The University of Maryland is located near Washington, DC and is served by three major airports:
Reagan National Airport serves domestic flights. It has the advantage of being located on the Yellow Metro rail lines, offering a convenient way to reach College Park.
BWI has a limited number of international flights along with many domestic flights. BWI is located between Baltimore and Washington, DC, making it fairly convenient for getting to College Park and other locations in the Maryland suburbs of DC. However, there is no easy public transit to College Park, so a rideshare or shuttle service is your best option if not renting a car.
The airport does provide a free shuttle from the airport to the MARC BWI train station on the MARC Penn line connecting Baltimore to Washington (with stops at the New Carrollton Orange Line Metro Station, and at the Union Station Red Line Metro station).
Washington Dulles is the Washington area's primary international airport, although it is farther from College Park than the other two. Dulles Airport is served by the fairly new Metro silver line, making it possible to ride Metro (with a connection) to College Park, although that ride takes about 1.5 hours.
The Washington Metro Rail system serves many locations in the DC area including a station in College Park on the green line (which is also served by some yellow line trains). Note, however, that the College Park-UMD Metro station is located some distance from the university campus. You may consider it walkable but there are also frequent UMD shuttle buses running between the Metro station and the campus.
↠ Metro system website and trip planner
If you’re not staying in College Park (e.g. your lodging is in Washington, DC), you can reach the Adele H. Stamp Union at UMD with Metro by taking a Green or Yellow Line train heading to Greenbelt and hopping off the train at the College Park/University of Maryland Metro station. From the College Park/University of Maryland Metro station, you can either take the P30 or P31 bus, or walk about 25 minutes to the Adele H. Stamp Student Union.
The Maryland Area Rail Commuter (MARC) is a commuter rail system in the Baltimore-Washington area. MARC's Penn Line connects northern Maryland to Union Stations in Washington, DC, with stops at Baltimore's Penn Station, BWI airport, and the New Carrollton Metro Station (Orange Line). Tickets can be purchased via a mobile app, at kiosks in select stations (including those mentioned above), or directly from the condutor with a surcharge (cash only).
Please Note: The MARC Camden Line that stops at the College Park Metro Station does NOT connect to BWI Airport or to Penn Station in Baltimore, and it only connects to the Penn Line at Union Station in Washington, DC. The Camden Line terminates at Camden Yards, the home of the Baltimore Orioles baseball team.
↠ MARC Penn Line Timetable
↠ Ticket purchase options
The closest Amtrak station to UMD is New Carrollton, about 10 km from campus. About ten Northeast Regional trains stop at New Carrollton each day, along with a few longer-distance trains. Many more trains stop at Union Station in downtown Washington DC, about 15 km from campus. Both of those Amtrak stations are also Metro rail stations so it is straightfoward to get to College Park with one connection to the Metro green line.