All direct flights to Washington D.C. (All Airports) from the UK & Ireland

James Says

Washington cheap flights tip: sometimes you will find slightly cheaper flights if you specify 'Baltimore' (see Baltimore-Washington International flights page), rather than ' Washington' (for all Washington area airports).

Most people looking for flights to Washington DC from the UK will end up taking direct flights from Heathrow into the iconic Dulles airport, but there are actually four ways in total that you might end up arriving in the US capital, depending on where you are starting from:

I've listed them in my order personal preference:

Union Station (ZWU)

This grand old dame is by far and away the most stylish way of arriving in DC, although you also may well pass through it on your visit. Union Station is the ultimate example of what I would call a destistation, i.e. it is far more than just somewhere to change trains.

Based on Milan's Centrale Station, this is by far and away the most impressive railway building anywhere in the Americas, and it is also home to numerous shops and restaurants. Until recently, it even had its own cinema.

As for practical matters, if you live near a UK regional airport which offers direct flights to New York Newark, then you may well have an option to transfer by train as part of a through ticket anyway. If you don't, allow around $100 return for an onward ticket from Newark airport -- the station is a short hop on the monorail from the main terminals at Newark.

If you fly into BWI, you can also transfer to union Station by train.

Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA)

There aren't any direct flights to Washington Reagan National airport from Europe -- in fact, most flights into Reagan airport are restricted to a pre-set radius, and the largest aircraft allowed in is the Boeing 757. However, you may well find yourself flying in to Reagan airport as a result of taking a domestic transfer from another East Coast hub such as Philadelphia or New York.

If you get the right approach, you will be afforded amazing views of the Washington Mall, giving a fantastic overview of how this monumentally masterplanned city is laid out. Although I prefer Dulles as an airport, Reagan National airport is still well-designed and easy to use -- in fact, both airports have made a list of the top 150 American buildings rated by the American Institute of Architects.

Reagan National is by far and away the best connected of the Washington area airports when it comes to surface access. It has its own station on the yellow and blue lines right next to the terminals, giving easy access throughout the downtown area in just a few minutes.

Washington Dulles Airport (IAD)

Dulles is by far and away the biggest airport serving the Washington DC metro region, and considering how tightly packed in the area around Washington Reagan National airport is, it isn't surprising to see that forwardthinking planners set aside such a vast amount of land to build a new airport, whose terminal was built by the Finnish architect Eero Saarinen.

Direct flights to Washington Dulles are available from Heathrow Airport with British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and from London Heathrow and Manchester with United Continental.

Unfortunately, the thinking that created Dulles Airport and the thinking that created Washington's clean and efficient Metro system never quite matched up, so you will have to take a shuttle bus to the edge of town before continuing into downtown by Metro. Alternatively, you can fork out a small fortune for a taxi.

Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) airport

This would be my last choice of arrival point for getting into Washington DC, unless I was taking advantage of a lower flight price (see above).

Having said that, BWI is pleasant enough, and it is reasonably well connected. It just doesn't offer any of the wow factor is that the other three options can - and if you are visiting DC to see the sights, you might aswell start with one of the above three locations.

British Airways offer direct flights to BWI from Heathrow, and you can find a handful of other connections via airports on the US eastern seaboard.

Naturally, Baltimore-Washington is the best airport if it is actually Baltimore itself that you are after -- a simple light rail transfer is available. A shuttle bus also provides a link to the nearby BWI Amtrak station, from where regular trains to Washington union Station are available.

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As for the city itself, Mark has already pointed out that it has a number of great attractions to offer, and if you like order and simplicity, as opposed to the more organic hustle and bustle of cities like New York and San Francisco, then Washington DC is definitely going to be your kind of place. I spent a month there in 2000, so I know it well.