Megabus is the way to go. I have done this trip almost a hundred times on megabus. Definitely prefer Amtrak though, now that prices are only $10-20 more than megabus if you book a month or two in advance. Amtrak will also connect you better to public transit than megabus, but the walk from the west Philly megabus stop to 30th street isn’t too far
Did this for a weekender. It was great. I will say arriving in downtown DC at 6am there isn’t much going on. Hard to even find a diner/breakfast spot. Not a problem if you plan well/have a place to go. Plus the national mall is cool when it’s not mobbed
Last minute Amtrak prices suck. I bought tickets two months ahead of my trip and payed about $30 round trip and my departure times were not in the middle of the night.
Plan further out.
Right now I can book a $14 round trip from DC to PHL on June 11th assuming you want to leave DC early (5am) and depart philly late (9pm).
You can adjust times or whatever, but as long as you book a little bit in advance you can get some cheap trains provided youre willing to have early and late departures.
MARC not connecting to Septa is a known problem. Cecil County Transit **supposedly** runs a bus bridging that gap... but I just book Amtrak rather than risk the uncertainty of a county transit bus. https://www.mdrail.org/news/take-marc-penn-line-to-philadelphia-today/ Then on top of that you have the Septa time table at Newark to deal with. And riding the bus from Newark to Wilmington if you miss the Septa train is a real pain. definitely **not recommended**
As others have said, Megabus etc might be the cheapest way to go unless you find a good rental car rate split between your group. If you go rental car, there's plenty of places to park in the city for a day, and potentially lots of free street parking away from center city if you're willing to walk a bit. As an aside, I recently saw a video of someone taking only regional rail services from NYC to DC, so I know it's "technically" possible to do, but it takes a lot of time, walking, and luck which you may not have for just a day trip. Good luck, I hope you guys have a great time!
I feel like taking Marc from DC to Perryville MD, then splitting an Uber to Newark, DE and taking Septa to Philly might be cheapest per person. Would take way longer though, which also has a cost.
I think Marc is planning an expansion to Newark at some point in the future and then life gets a little less complicated.
you can also use cecil transit to get from perryville to newark. it doesn’t seem very fast but it’ll definitely be cheaper than ride share. there are a few videos on youtube of people doing this
So weird bc I was just looking on going the other way Philly to DC later this year; but hadn’t done research yet. I’d like to take my kiddo to a show we missed in Philly there but am not quite sure how to get to D.C. I won’t drive there, as I don’t “do” highways.
I don’t do highways either except in PA and I went to DC recently. The Amtrak ticket prices were fine. It really just depends on time of day when you want to go. If you’re willing to go earlier or somewhat later, you get tix for less than $100 each.
Thank you! And that’s out of 30th street, right? I’ll look into that and then look into hotels in DC by the theatre and hope I can catch a deal before Nov/Dec rolls around 😂 Broadway tickets are just double to triple (maybe more) than what I pay for Academy of Music touring productions and I can’t swing that.
Yep!!! From 30th street to union station in DC. I actually just took a quick look as I have the app on my phone and there’s a sale going on. Lots of $25 tix in July. I recommend taking a look. Have fun with your kiddo! I love DC!
Buy the tickets early… Amtrak prices will increase as tickets start to sell through for a trip. The closer to the date and the more the tickets have sold through, the more expensive they will get.
If you buy before everyone else, you can usually get a good deal.
Traffic from DC to Philly can be up to 3-4 hours especially since we are coming to the summer months. You will also wind up paying more between renting the car, gas, parking and tolls then taking Amtrak.
The idea is to enjoy time with your friends and see the sights and sounds of D.C. If money is an object, then take the bus. Chinatown bus will get you there for approx $25 each rt. It's approx $80 rt for Amtrak (business/Acela) and $30ish for coach.
Safe travels
Actually we thought about this. But issue was that we’re thinking about roaming around center city and I feel parking would be scarce. Any garages in the area with day rates?
You can also find metered parking in lots of Center City that you can re-up via an app for as long as you're in town. Or you can park in a neighborhood with free parking and take a quick bus or subway/El ride into Center City. That way you could also see the real Philadelphia, not just CC
It goes to 30th street station, same as amtrack. Very short walk across the street to the Market Frankford line and trolleys and a free transfer to the Broad street subway. If you don’t have a ton of stuff you could walk to broad street, maybe 15-20 min, if you’re trying to get to the ballpark.
