Getting to Virginia Beach
for the 2009 AAS/DDA Meeting

By Air:

If you choose to arrive at the Norfolk International Airport, you may then get to Virginia Beach by the airport shuttle. As of 20 January 2009, the price was $39 one-way. (Tell the driver that your destination is the Cavalier Hotel - Oceanside.) A cab could be an affordable option too.

Three companies - AirTran, Delta, and US Airways - make flights to a smaller local airport. The airport has car rentals in it, and is served by taxi, but has no direct public transportation to Virginia Beach. Dependent upon the traffic, it may take you from 45 min to an hour to drive from the airport to the hotel. Be mindful that travelling this distance by cab may be expensive.

By Car:

Please see the driving directions at the Virginia Beach web site.

By Train:

Although the Northeast Regional corridor of the AmTrak railway company ends in Newport News, transportation to Virginia Beach is available. To see the schedule and to book a ticket, go to the Amtrak web site and enter VAB as your destination (where VAB stands for Virginia Beach, VA). AmTrak will then take you by train to Newport News and then, by bus, to Virginia Beach. In Virginia Beach, the bus station is located within about 15 blocks from the hotel, so taking a cab may be an option.

If you are coming to Washington or Baltimore by air and intend to further travel by train, you may want to know that most AmTrak trains make a stop at the Baltimore International Airport. (At the same time, there are some inexpensive flights connecting Baltimore with Norfolk.) The Reagan National Airport in Washington DC is conveniently connected by subway with the Union Station located in Washington downtown. On the other hand, a trip from the Dulles International Airport to the Union Station may take anywhere from an hour (by taxi) to two hours (by public transportation). Flights to Norfolk from Reagan or Dulles airports are, typically, more expensive than from Baltimore.

If you are coming to NY city and intend to take a train from there, you may want to know that most AmTrak trains make a stop at the Newark airport. Getting to AmTrak from the La Guardia or JFK airport may be time-consuming. There are, however, numerous flights connecting NY with Norfolk.

By Bus:

Although you can save dollars travelling by bus, please be mindful that sometimes it may be more time-consuming than train. For example, a journey by a Greyhound bus from Washington DC to Virginia Beach will take between 6.5 and 8 hours. To compare, a trip from DC by AmTrak is 6 hours long.

By Bus From NY City:

The greatest bargain is a fast non-stop bus service from Manhattan. The prices are: $35 one-way, $60 roundtrip. Duration: 7 hours. (Hard to believe, but this is what they promise.) No cancellation and no refund.