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Back to Baltimore

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Voykit pocket guide · United States

Baltimore

Give Baltimore 2 nights: Inner Harbor and Fort McHenry one day, Fells Point and Mount Vernon the next. Skip it as a Washington day trip — the good parts need an overnight.

Baltimore is a working seaport, not a museum city: the Inner Harbor holds the aquarium and the ships, Fort McHenry sits across the water, and the best eating and drinking is in Fells Point, Federal Hill and Hampden. It is 40 miles from Washington, DC, so it works as a 2-night stop on the Northeast rail corridor rather than a day trip.

New YorkAberdeenAbileneAbington TownshipAbiquiuAdaAdamsAddisonAgoura HillsAkronAlamedaAlamogordoAlamosaAlbany, GeorgiaBaltimore500 kmdots: other places in this guide
Sketch, not to navigate by: shapes follow this guide’s areas and places, not official boundaries. North is up.
Country
United States
Best months
Apr–Jun, Sep–Nov
Avoid
Jul–Aug (humid, heat index near 35°C), late Jan–Feb (coldest, occasional snow)
Stay
2 nights

Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.

Essentials

Currency
USD
Money
Currency is the US dollar (USD, $). Cards and phone payments work almost everywhere; carry a little cash for tips and small vendors.
Daily spend
Budget $70–110 excl. bed · Mid $130–200 excl. bed · High $250+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
SIM and data
AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile cover the country; prepaid SIMs at their stores and Walmart/Target (passport required), or an eSIM before you fly.
Emergency
Police, fire, ambulance 911
Plugs
Types A, B · 120 V · 60 Hz · Chargers are dual-voltage; hair dryers and straighteners from 230 V countries need a converter.
Tipping
Sit-down restaurant: 18–22% of the pre-tax bill.; Bar: US$1–2 per drink or 20% of the tab.; Taxi / ride-hailing: 15–20%, in the app.; Hotel housekeeping: US$3–5 a night.; Porter / valet: US$2–5 per bag or car.; Tour guide: US$10–20 per person for a day tour.; Counter service / tablet prompts: Optional; 0–15%.
Water
Tap water is drinkable nearly everywhere; boil or treat water from streams in parks.
Toilets
Free public toilets are scarce in big cities; use cafés, department stores, libraries, stations. Rest areas on highways are free.

What things cost

ItemPrice
Coffee$3–6
Crab cake sandwich$15–25
Pit beef sandwich$8–14
Beer: draught in a Fells Point pub / can at a shop$6–9 / $2–4
National Aquarium entry$40–50
Fort McHenry entry$15–20 per car
5 km taxi or rideshare$12–20
Light rail ride$2

Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.

Get in

By air

BWI · Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall
About 10 miles south of the centre; light rail runs from the terminal to the Inner Harbor in about 30 min, or a free shuttle to the BWI rail station for MARC/Amtrak to Penn Station (about 15 min).
DCA · Washington Reagan National
Further out; use it only if the fare is much better — you then need a train or car from Washington.
IAD · Washington Dulles International
Best for some international routings; add 1.5–2 h by road or rail to Baltimore.

Typical fares

BWI → Inner Harbor, light rail
about $2, about 30 min (check)
BWI rail station → Penn Station, MARC
about $6, about 15 min (check)
Taxi Inner Harbor → Fells Point
$10–15
MARC Baltimore → Washington Union Station
about $8–9 one way (check)

Get around

The centre is walkable: Inner Harbor to Fells Point is about 20 min on foot, to Mount Vernon about 25. The Charm City Circulator runs free bus loops through the harbour, Fells Point and Mount Vernon — check current routes and hours, as they have changed. Light rail links the airport, the ballpark and Penn Station; the Metro subway is of little use to visitors. Taxis and rideshares cover the rest; a car is a liability downtown because parking runs about $5/hour near the harbour.

See and do

Known for

  • Fort McHenry and the Star-Spangled Banner
  • National Aquarium
  • Inner Harbor and historic ships
  • Fells Point pubs and Little Italy
  • Maryland crab cakes and pit beef
  • Edgar Allan Poe's grave and house

Day trips

WhereHowTime
Washington, DCMARC or Amtrak from Penn Station to Washington Union StationAbout 1–1.5 h
AnnapolisCar or bus via US-50, about 30 milesAbout 1 h
Ellicott CityCar or MARC to nearby stations, then a short rideAbout 45 min
Havre de GraceCar north on I-95, about 40 milesAbout 1 h

Sleep

Inner Harbor
Walk to the aquarium, the ships and the ballpark; hotel-heavy and the priciest, but the easiest base without a car.
Fells Point
Cobbled waterfront streets, pubs and Little Italy; quieter at night than the harbour and 15–20 min on foot from the aquarium.
Downtown / Mount Vernon (Midtown)
Cheaper rooms, Penn Station access and the Walters Art Museum; a 20–30 min walk or short bus ride to the harbour.
Federal Hill (South Baltimore)
Local bar-and-restaurant strip, 10–15 min walk to the Inner Harbor; good for a second visit.

Phrase card

EnglishSay or show
How much is it?How much is it?
Can I pay by card?Can I pay by card?
Where is the light rail station?Where is the light rail station?
Is this seat taken?Is this seat taken?
Thanks, keep the change.Thanks, keep the change.

Etiquette, safety and scams

Etiquette

  • Greeting: Handshake and 'hi, how are you?' — reply 'good, thanks'; avoid: Treating the question as a real health enquiry
  • Restaurants: Tip 18–22% and wait for the check; avoid: Leaving without tipping
  • Personal space: Keep an arm's length in queues; avoid: Standing close to strangers
  • Politics and religion: Listen more than you speak; avoid: Opening with hot-button topics
  • Smoking: Smoke only in marked areas; avoid: Smoking near doors or in parks where banned

Scams and watch-outs

  • Crime is concentrated in specific West and East Baltimore blocks, not the visitor districts. Stay in the harbour, Fells Point, Federal Hill, Mount Vernon or Hampden after dark, and take a rideshare rather than walking through empty blocks.
  • Do not walk north or west from the Inner Harbor at night expecting to reach a nice neighbourhood — the transition is abrupt.
  • Weekday I-95 and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway jam roughly 6–9:30am and 3:30–6:30pm; the MARC train beats the drive.
  • Parking near the harbour is about $5/hour; free park-and-ride at suburban light rail and Metro stations is the cheaper play.
  • Summer humidity pushes the heat index to about 35°C and occasionally higher — plan indoor stops in the middle of the day.

The tourist core — Inner Harbor, Fells Point, Federal Hill, Mount Vernon, Hampden — is busy and generally fine by day and evening. Crime is real but concentrated in specific West and East Baltimore blocks; don't wander there on foot at night, and use a rideshare after dark.

One and two days

No timed day plan for Baltimore yet. Suggested stay: 2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.

  • Fort McHenry and the Star-Spangled Banner
  • National Aquarium
  • Inner Harbor and historic ships
  • Fells Point pubs and Little Italy
  • Maryland crab cakes and pit beef
  • Edgar Allan Poe's grave and house

Sources

Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.

Pocket card

Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.

Baltimore

To this address, please

To this address, please

My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)

  • Police, fire, ambulance911

No embassies in Baltimore; they are in Washington, DC, about 40 miles away. US tipping: 18–22% at sit-down restaurants, $1–2 a drink, 15–20% taxis.

Prices before sales tax; tipping is expected.

Voykit · checked 2026-09

Printed from Voykit (/baltimore). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.