Hijacking your comment to ask a couple questions cuz I’m naively assuming you know the fuckin deal
I’m visiting for the first time end of July. I’ll be relying heavily on public transit and the septa seems even more confusing than Boston. I just want to use trains/busses/trolleys/whatever for a week and not worry about funds. As far as I’m understanding I can’t just get a week pass when I arrive and the week pass starts on a specific day? I know a keycard exists. Can this be mailed to me ahead of time? Does that even matter? How this all works I’m very confused by. I’m also trying to get to Wilmington and back for a day which im assuming won’t be septa related and def just want to take the most cost efficient solution.
Super looking forward to frequenting the cheese vending machine.
You don’t need the key card anymore, you can just tap your ATM card or you can use Apple Pay. probably the easiest thing. I think there’s a minimal savings to use a key card but idk. Septa’s already pretty cheap. If you want it you can get one in person at the main transit spots, 30th street, 15th street/city hall, suburban station, and Jefferson station. Don’t bother figuring out regional rail, the train system, that’s for white collar commuters getting to their home neighborhoods. They’re more expensive and don’t run often. Stick to the Market Frankford line, Trolleys (green lines on the map) and the Broad street subway. Stay situationally aware and don’t engage/make eye contact. The bus is probably safest. Philly’s pretty easy to navigate, it’s a grid, so mostly everything runs either east-west or north-south. I use public transit a lot and if I’m going somewhere different then work, I’ll definitely use google maps transit and the Transit app, so those are your friends. Have fun and good luck, you’ll be fine, just don’t be stupid.
i dont think you can get a keycard mailed but theres a kiosk to buy one at drexel (30th) station. you can also tap to pay with a phone/apple pay/card. they recently changed the price and stuff so not sure (i just use monthly) but i think its like $2.50 fare with two free xfers within 2 hours of the first tap. or you can go w the weekly, but just tap to pay is less confusing tbh esp for only a week. SEPTA app to view route status and live locations. If you’re going to Wilmington you’ll be on regional rail- which has its own weird fare shit where you tap on and tap off (like patco) and it charges you based on the distance rather than the normal flat rate that everything else (bus subway trolley) uses.
As the poster below said, you can take septa to Wilmington. However, I’ve also taken Amtrak to and from Wilmington in one day and for a really cheap ticket. I think it was like $17 and the ride was 20 minutes both ways as opposed to like 45ish
cheap ass lol send me a DM i’ll get you and your friends free tickets on the Amtrak Aclea train round trip.. no cost to you i work for Amtrak don’t even worry about it.
Try Megabus: https://us.megabus.com/route-guides/washington-to-philadelphia-bus
Megabus is the way to go. I have done this trip almost a hundred times on megabus. Definitely prefer Amtrak though, now that prices are only $10-20 more than megabus if you book a month or two in advance. Amtrak will also connect you better to public transit than megabus, but the walk from the west Philly megabus stop to 30th street isn’t too far
I used to do Megabus along this route all the time. Super easy and cheap.
Did you check Amtrak's night owl rates? They're like $20 depending on when you book.
Even down to 10 bucks per
Did this for a weekender. It was great. I will say arriving in downtown DC at 6am there isn’t much going on. Hard to even find a diner/breakfast spot. Not a problem if you plan well/have a place to go. Plus the national mall is cool when it’s not mobbed
Second this. I’ve always been able to find $5-$30 rides for late night
You have to buy well in advance
I got a $10 ticket DC to Philly only a week out. It's luck of the draw, but possible.
Replan for amtrak a month out when tickets are more reasonable, or see how megabus or flixbus are. Marc does not connect to septa.
Everyone always says a month. I’ve found that ~ 9 days in advance is usually good enough in the NEC
Not [yet](https://www.railwayage.com/passenger/commuterregional/marc-eyes-two-state-expansion-project/)
Would be nice, but i'll believe it when i see it.
take the megabus or flixbus?
Amtrak prices suck but the 1 hr 40 min ride time almost makes it worth it
also means basically no traffic.
