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Three airports serve Washington – Reagan Washington National, Dulles International, and Baltimore/Washington International. Twenty-four US, Canadian, and regional airlines have flights to one or more of these. For downtown Washington, Reagan is the airport of choice.

Most major European airlines serve Dulles, either direct or by changing planes in New York or Boston. These include Air France, British Midland, KLM, Lufthansa, SAS, and Virgin. British Airways also serves BWI.

Air Canada provides a service via Halifax to Sydney; Qantas and American Airlines fly via Los Angeles. Connections are available from any of the D.C. airports.

Grupo Taca has flights between more than 40 cities in 19 countries in North, Central, and South America. United and American Airlines have routes between Washington and Central and South America, via Miami.

The layout of this airport is a long walkway with a semicircular bend at the end – use the shuttle bus that stops at marked locations. A Metrorail stop is right outside the northern terminals. Taxi service from the airport to the National Mall is about 10 minutes and costs around $10. The SuperShuttle provides transit door to door.

The terminal consists of a main building and two midfield concourses reached by shuttles. The Washington Flyer coach provides transportation to the West Falls Church Metrorail station. Oneway taxi fares to the city are about $50 but shuttle transportation to many hotels can be arranged from the terminal. The airport is 26 miles (42 km) from Washington.

There are five concourses here. A BWI Express Metrobus provides transportation to and from the Greenbelt Metro station. BWI also has its own rail station. Taxis to the city cost about $60. The terminal is 30 miles (48 km) from Washington.

Amtrak provides intercity rail transportation to Washington. The new Acela Express and regional high-speed trains provide shorter travel times, but Metroliners offer less expensive alternatives. Amtrak has a reduced-fare USA Rail Pass for international passengers. Union Station is the main terminal.

Washington has the second worst congestion in the country, which makes driving a less attractive way to get to the city, but larger hotels have parking (about $15 per day), and garages are available. Driving routes to D.C. are I-95 and I-270 from the north, I-66 from the west, I-95 and I-395 from the south, and US 50 from the east.

The main bus terminals are behind Union Station. Greyhound Lines connect with more than 3,700 locations, and offer low-cost passes. Other bus lines arrive and depart across the street.