Annapolis: A Day Trip from DC
Maryland's colonial-era capital and the Naval Academy are about 30 miles from DC — close enough for an easy day trip, but the getting-there part trips up more people than you'd expect.
Every few months someone tells me they tried to 'take the train to Annapolis' and ended up stranded at a MARC stop 17 miles away. Just take the bus or drive — it's simpler and it's not close.
The Honest Answer: There's No Train to Annapolis
A lot of guides imply you can train it to Annapolis because Maryland has MARC service — you can't, and it's worth saying plainly since it trips people up. Annapolis has no Amtrak or MARC station of its own, and the confusingly-named "Annapolis Junction" MARC stop is actually about 17 miles away near Fort Meade, not in Annapolis itself. Don't build a plan around it.
The real car-free options are an intercity bus (a few direct runs a day, roughly 40-70 minutes depending on traffic and route, tickets around $10), or the Metro to New Carrollton plus a connecting local bus. Both work, but check current schedules before you go since intercity bus timetables shift more often than train ones. Rideshare is the fastest option if you don't mind paying for it — about 45 minutes and $50-70 each way for the roughly 30-mile trip. Driving yourself is easy too: mostly highway, about 40-45 minutes with normal traffic.
The Naval Academy Is the Main Event
The U.S. Naval Academy is free to visit and open to the public most of the year (daily 9am-5pm March through December, weekdays only 9am-4pm in January and February). You can walk the Yard on your own or take the 90-minute guided Historic Walking Tour, which is the better choice for first-timers since it actually explains what you're looking at rather than just letting you wander past it.
One real logistics note: to get onto the Academy grounds as a visitor, bring a REAL ID-compliant driver's license, passport, or passport card — standard state IDs that aren't REAL ID compliant may not be accepted at the gate. Pedestrian entry is at Gate 1 (Randall St and Prince George St) or the John Barry Gate.
Beyond the Academy
Annapolis's historic downtown is compact and genuinely walkable — colonial-era streets radiate out from the State House (the oldest state capitol still in continuous legislative use in the country) down to City Dock on the harbor. Budget an hour or two just wandering Main Street's shops and the waterfront, and if you like seafood, this is the place to get a Maryland crab cake that isn't a tourist-trap version of one.
If you have a full day rather than a half day, a short harbor cruise out of City Dock is an easy way to see the Naval Academy and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge from the water without much planning.