<p>Hey, I just have a question for either W&M Admission or any current students. I know Williamsburg is a pretty rural location and Washington is about 2/3 hours away, but do any students ever go into Washington for the weekend by the Amtrak or anything? My twin sister is going to University of Maryland-College Park and I'm planning on visiting her once every two months or so, I was just wondering if it was common for students to go up to Washington for the weekend or a night out. </p>
<p>Also, this is just a general huge thanks to W&M Admissions for all the help during the past six months! I hadn't really even considered W&M until I was filling out my applications (in fact, I almost didn't apply) but all the information on College Confidential and their undergraduate website helped me get a better feel for the school and really convinced me to visit. In about six months, I've gone from not knowing anything about W&M except for that Jefferson went there to being almost ready to submit my deposit. I'm about 85% sure that I'll be attending W&M next year, and I could not be more excited =D</p>
<p>roughly 1/3 of W&M students are from northern va. There are tons heading up that way on all school breaks, and often you can find a couple people going on random weekends as well. When I was there there was an online “ride board” that people could use to find people who were going to the same place they are.</p>
<p>Amtrak is very convenient to campus.</p>
<p>If you visit every two months, you can hit fall break and thanksgiving in the fall, and spring break in the spring. There will definitely be lots of people driving your way during those events.</p>
<p>Amtrak is definitely in reasonable proximity to the campus. It’s a pretty short walk from old campus (a bit longer if you’re in Dupont/Botetourt/Yates), but all the bus routes (except the Green & Gold campus bus route) end up there once an hour so it’s very accessible no matter how you do it.</p>
<p>I did it a few times… mostly to get up to DCA to catch flights. I remember there being two trains a day in each direction, one in the morning and one in the early evening. If you do this frequently, get a Student Advantage card - it gets you 15% off.</p>
<p>If you’re going that way on break, as soccerguy said, you can usually find plenty of rides.</p>
<p>Just a note to students traveling to DC - expect delays no matter which way you get there (and especially on your return). My kids have traveled to DC from W&M numerous times, by both car and Amtrak, and they’ve never arrived when they thought they would! Folks from NOVA know to expect delays once they get a ways past Fredericksburg on 95.</p>
<p>The worst traffic delay I have ever been in was when we left DC before 3 PM on a Friday afternoon to get down to W&M for an 8 PM performance. We crawled nearly to Richmond, and barely made the curtain. That was exceptional, though. bandgeek, it’s such a great idea to visit your sister - just be forewarned that you should add an hour or two to the total commute time. That way it will be a pleasant surprise if you aren’t delayed.</p>
<p>W&M is more suburban than rural. Williamsburg is certainly a smaller city but it is a city and we’re only 45 minutes from Richmond and Norfolk/VA Beach. Hampton Roads starts just east of us in Newport News (about 20 miles) so rural is likely not the right adjective.</p>
<p>Students certainly do go to DC from time to time to see friends, visit family, see a concert there etc but there is also so much going on on campus on any given weekend that most students find everything they need right in their backyard. Our 400 student-run clubs + DI/Club/Intramurals + Greek system do such a good job of being active and planning events that students always have multiple social options come Friday or Saturday night.</p>
<p>Getting to DC is relatively easy by Amtrack given the proximity of the train station but other posters are right, there can be travel delays between here and DC especially on Fridays and Sundays</p>
<p>Taking a train from Williamsburg to Union station, then taking Metro to College Park, is pretty easy and straightforward, and by-passes the sometimes terrible I-95. traffic, as was mentioned. Right now, there are 2 trains a day, morning and evening.</p>
<p>Be sure to buy tickets a couple of weeks early for the best price (and there are often discounts like SA and other ‘sales’ if you look for them.) </p>
<p>Unfortunately, at the moment, the trip takes too long - the Richmond rail yards are a mess with freight traffic intermingling with passenger traffic. I think this is scheduled for improvement, but I don’t know when. </p>
<p>[Amtrak</a> Virginia](<a href=“http://www.amtrakvirginia.com%5DAmtrak”>http://www.amtrakvirginia.com)</p>
<p>This can indeed slow you down quite a bit… freight takes priority over people on the rails, so there are times you can sit for an hour or two - especially between Williamsburg and Richmond, as I believe it’s only one track for a good part of that segment.</p>
<p>Despite delays which are unfortunately a part of travel the good news is there are certainly ways to get to and from the DC area from campus</p>