Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, commonly referred to as Reagan or National, is located in Arlington, Virginia, about 4 miles from downtown Washington. It's certainly the closest airport to downtown Washington and the inner suburbs, and therefore it's the most convenient of the three area airports for visitors staying in the city itself or in Arlington and its nearby suburbs. The airport is directly accessible by the Blue and Yellow lines of the Metro, the city's subway system. You can also take a short taxi ride/uber/lyft to and from the airport.

Washington Dulles International Airport is located 26 miles from Washington in Dulles, Virginia. It's the busiest airport in the D.C. metro area. IAD is a 40-minute drive from downtown Washington with no traffic, but that number can balloon the second you hit rush hour. That said, the airport is pretty convenient if you are coming from or heading to the outer suburbs of Virginia, given its proximity to them. If you're not renting your own car, there are plenty of shuttles and taxis to transport visitors around the region.

Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, commonly known as BWI, is south of Baltimore and is convenient to the Maryland suburbs via I-95 and I-295. It's about 40 miles from downtown Washington, D.C. You might be better off renting a car, as taxis will run you about $100. You can also take an Amtrak train from the airport to Union Station in D.C. for about $17 (travel time is less than 30 minutes), or you can take the BWI Express Metro bus service to Greenbelt Metro Station for approximately the same price, but it'll take 70 minutes. There are also the regional MARC trains that connect to Union Station, which cost $7 and take 35 minutes.