... I however was Washington bound so Washington Dulles was where I'd set foot on US soil for the first time.
Flying from Heathrow, Dulles takes around 7 hours 15 minutes to reach and for a none traveller like me, that's a long haul flight. You don't want to hear about that though so here we ... Read review
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Advantages: It's an airport Disadvantages: It's deathly dull
...is numerous. I however was Washington bound so Washington Dulles was where I'd set foot on US soil for the first time.
Flying from Heathrow, Dulles takes around 7 hours 15 minutes to reach and for a none traveller like me, that's a long haul flight. You don't want to hear about that though so here we go with Dulles.
The approach to Dulles (from the UK anyway) takes you over the farmland of Virginia before landing on ... ...how a city such as Washington could be served by such a quiet airport. That's not to say that it's not big as it naturally has a runway capable of handling 747s, but it's nowhere near the size of airport that you might expect.
Immigration and customs are located in a seperate building to the arrival/departure gates, and a shuttle service is provided between the two using some of the bizarrest buses I've ever seen. Strange contraptions ... more
So here I am, exiled in the states by my boss for two weeks and bored out of my tiny mind. Can the good folks of Ciao help? Of course but they've also sparked my writing impulses. But what to write about? I know, what about my entry point to the US?
Travelling trans-atlantic is easy these days and the choice of entry points is numerous. I however was Washington bound so Washington Dulles was where I'd set foot on US soil for the first time.
Flying from Heathrow, Dulles takes around 7 hours 15 minutes to reach and for a none traveller like me, that's a long haul flight. You don't want to hear about that though so here we go with Dulles.
The approach to Dulles (from the UK anyway) takes you over the farmland of Virginia before landing on the outskirts of Washington. Located 42 km from the centre of Washington, the airport is naturally well away from any built up areas and this has it's pros and cons. Pros: Nice view. Cons: You've got to travel in somehow. I'll come back to the travelling in though.
What strikes you most about Dulles when you land is just how quiet it is. While Heathrow had a stream of planes lining up to take off, Dulles was practical devoid of aircraft. Grand crew were light on the ground and you wonder how a city such as Washington could be served by such a quiet airport. That's not to say that it's not big as it naturally has a runway capable of handling 747s, but it's nowhere near the size of airport that you might expect.
Immigration and customs are located in a seperate building to the arrival/departure gates, and a shuttle service is provided between the two using some of the bizarrest buses I've ever seen. Strange contraptions that raise up and down and seem to 'dock' with the building. Sounds very sci-fi but they seem to work, even if they do take far too long to get on and off of.
Like all US airports, there's immigration to navigate and like everywhere else in Dulles it's faceless and impersonal. In fact there's nothing really to speak of until you get past the last line of security and out into the 'real' world. Once you're faced with that room full of 'greeters' you realise that there's not actually anything at Dulles. No duty free shops (do they even exist outside the UK?). But there are very few shops (I think I saw two) and the whole airport has a lack of scale that you don't equate to an international airport.
So finally we come to the problem of getting from the airport to the city proper. Although a bus service is available, I'd opted for a taxi and Dulles has strict rules regarding them. With only a select few allowed to pick up passanegers, you should be aware that touting is illegal and YOU can end up getting arrested for getting into a none approved cab. This however is a good thing. Although you might have to wait duing busy periods, you are guaranteed to get a decent ride and not some guy who may end up ripping you off. Just queue up (in the designated zone I hasten to add) and the attendant sorts you out. How much it costs naturally depends where your going but it cost me $25 to get from Dulles to the Tyson's Corner area and took about 10-15 minutes.
How do you actually write an airport review? Is this Ok? I suppose I'd better summarise something. Dulles is an incredibly boring airport offering little in the way of distractions. It lacks the shops and places of interest that Heathrow sports and it's not the kind of place that you'd want to get stuck at for any great length of time (and when I say great length of time, I mean about 5 minutes).
That said, next time I see it I'll be one happy bunny. Why? I'll be heading back home
PS Sorry if this was awful but I've never written a review about a building so what can you say? Oh and I'd appreciate comments on this op - It's boring out here and I want something to do
Advantages: It has improved; friendly security personnel (so far); clean; easy to get about Disadvantages: Dull as Dulles; in the middle of nowhere
I have now travelled through Dulles a number of times. The first time I was a stroppy teenager. I was promised airport shopping by my Dad. We got to Dulles - there were NO SHOPS!! And I had finished my only book, so I threw a hissy fit at my father and we sat in silence staring at this very dull airport for a long time. All in all, this was a dreadful airport with absolutely nothing that one would expect from an international hub.
Well, that was ... ...the main receiving airport in DC for flights from London UK. It also has many other international flights. So you'd expect somewhere bustling and exciting. You'd be wrong. Dulles is a comparatively small airport, certainly compared to Heathrow. It is divided up into concourses A to D, where you are taking by strange buses that appear to be mini-waiting lounges on wheels. The point of this escapes me given that you can walk between concourses, given ...
celticwiccagirl 27.04.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Washington D.C. Dulles Int. Airpor, USA (IAD)
Advantages: Direct flight from Manchester Disadvantages: lack of information when you're there
Arriving at Dulles wasn't so bad, except for being on another planet with jet lag. Then those silly buses. Took a long time to load and a long time to unload. I've flown into a lot of airports and never found such a silly system.
It just gave the impression of onlybeing half thought out.
So then a nice few days out in Virginia, a bit of business and a lot of fun.
Then back to Dulles.
I've not been in the best of health so I need a trolley for ... ...cost a couple of dollars, but what if you don't have any small change? Emericans would have, foreigners, like me, might not. A nice man tok pity on me and gave me his trolley.
Then walking around trying to find a way of checkin in... I ended up at the hand luggage check-in so the kfs set I was carrying didn't go down too well with the security seracher wto whom English was a second language.
Another ten minutes wandering around, follow the signs ...
Frankelson 17.12.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Washington D.C. Dulles Int. Airpor, USA (IAD)
Advantages: A Gateway to the United States Disadvantages: for me personally - none
DULLES AIRPORT - WASHINGTON DC - UNITED STATE of AMERICA There were 400 passengers on our flight and we all disembarked at the same time to be greeted by a voice shouting out a number from 1 to 10 and pointing to a door we were politely but abruptly ushered in a orderly fashion into what seemed like small rooms with seats in, as we sat waiting the doors closed and the room began to raise into the air and move forward, it turned out to be an inter-terminal ... ...and hospitality. After about twenty minutes we had arrived at the terminal building and informed that our luggage was arriving on carousal Number 8. I think we watched most of the worlds travelling populations luggage arrive before at last, ONE of our cases turned up. Thinking the worst, we watched and waited, and low and behold our other case appeared.
Now, we are entering one of, if not the most secure countries in the world. So with trepidation ...
busdriver2k6 24.09.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Washington D.C. Dulles Int. Airpor, USA (IAD)
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