A Guide to the Three Washington Area Airports

* 16th and K streets NW: 33.5 miles

ADDITIONAL PHONE NUMBERS

* Paging: 800-435-9294

* Airport police :410-859-7041

* Lost and found: 410-859-7387

PARKING

* Hourly: Garage next to the main terminal. First 30 minutes free, then $2 for each half-hour, with a daily maximum of $20. Pay & Go kiosks in skywalks to garage let customers prepay for the hourly garage and exit through express lanes. You must exit within 30 minutes of paying.

* Daily: Garage at Aviation Boulevard (Route 170) and Elm Road, just beyond the terminal near the Four Points by Sheraton. $2 an hour, with a daily maximum of $10. Shuttle buses to the terminal run every five to eight minutes.

* Express Service Parking (ESP): This lot is at Aviation Boulevard and Elm Road, directly across from the Daily Garage. $3 an hour, up to $14 a day. ESP offers luggage assistance and immediate shuttle service that picks up passengers at their parking spaces. On return to BWI, the shuttle delivers passengers directly to their cars.

* Long term: On Aviation Boulevard just north of the airport. $1 an hour, with a daily maximum of $8; every seventh day is free. Shuttle buses to the terminal run every 10 to 15 minutes.

More info: 800-468-6294, or listen to radio station 1040 AM.

GETTING THERE

* By train: Amtrak and MARC trains travel from Union Station and New Carrollton to the BWI Rail Station, where a free shuttle bus connects you to the airport.

# Amtrak: From Union Station, trains run from 5:02 a.m. weekdays and 5:25 a.m. on weekends until 10 p.m. daily. Departures from New Carrollton are about 10 minutes later. Return service from BWI starts at 6:23 a.m. and ends at 11:48 p.m. weekdays and 11:51 p.m. weekends. The trip is 30 minutes to or from Union Station and 15 minutes to or from New Carrollton. Cost is from $12 each way. Info: 800-872-7245, http://www.amtrak.com/.

# MARC: MARC trains depart Monday through Friday nearly hourly; no weekend service and limited holiday service. Service from Union Station is from 5:54 a.m. to 10:45 p.m.; from New Carrollton, 6:05 a.m. to 10:56 p.m.; from BWI, 4:40 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. The trip takes 35 to 40 minutes. Cost is $6 each way to or from Union Station and $5 each way to or from New Carrollton. Info: 800-325-7245, http://www.mtamaryland.com/.

* By subway/bus: The BWI Express bus (No. B30) runs nonstop from the Greenbelt Metro station on the Green Line to the arrivals level of BWI's Concourse E. Buses stop at two locations: The first stop serves Southwest and Delta passengers, and the second stop is for all other airlines. Buses depart Greenbelt every 40 minutes from 6:10 a.m. weekdays and from 8:45 a.m. weekends until 10 p.m. daily. Return service from BWI runs from 6:58 a.m. weekdays and from 9:38 a.m. weekends until 10:48 p.m. daily. Cost is $3 each way. Info: 202-637-7000, http://www.mata.com/.

* By taxi: Fares are about $63 one way from downtown Washington and $71 from Bethesda, $71 from Reagan National and $103 from Dulles.

SERVICES

* 36 food, drink and snack spots

* 27 retail shops, including newsstands

* 3 currency exchange stations

* Unlimited high-speed wireless Internet is available throughout Concourses A, B and D for $7.95 per day and $21.95 per month.

-- Elissa Leibowitz Poma