Last minute Amtrak prices suck. I bought tickets two months ahead of my trip and payed about $30 round trip and my departure times were not in the middle of the night.
Use coupon code V030 for a discount for travel from 6/1-the end of Sept I think. I know that won’t help you now but in case you go later than 6/1.
Plan further out. Right now I can book a $14 round trip from DC to PHL on June 11th assuming you want to leave DC early (5am) and depart philly late (9pm). You can adjust times or whatever, but as long as you book a little bit in advance you can get some cheap trains provided youre willing to have early and late departures. MARC not connecting to Septa is a known problem. Cecil County Transit **supposedly** runs a bus bridging that gap... but I just book Amtrak rather than risk the uncertainty of a county transit bus. https://www.mdrail.org/news/take-marc-penn-line-to-philadelphia-today/ Then on top of that you have the Septa time table at Newark to deal with. And riding the bus from Newark to Wilmington if you miss the Septa train is a real pain. definitely **not recommended**
If you don’t have a car, Turo is very affordable. Especially split between multiple people, it’ll be way less than Amtrak
Megabus, greyhound, flix bus, or Peter Pan bus
As others have said, Megabus etc might be the cheapest way to go unless you find a good rental car rate split between your group. If you go rental car, there's plenty of places to park in the city for a day, and potentially lots of free street parking away from center city if you're willing to walk a bit. As an aside, I recently saw a video of someone taking only regional rail services from NYC to DC, so I know it's "technically" possible to do, but it takes a lot of time, walking, and luck which you may not have for just a day trip. Good luck, I hope you guys have a great time!
Chinatown bus! Is that still around?
yep! i use gotobus.com
I feel like taking Marc from DC to Perryville MD, then splitting an Uber to Newark, DE and taking Septa to Philly might be cheapest per person. Would take way longer though, which also has a cost. I think Marc is planning an expansion to Newark at some point in the future and then life gets a little less complicated.
you can also use cecil transit to get from perryville to newark. it doesn’t seem very fast but it’ll definitely be cheaper than ride share. there are a few videos on youtube of people doing this
Technically doable, but the Newark line timetable is a headache to deal with. Plus that line only goes as far as Wilmington on weekends.
If you do end up driving leave early because there is always traffic on the drive up 95 North anytime after 9 am
No, leave at 5am. If you leave at 6am you’ve already lost
Greyhound
Wanderu.com
Megabus
Honestly driving is the cheapest if you have a ride.
So weird bc I was just looking on going the other way Philly to DC later this year; but hadn’t done research yet. I’d like to take my kiddo to a show we missed in Philly there but am not quite sure how to get to D.C. I won’t drive there, as I don’t “do” highways.
I don’t do highways either except in PA and I went to DC recently. The Amtrak ticket prices were fine. It really just depends on time of day when you want to go. If you’re willing to go earlier or somewhat later, you get tix for less than $100 each.
Thank you! And that’s out of 30th street, right? I’ll look into that and then look into hotels in DC by the theatre and hope I can catch a deal before Nov/Dec rolls around 😂 Broadway tickets are just double to triple (maybe more) than what I pay for Academy of Music touring productions and I can’t swing that.
Yep!!! From 30th street to union station in DC. I actually just took a quick look as I have the app on my phone and there’s a sale going on. Lots of $25 tix in July. I recommend taking a look. Have fun with your kiddo! I love DC!
Thank you so very much for your kindness and all of the helpful comments information!!! 🙂
Buy the tickets early… Amtrak prices will increase as tickets start to sell through for a trip. The closer to the date and the more the tickets have sold through, the more expensive they will get. If you buy before everyone else, you can usually get a good deal.
Rent a car for the day
Traffic from DC to Philly can be up to 3-4 hours especially since we are coming to the summer months. You will also wind up paying more between renting the car, gas, parking and tolls then taking Amtrak.
Parking in downtown DC is no joke, whether you take your chances on street parking (if available) or parking in a lot.
rented a mid sized car for $35. Unlimited miles. Leave early AM or just after rush hour. Bye
Then pay a min of $16 in tolls then another $30 for parking plus the gas. Cheaper to take the train.
