Day Trips From DC Without a Car: 11 Cheap Bus & Train Trips
by Kaitlin Cabaniss
You don’t need a car to leave DC. Union Station is where the trains and the biggest bus terminal meet. Amtrak is there, and so is the Union Station Bus Terminal: FlixBus moved its DC hub there in November 2022, joining Greyhound, which has boarded there since 2012. Pick a place and check the fare.
The fares below are live, so they move. Travel times are approximate. For the general rules on paying less, our guide to finding the cheapest tickets works from any city.
Under 90 minutes
Baltimore, MD
about 1 hour
Baltimore is the biggest city within an hour of DC, and four bus companies and Amtrak serve it. MARC’s Penn Line runs on Saturdays and Sundays too. Once you’re there, Fells Point, the Visionary Art Museum and the National Aquarium are all on the harbor.
Most Baltimore bus stops aren’t a walk from the Inner Harbor, so plan on a short rideshare. Our guide to free things in Baltimore fills the rest of the day.
Annapolis, MD
about 45 minutes
Annapolis is a Naval Academy, a working waterfront and colonial brick, and you can cover it on foot. Take a tour, walk the harbor, and be back on the bus before anyone asks you to buy a boat. Service is limited, so check the return time before you go.
Fredericksburg, VA
about 1 hour 20 minutes
A colonial-era downtown full of antique shops and George Washington sites, with a Civil War battlefield park nearby. Amtrak, Greyhound and FlixBus serve it. VRE commuter trains stop here too, but they run weekday rush hours in the peak direction, toward DC in the morning and out in the evening, so they don’t work for a trip out from DC.
Two to four hours
Richmond, VA
about 2 hours
- Washington to Richmond busesfrom $13
- Washington to Richmond trainsfrom $15
Richmond has the James River and a museum district. The Science Museum of Virginia’s “Rescue” exhibit runs through January 17, 2027.
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts opens “Impressionist Revolution: Monet to Matisse” in November 2026. The cheap way in is Amtrak’s Thruway bus, which is a bus, not a train, at about 2 hours 20 minutes; the Northeast Regional train takes about the same time. Both fares are in the chips above. FlixBus, Greyhound and Megabus run here too.
Philadelphia, PA
about 3 hours 20 minutes by bus, 1 hour 55 minutes by train
Long for a day trip, but doable if you pick three or four things. Independence Hall and Reading Terminal Market are the classics, and the Museum of the American Revolution has a Declaration of Independence exhibit running through January 3, 2027. Megabus dropped several DC routes in 2024 and handed the Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York runs to Peter Pan, which now runs Philadelphia with FlixBus, Greyhound and Amtrak.
Want more time on the ground? Our Philadelphia summer guide covers what to do once you’re there.
Wilmington, DE
about 1 hour 30 minutes by train, 3 hours 30 minutes by bus
- Washington to Wilmington busesfrom $18
- Washington to Wilmington trainsfrom $11
Wilmington sits between Baltimore and Philadelphia on the Northeast Corridor. That’s either a feature or a dare. Take the train: Amtrak gets there in about an hour and a half, and most Wilmington bookings are on the train. Greyhound also runs it, at about three and a half hours. It pairs with Philadelphia if you’re stretching the trip.
Charlottesville, VA
about 3 hours 30 minutes by bus, around 2 and a half by train
Monticello, the University of Virginia and the wineries are the reasons to go. Monticello and the wineries sit outside town, so plan on a rideshare or a tour. At this ride length it works better as a night away than a day. Greyhound and FlixBus run it, and Amtrak covers it in about 2 and a half hours.
Worth the overnight
New York, NY
about 4 to 5 hours by bus
- Washington to New York busesfrom $12
- Washington to New York trainsfrom $22
You can do it in a day, but you won’t enjoy the ratio. Book a night and it’s a weekend. Amtrak and four bus companies run it. Vamoose goes to Penn Station from stops in Bethesda, Rosslyn and Lorton, if Union Station is the wrong side of town for you.
Norfolk and Virginia Beach, VA
about 4 to 4 hours 35 minutes to Norfolk, 4 hours 20 minutes to 4 hours 55 minutes to Virginia Beach
- Washington to Norfolk busesfrom $25
- Washington to Norfolk trainsfrom $27
- Washington to Virginia Beach busesfrom $24
Norfolk has Nauticus and the Battleship Wisconsin on the waterfront. Virginia Beach adds the boardwalk and the sand. The Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art opened a new location there, on the Batten University campus (formerly Virginia Wesleyan), in April 2026. Neither is a comfortable day trip at four hours or more each way, so a weekend here makes more sense than a day.
Pittsburgh, PA
about 4 hours 45 minutes to 6 hours by bus
- Washington to Pittsburgh busesfrom $33
The far end of the list, with FlixBus and Greyhound the two options. Treat it as a long weekend and bring a book, because you’ll finish the first chapter before Maryland ends.
Harpers Ferry, WV
about 1 hour 10 minutes by train, overnight
The Appalachian Trail runs through town, John Brown’s Fort is here, and white-water rafting season runs April to October. It’s small, so plan the stay around the outdoors.
The catch is the train, and MARC’s Brunswick Line runs weekdays only, timed for commuters into DC. That rules out a same-day round trip from DC. On a weekend the only way in without a car is Amtrak’s Floridian, which took over the Capitol Limited’s route in November 2024. It leaves DC mid-afternoon, and the only train back leaves the next morning, so by rail this is an overnight.
