A special thanks to Alexander D. Mitchell IV.
First of all, the Baltimore Beer Week Committee encourages you to travel (and drink) responsibly while partaking of Baltimore Beer Week. Do not drink and drive. Take a designated driver (many events have discounts and special deals for designated drivers), pool together to take a taxi or van, or ride public transit. If in doubt, call a cab or have one called for you–even a long taxi ride is cheaper than a car accident or arrest. Heck, hire a limo or van if you must–several limos have shown up at BBW events! And for the smart-phone savvy, there’s also Uber and Lyft!
The Circulator
Downtown Baltimore has a FREE “circulator” shuttle bus service, the Charm City Circulator.
Four routes are currently in service:
- the north-south Purple Route which operates from 33rd Street and Amtrak/MARC’s Penn Station south to Federal Hill;
- the east-west Orange Route, which operates from Hollins Market/the B&O Museum east to Harbor East and the northwest corner of Fells Point;
- the Green Route connecting City Hall/Fallsway motels, Harbor East, Fells Point, and Johns Hopkins Hospital Campus;
- the Banner Route, which connects Inner Harbor with Rash Field, Key Highway, McHenry Row, and Locust Point and Fort McHenry.
With the Circulator, it’s easy–and free–to ride from Penn Station or downtown hotels to Federal Hill or Fells Point, or to go from Federal Hill to Mount Vernon, or from the Metro (at Shot Tower) to Fells Point and Harbor East.
Circulator Hours:
- Monday-Thursday: 7:00am-8:00pm
- Friday: 7:00am-midnight
- Saturday: 9:00am-midnight
- Sunday: 9:00am-8:00pm
In addition, the Charm City Circulator now operates the Harbor Connection, passenger boats that connect Harbor East with Federal Hill, and also connect Harbor East, Tide Point, and Canton’s Waterfront Park from 7 AM to 7 PM weekdays (except Columbus Day). Click here for detailed information.
The Water Taxi
Baltimore’s Inner Harbor is served by a flotilla of passenger boats called the Water Taxi. These boats do not just stop when flagged as the name implies, but operate over designated routes between designated stops like a bus (weather permitting–strong winds or thunderstorms will suspend service). Passengers pay a flat $14 day pass or $8 per one-way ride (children and seniors $7, veterans and military free). Throughout Baltimore Beer Week, Water Taxi operates 11 A.M. until 8 P.M. weekdays, 10 A.M.-11 P.M. Friday and Saturday, and 10 A.M. – 8 P.M. Sunday. The Water Taxi can be an ideal way to travel from downtown locations or Federal Hill to Fells Point or Canton or vice versa!
MARC
Long a weekday-only option, MARC has expanded service on its Penn Line to weekend service as well between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. See the timetable for details.
General Transportation
- Baltimore MTA
- MTA’s Tracker
- Google Maps
- MTA Local Bus Service
- MTA Light Rail
- MTA Metro Subway
- MARC Commuter Rail
- Super Shuttle (BWI Airport)
- BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport
- DC Airports
- Amtrak
- Greyhound (stops at Greyhound terminal off Russell St. and I-95)
- BoltBus (Stops on Maryland Avenue next to Penn Station)
- Megabus (NOTE: Megabus uses White Marsh, Md., northeast of the city proper, as its stop for the city. Riders can ride downtown on the MTA #35 bus, or they can just proceed directly to Red Brick Station, the brewpub on The Avenue at White Marsh.)
Taxis
Baltimore City Taxi Cabs
- Yellow Cab (410) 685-1212
- Baltimore Taxi Company (410) 327-7777
- Royal Cab (410) 327-0330
Anne Arundel County Taxi Cabs
- Cab Connection (410) 766-1000
Baltimore County Taxi Cabs
- County Cab (410) 339-0000
- Jimmy’s Cab (410) 296-7200
Howard County Taxi Cabs
- Columbia Taxi Service (240) 210-6688
Hotels
General Hints
An MTA Day Pass, good for all modes, is $4.00–cheaper if you’re a senior. It’s only sixty cents more than the cost of two bus trips, or any round trip on the Subway or Light Rail, so it’s best to get said pass if you anticipate any use other than a simple round trip. Baltimore has also instituted a “smart card” electronic card reader program called the Charm Card, similar to Washington DC’s SmartCard; in fact, they are interchangeable, and DC’s SmartCards will work on Baltimore’s MTA and even carryover cash balances between systems.
City Transit Routes
If you’re trying to get to Fells Point from downtown, you should seek out the #10 bus line, which drops you off at the Broadway Market at Broadway and Eastern, three short blocks from Max’s and more or less for other Fells Point locations. The #11 route also stops in Fells Point. Bus routes 7 and 13 will get you to various points around Canton, with varying success depending on your origin and exact destination. Routes 1 and 64 will get you to Federal Hill, with the former getting you to Locust Point. Routes 10, 20, and 22 will get you to Highlandtown.
Light Rail is an easy and fast connection between downtown, the western edge of Mount Vernon, and Woodberry, the location of two breweries and several bars; a shuttle bus (Route 98, the “Hampden Shuttle Bug”) connects the Woodberry Light Rail stop, “The Avenue” (36th Street) in Hampden, and Remington; Remington and Hampden are also served by the #27 bus from downtown.
Wherever you think it fits best: “If taking mass transit or the Circulator or Water Taxi, please ascertain what time service stops, to save yourself what could be a long walk or expensive taxi/Uber/Lyft bill!”