East Coast Baseball Trip

[nodderman]

Trying to set a baseball trip up with my dad turning 65 this summer. The Crew plays out East near the end of July. We are hoping to to fill our baseball needs and history needs in by going to Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington DC. We can catch 3 games and two of them being Brewers games.

 

For those with Experience. How is travel there? We'd probably fly in to Philly. Catch a Brewers game and then head to Baltimore, then DC.

 

Rental Car preferred? Are Trains better and just Uber to areas of need? Thanks for any advice in advance as we start to plan this trip!

[JimH5]

DC traffic can be bad. I have only used taxis there and there seemed to be constant traffic in a city not planned for it.

 

I would rent a car, myself, as Philadelphia is fine and Baltimore is also fine. Having phone navigation has really made trips like these easier.

 

There is a sports museum near Camden Yards that was worth the time. Plus the Babe Ruth Birthplace is also cool.

 

Have a great time!

[ReverendBrewmeister]

I live near Harrisburg, PA and have been to all three of the stadiums (Philadelphia, Baltimore, and DC). Each is served by either light rail or subway stops. It's about the best way you can get to the games, particularly DC, where traffic and parking is a real pain.

 

You'll find that the eastern cities are places where public transit, including Amtrak between the cities, works well. Rail service (train or subway, depending) is present at Reagan National, BWI, or Philadelphia airports. It isn't odd to see people carrying luggage on the trains or subways. Of course, packing light is a good idea, if possible.

 

Most of the standard tourist sites in DC are reachable via the Metro. Independence Hall in Philadelphia is right off a subway stop. Inner Harbor in Baltimore has a couple of light rail/subway stops close by.

 

If you'd want to see some other areas around the cities, then renting a car would make sense. But if you're primarily just going to games and hitting the big sites, then you could basically just use public transit and/or Uber/taxi around. Just get hotels that are in the center city or near stops. (That info would be on their website descriptions.)

 

I'm hitting the July 21 Brewers game in Philadelphia. There's usually a decent smattering of Brewers fans at games there. More usually attend at DC, where there's usually a Wisconsin and/or Marquette alumni chapter event.

 

IIRC, some other Brewerfan people who live/have lived in the three cities, not just visited, even if from nearby. I'm sure they'll chip in with their thoughts.

[Dean Machine]

I would take the train to the DC stadium but I would drive into Philadelphia because you can do some tailgating etc and meeting fans. Although I will say that i have been to 29 stadiums and Philadelphia is the only place where people have given me any grief for being a Brewers fan. A couple of people were really harassing me in the bathroom and I didn't say anything to anybody but that was when Philly was doing well and the stadium was full every game. Check out the crab fries. I have done that exact trip on two different occasions and Philadelphia and DC are awesome cities. Baltimore is a craphole where people will always say go to the inner harbor but it's basically just a shopping area and they closed the ESPN zone which was pretty awesome so the last time I was there I found nothing to do. The areas on the train on either side of the downtown area are literally the worst places I have ever seen in America.

[Dean Machine]

Oh and my advice in DC is to walk the monuments at night. It's about a 3 mile loop but they are amazing lit up and so much more meaningful without the heavy crowds. The Vietnam Memorial Wall cannot really be seen at night but it is a must see. I'm too young to remember the war but it brought me to tears when I visited it.

[Jimbo]

Following. I'm looking into attending a game or two in DC the end of July. My last visit to DC was in '84 and the traffic was Chicago bad. Subways was the way to go.

[torts]

Subways are still the way to go around DC. Whenever we drive down to visit for a day or weekend we make sure to stop outside of the loop and get on the train in. DC might be the most walkable city on the east coast.

[Baldkin]

I read the title as "Eats Coast baseball trip." and I was very curious as to which coast was the Eats Coast, and why I hadn't gone there yet.

[madbad2000]

Sounds like a fun trip. I currently live in-between Baltimore and DC. DC is defintely a walkable city for the majority of the sites. I agree, walk the monuments at night. Less crowds, heat and it's pretty awesome. If you're planning on driving around, DC is not the worst on weekends if you don't mind paying for parking. I believe Sundays are free on-street parking if you can find it.

Garages are cheaper too, use parking panda and you can park all day for like 10-15 at many spots. Don't think you're going to come into town and see 3 or 4 museums in a day. You'll need to pick one and give it an honest effort. Do your research beforehand as there are plenty of fantastic spots to eat and drink.

 

Baltimore is an interesting town, but less touristy than others. Inner Harbor is the main attraction since you have both the football/baseball stadium, surrounding bars/restaurants and the harbor. The main attraction outside of Camden yards is the Aquarium. Top notch if that is your thing and that is located on the harbor. If I was going to Baltimore for a road trip I would head to the inner harbor for some food. Walk over near the power plant for better fare than the stuff right at the harbor by the USS Constellation. Anywhere from shake shack to fogo de chao brazililan steakhouse is around there. If you go about two blocks past the inner harbor you will find Little Italy with some fantastic options. Most people visiting Maryland want crab cakes and you can get them in so many places. Everyone has their favorite spot, but I'd just go to trip advisor or yelp and find one. They are nearly all delicious. It's a lot of crab meat, so don't expect them to be cheap.

 

If you like history, then Independance Hall and the liberty bell are must see. I'd avoid the whole cheesesteak adventure. Not worth the hassle to head over to Pat and Genos and find which one you'll like better. They are good, but not must see TV. And cheese steaks are all over the East Coast. I've had many that were far better than those two classic spots. It's a bit of walk from the Liberty Bell area and parking is rough. On street, jammed apartments.

 

I would likely rent a car because I like flexibility and at the end of the day you'll likely spend close to the same on car/gas/parking/tolls as you would on all the trains combined for 2 people.

[nodderman]

Thanks so much everybody... Great Help and advice!