Every trip and fare in one table
| Destination | Travel time | From |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore, MD | about 1 hour | $4 Bus$6 Train |
| Annapolis, MD | about 45 minutes | $9 Bus |
| Fredericksburg, VA | about 1 hour 20 minutes | $10 Bus$12 Train |
| Richmond, VA | about 2 hours | $13 Bus$15 Train |
| Philadelphia, PA | about 3 hours 20 minutes by bus, 1 hour 55 minutes by train | $15 Bus$11 Train |
| Wilmington, DE | about 1 hour 30 minutes by train, 3 hours 30 minutes by bus | $18 Bus$11 Train |
| Charlottesville, VA | about 3 hours 30 minutes by bus, around 2 and a half by train | $16 Bus$16 Train |
| New York, NY | about 4 to 5 hours by bus | $12 Bus$22 Train |
| Norfolk and Virginia Beach, VA | about 4 to 4 hours 35 minutes to Norfolk, 4 hours 20 minutes to 4 hours 55 minutes to Virginia Beach | $25 Bus$27 Train$24 Bus |
| Pittsburgh, PA | about 4 hours 45 minutes to 6 hours by bus | $33 Bus |
| Harpers Ferry, WV | about 1 hour 10 minutes by train, overnight | $17 Train |
What changed since 2018
We first published this list in 2018, when it ran to about two dozen destinations. Several were suburbs, like Silver Spring, Alexandria, Arlington, Springfield and Woodbridge. Those are errands rather than trips, so they’re gone. What’s left is a list of places worth the ride, sorted by how long the ride is.
We also checked the old list against a year of bookings. Five of its 24 places haven’t sold a ticket in a year or more: Springfield, Mount Laurel, Easton, Secaucus and Arlington. And of the 24, only Baltimore and Fredericksburg are still a typical fare under $20 among real trips. Woodbridge and Alexandria are too, but they’re suburbs with few bookings.
If you’re staying in the city instead, cherry blossom season is the one trip that needs no ticket, and we wrote up how to see the blossoms. This post is also one of a series of cheap-trip guides for other cities.
How to pay less (what 76,000 bookings say)
We looked at every booking from Washington, DC between September 2025 and August 2026, more than 76,000 one-way bookings. Four things held up:
- Only three trips are reliably under $20. Baltimore (70% of bookings), Annapolis (93%) and Fredericksburg (67%). Richmond comes close if you take the Amtrak Thruway bus (74% of its bookings were under $20). New York is 64% of all DC bookings, and only 1% of its bookings came in under $20.
- Train fares move the most with notice. The typical Amtrak ticket to New York was $94 when booked within a day of travel and $44 at two weeks out. Philadelphia, Wilmington, Richmond and Fredericksburg fall 33% to 43% by train over the same stretch. Two weeks out, the train was under $20 on most Baltimore (85%) and Wilmington (58%) tickets, on 44% of Philadelphia tickets, and on most of the few Fredericksburg tickets booked that early.
- Bus fares on the cheap trips don’t change with notice. Baltimore by bus costs about the same the day before as two weeks out, and Fredericksburg looks the same on the handful booked early, too few to call, so there’s nothing to wait for. Where the bus does reward planning is Hampton Roads: Norfolk and Virginia Beach tickets fell from about $51 the day before to $29 to $32 at two weeks.
- Plenty of bookings happen late, especially on the short hops.70% of Baltimore train bookings and 66% of Richmond bus bookings were made within a day of travel, and so were 45% of New York bus bookings. Fewer were on the long train trips. Baltimore can get away with it. On the train to New York, Philadelphia, Wilmington or Richmond, that’s the expensive way.
Frequently asked questions
What are good day trips from DC without a car?
Baltimore, Annapolis and Fredericksburg are all under about 90 minutes, and Richmond is about two hours. Harpers Ferry is close too, but by train it’s an overnight. Every one of them has a bus or train from the DC area, and the fare on each trip shows what it costs right now.
What cities are 1 hour from DC?
Baltimore is about an hour, Annapolis about 45 minutes, Fredericksburg about an hour and twenty minutes, and Harpers Ferry about an hour and ten minutes by train, though the train makes it an overnight. Times shift with traffic and schedule.
What cities are 2 hours from DC?
Richmond is about two hours by bus. Past that, Wilmington is about an hour and a half by train and three and a half by bus. Philadelphia and Charlottesville run three to three and a half hours by bus (Charlottesville is about two and a half by train), which is where a day trip starts turning into an overnight.
What are some cute towns near DC you can reach without a car?
Annapolis, Fredericksburg and Harpers Ferry. Annapolis and Fredericksburg have walkable downtowns, and Harpers Ferry is the outdoors pick, reached by train as an overnight.
Where do buses leave from in DC?
FlixBus and Greyhound board at the Union Station Bus Terminal at 50 Massachusetts Ave NE, and other bus companies have their own stops. FlixBus also stops in Dupont Circle, Rosslyn and Bethesda, and Vamoose stops in Lorton, Rosslyn and Bethesda. Gate numbers change, so check your ticket.
Can I take a train to Harpers Ferry on a weekend?
Yes, but it’s an overnight. Amtrak’s Floridian is the only weekend train; it leaves DC mid-afternoon and the only train back leaves the next morning. MARC’s Brunswick Line, the other train to Harpers Ferry, runs weekdays only, timed for commuters into DC, so it doesn’t make a day trip from DC either. Confirm times on Amtrak before you book.
The “from” prices are a recent low fare for each route, refreshed hourly, and what you pay depends on when you book. Travel times are approximate. Booking figures are Wanderu bookings from Washington, DC, September 2025 to August 2026; fares are per ticket, one way, and are what travelers paid at checkout. Details current as of September 2026.
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