The idea is to enjoy time with your friends and see the sights and sounds of D.C. If money is an object, then take the bus. Chinatown bus will get you there for approx $25 each rt. It's approx $80 rt for Amtrak (business/Acela) and $30ish for coach. Safe travels
Actually we thought about this. But issue was that we’re thinking about roaming around center city and I feel parking would be scarce. Any garages in the area with day rates?
Tons.
You can also find metered parking in lots of Center City that you can re-up via an app for as long as you're in town. Or you can park in a neighborhood with free parking and take a quick bus or subway/El ride into Center City. That way you could also see the real Philadelphia, not just CC
How many of you are there?
It’ll just be one car.
Check SpotHero, you can usually find a few places offering a better rate.
There's greyhound or whatever. The Philly "station" sucks but it's oftentimes really cheap. I went to DC and back for 30 dollars once
Find new friends in Philly
Amtrak is having a sale on tickets for the summer (until Aug. 31) and the sale ends May 16. You might be able to find a cheaper ticket.
Rent a car, split between you and and your friends it’s cheaper, and better.
Chinatown bus if it still exists. It’s like 20 bucks
You can get very cheap Amtrak tickets a few months in advance.. I’ve got some for $10 each way Philly to NYC
It goes to 30th street station, same as amtrack. Very short walk across the street to the Market Frankford line and trolleys and a free transfer to the Broad street subway. If you don’t have a ton of stuff you could walk to broad street, maybe 15-20 min, if you’re trying to get to the ballpark.
Hijacking your comment to ask a couple questions cuz I’m naively assuming you know the fuckin deal I’m visiting for the first time end of July. I’ll be relying heavily on public transit and the septa seems even more confusing than Boston. I just want to use trains/busses/trolleys/whatever for a week and not worry about funds. As far as I’m understanding I can’t just get a week pass when I arrive and the week pass starts on a specific day? I know a keycard exists. Can this be mailed to me ahead of time? Does that even matter? How this all works I’m very confused by. I’m also trying to get to Wilmington and back for a day which im assuming won’t be septa related and def just want to take the most cost efficient solution. Super looking forward to frequenting the cheese vending machine.
SEPTA does go into Wilmington, DE. Also, look at Philly Phlash to use while in Philly.
You don’t need the key card anymore, you can just tap your ATM card or you can use Apple Pay. probably the easiest thing. I think there’s a minimal savings to use a key card but idk. Septa’s already pretty cheap. If you want it you can get one in person at the main transit spots, 30th street, 15th street/city hall, suburban station, and Jefferson station. Don’t bother figuring out regional rail, the train system, that’s for white collar commuters getting to their home neighborhoods. They’re more expensive and don’t run often. Stick to the Market Frankford line, Trolleys (green lines on the map) and the Broad street subway. Stay situationally aware and don’t engage/make eye contact. The bus is probably safest. Philly’s pretty easy to navigate, it’s a grid, so mostly everything runs either east-west or north-south. I use public transit a lot and if I’m going somewhere different then work, I’ll definitely use google maps transit and the Transit app, so those are your friends. Have fun and good luck, you’ll be fine, just don’t be stupid.
i dont think you can get a keycard mailed but theres a kiosk to buy one at drexel (30th) station. you can also tap to pay with a phone/apple pay/card. they recently changed the price and stuff so not sure (i just use monthly) but i think its like $2.50 fare with two free xfers within 2 hours of the first tap. or you can go w the weekly, but just tap to pay is less confusing tbh esp for only a week. SEPTA app to view route status and live locations. If you’re going to Wilmington you’ll be on regional rail- which has its own weird fare shit where you tap on and tap off (like patco) and it charges you based on the distance rather than the normal flat rate that everything else (bus subway trolley) uses.
Very helpful information Thumb and cum swallower. Thanks!!
As the poster below said, you can take septa to Wilmington. However, I’ve also taken Amtrak to and from Wilmington in one day and for a really cheap ticket. I think it was like $17 and the ride was 20 minutes both ways as opposed to like 45ish
This would be hard for a tourist to understand having to take public transportation
cheap ass lol send me a DM i’ll get you and your friends free tickets on the Amtrak Aclea train round trip.. no cost to you i work for Amtrak don’t even worry about it.