PyCon DC 2003 For Cheap
Save on breakfast
The conference serves a continental breakfast from 8-9 every morning.
Hotels
If you're looking to keep hotel prices low, you can stay at a hotel out in the burbs and take advantage of the metro system.
One of the best bets appears to be Best Western Key Bridge; it is half a block from the Rosslyn metro station, one stop away from GWU.
- Be sure to double-check the rates when booking, they quoted $139*3 until I asked them to double-check, when it became a "discounted" $99,$99,$89 for the 25th, 26th and 27th. They didn't mention what the discount was for. -- Mike Fletcher I just booked a room at Best Western Key Bridge through expedia.com for $58/night - Jeff Kunce (Feb 24)
--So did we, thanks for the tip, Jeff! The hotel's own front desk is still quoting $89 and $99 a night. How to find that rate in Expedia: search for hotels in Alexandria, VA, not Washington, DC. Then filter your search to just hotels that have Bridge in their name. - Shane M. (2003-02-24 21:00 Eastern)
-- they've still got rooms as of today (march 11) and the rates have gone up, but you can still beat what they'll tell you over the phone. I'm going to the sprints, and i just booked a non-smoking king from sunday night to saturday morning for $79 / night on Orbitz. - Paul Winkler It seems that many of us are staying here (Best Western Key Bridge). Do we want to pick a gathering spot and time for Wednesday morning to trek over to the con together? How about getting together for some fun the night before? Please post here.
Flights
National Airport (DCA) is on the metro system but is usually the most expensive.
Dulles Airport (IAD) may be cheaper but requires a shuttle to the West Falls Church metro station that costs about $7. Bay Area residents may want to fly JetBlue from Oakland (OAK) into Dulles.
BWI also serves the DC Metro area and has transportation to the metro system. It is the farthest away but usually the cheapest. Southwest flies out of BWI a lot, be sure to check their web site for fares.
Getting to the DC Metro System from BWI: You can take the Marc trainhttp://www.bwiairport.com/4grndtrn/in_mrct.shtml from BWI to Union Station to catch the metro or you can take the Metro Express Bus http://www.bwiairport.com/4grndtrn/in_mb.shtml which will take you to the Greenbelt metro station.
Other Transportation
If you're taking the train, Union Station is on the metro system.
Does one need to rent a car ? I want to stay close to a metro station and be able to go to the conference and back ? [sathya at zeomega dot com] -- sathya (The conference is close to metro. So is the airport. I dunno about hotels. --Guido)
Parking
See http://cafritz.gwu.edu/cafritz.php?id=1929&site=cafritz - a full day of parking is $13. This is downtown DC, you won't easily find a better deal. Street parking is all metered with a 2 hour limit. When the garage is full, there's another one one block to the west with similar rates. *Don't park illegally* - DC police *will* ticket or tow you. The no-parking signs are very confusing but worth careful reading. Also avoid the faculty parking lots.
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Transporation
Canada
Toronto - Toronto, Canada or area interested in carpooling, split gas + rental, preferably get 3 or 4 people to make it cost-effective. -- Mike Fletcher <mcfletch at rogers.com>
Massachusetts
Cambridge - Driving down on Tuesday the 25th, back on Sunday the 30th. Would be happy to take on a passenger (or two or three with short legs - I have a Toyota Corolla
esp. in exchange for avoiding seven straight hours of my foot on the gas pedal. -- Daniel Clark <dclark at pobox dot com>
New York
New York City - "Anybody from NYC interested in carpooling? It might be fun (and cheap) to rent a car and drive down with a load of pythonistas, and split the rental, gas, & tolls." --Paul Winkler (stuff at slinkp dot com)
- I'd go for this, and I can supply the car. Post here if interested.
Shared Accommodation
taken Preferably either in the area or 1 or 2 metro stops away. Would like to book soon. -- Mike Fletcher <mcfletch at rogers.com>