the savings. I wish I wouldn't have rechecked our flights but I just can't help myself
Thanks all, SO glad I asked here!!! I really would have thought 9 hrs was plenty of time and chat gpt agreed!

[dc2london]

Apr 11, 2024 8:52:10 GMT -6 soiree said:

She's not really into aviation or space so I think we'll pass on the long layover. I do hate passing up the savings. I wish I wouldn't have rechecked our flights but I just can't help myself
Thanks all, SO glad I asked here!!! I really would have thought 9 hrs was plenty of time and chat gpt agreed!

I mentioned this thread to MH yesterday and he was like, "Dear god, you told her not to do it, right?"

[byjove]

Apr 12, 2024 11:02:57 GMT -6 dc2london said:

Apr 11, 2024 8:52:10 GMT -6 soiree said:

She's not really into aviation or space so I think we'll pass on the long layover. I do hate passing up the savings. I wish I wouldn't have rechecked our flights but I just can't help myself
Thanks all, SO glad I asked here!!! I really would have thought 9 hrs was plenty of time and chat gpt agreed!

I mentioned this thread to MH yesterday and he was like, "Dear god, you told her not to do it, right?"

I had a similar conversation with my H and started making a spreadsheet, and I was like it’s ok dear, no need lol.