Have you considered flying into Frederick Municipal Airport (Maryland) or Hagerstown Regional Airport (Maryland)?
Here's a map of Hagerstown, MD.
Posted on 07/16/2011 11:33:51 AM PDT by Artemis Webb
My wife and I are thinking of an October trip that would include Gettysburg. We want to fly into the area and would probably take a bus or some type of shuttle, not a rental car, into Gettysburg for however many days we need to stay. So I need some advice from knowledgeable FReepers (Is there any other kind of FReeper?):
First of all what city should we fly into? Baltimore and Harrisburg look most likely. I know Gettysburg has an airport but it doesn't appear to have major carriers.
Does anybody know if bus or shuttle service is available from given city to Gettysburg?
Hotel recommendations? (We aren't made of money).
How long should we plan to stay? We're interested in Gettysburg and the Civil War but we have other destinations in mind (Cooperstown, NY) so we have to strike a balance for time.
Any other suggestions are welcome but I really need the nuts and bolts info first. Thanks in advance to all.
Totally agree! Don’t get the logic recommending BWI with DC in the way. Either Harrisburg or Dulles will work better...both lovely drives to G’burg.
What I said.
Those Dillsburg cops need to make their quota!
I lived in Camp Hill for 30 years, and became an unpaid guide to and from Gettysburg for all my NY, NJ, and Connecticut relatives. What a difference from when I first toured the battlefield in 1963, and more recent years. You could still dig up an occasional artifact back in the 60’s.
The Cyclorama was the big attraction back then. And the Wax Museum. I have photos of my kids posing in all the montages with the wax figures! And sitting on cannons at the Battlefield.
Can’t do none of that nowadays.
Check the difference in airfares, then decide
My family drives RT 70 frequently, Carroll County is farmland, congestion around the Frederick interchange is pretty limited
And again, Antietam makes an awesome side trip
Limited can vary. If driven on a weekday, the Maryland highways are packed with serious traffic. 70 out of DC goes from 7 lanes to the two lanes of US 15 in Fredrick. A natural choke point. So timing is important.
I agree with those that suggest you rent a car. While Gettysburg has tour buses, you will likely spend more on those than on renting a car - seriously. And you are stuck going on the tour route.
One of the best things about visiting Gettysburg is going at your own pace and discovering things there. I suggest no less than two days.
While the town itself is not very big, when you factor in the size of the driving area through the battlefield, it is very large and cannot be walked. Biked perhaps if you are in excellent shape :). The battlefields have many more monuments than you might expect. Many are stunningly beautiful. The suggestions to get yourself a guide is a good one. Unless you know a great deal about Gettysburg (my hubby is an expert) you will miss much that is very interesting and important at the battlefields. But you can do self guided tours - I think they have those recorded program/self guide thingys that you can rent super cheap, so if you are cost conscience those are a good alternative. If you are driving the battlefield that is.
There are a lot of quirky little things too - like wax museums, etc. Everything has a price except for the visitors center, which is large and quite nice. I can’t recall if the info center/museum we went to six years ago charged, nor do I know if it is still open. It had some great stuff in a crappy old building.
The locals are nice - they are used to tourists.
DO NOT stay at the Farnsworth House B&B! !!!! !!! We have stayed at many B&B’s and this was the second to worse we have experienced. Bad staff, cold water, terrible breakfast, room not cleaned and we were paying $185. per night. Plus they have no door on the bathrooms - just a fabric divider - bizarre.
For room accommodations I suggest you go to
just search Gettysburg hotels and B&B’s and read the reviews. Beware though - in the past few years management/owners have put in fake reviews to bump their own ratings. So, if most of the “excellent” reviewers have only “1 contribution” - it means it is probably padded with fake reviews. It is still a useful tool to easily find all the accommodations in the area. Most websites are linked to the reviews also. If you are AAA or USAA members, some of the chains like Hilton offer good discounts - the chains are just outside of town a couple of miles. The Hilton Garden Inn is near a big grocery, and we had a room with fridge and microwave. Saved a ton of money going by to the store and “cooking in the room” on our last visit.
AND, I’ve also been to Cooperstown several times. Let me know if you’d like any info on it. There is way more to it than the Baseball Hall of Fame. It is a lovely little town.
Get the Gettysburg Iphone/Ipad app from http://www.civilwar.org/battleapps/ . You can also download it from itunes. You could also buy the CD-roms(I know, so yesterday) from TravelBrain at the retail outlet in the National Park pavilion.
Both will give you video and maps showing the action/scrimishes. Then you can choose which battles interest you the most. Remember the battle took place over 3 days so there are a number of location to see. I have gone serveral times, just to concentrate on one battle and understand what these brave soldiers faced from each side.
The battlefield is readily accessed from the Washington DC area, Baltimore area, and various spots in Pennsylvania.
You will want to rent a car ~ start working on that now.
Definitely need a car for Cooperstown. It’s WAY off the beaten path, which is part of the charm. And true, it is more than just the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Don’t miss the Cyclorama, a huge oil painting located in the visitors center. You see a short movie first in one of 2 stadium style theaters, and then go up to the painting located on the upper level. You are standing in the middle of the room surrounded on all sides by this massive work. When you come off the escalator I suggest you go to the opposite side of the round area for the best view of the “show”. The lights are dimmed and the description of the battle begins. I have seen it three times and suggest you take Kleenex with you.It is a powerful presentation, loud and very real. Tickets are reasonably priced and will assign you a start time.The museum on the lower level is massive and extremely well done, and there is no additional cost to go through it. The gift shop is filled with books and other merchandise, most of which is of good quality.
I noticed that someone mentioned Boyds Bears. They are out of business now.
There is also a military museum just outside Carlisle which is an indoor/outdoor exhibit. Outdoors you will wander through trenches, see artillary, a helicopter and examples of warfare equipment through the years.
I would also suggest Harrisburg airport and Route 15.
Hmmmm....
Lot’s of reasons to fly into Baltimore and then take a beautiful drive up through Maryland and Southern Penn.
But, there are many historical sites to visit in Philadelphia as well.
Not sure about this one and how to advise.
I can tell you the Gettysburg Battlefield can be walked without a guide and it’s a wonderful, solemn environment that stills your spirit and mind for a moment to contemplate both the horror and honor of the battlefield.
Gettysburg, the town is nice but parking this time of year is not easy.
Great advice.
My sales territory, 10 years ago, covered Mid Penn. Harrisburg, Carlisle, York (Utz, Hanover...LOL)
I drove it so often and even toured the Harley museum for free.
Too bad about Boyds Bears! We went there six years back and loved it. Two years (?) ago on our last trip there we stopped at Boyds again and it was a huge disappointment - they had changed over to a bunch of junk vendors and some fancy basketmaker that was WAY over priced. Most of the Boyds specific stock was just not there. I spend about twenty minutes then left disappointed.
I didn’t go to the Cyclorama! I didn’t feel like waiting for the next show. Next time we go I will make sure to catch it.
LOL...why would I want to rent a car? I think you intended to post to AW.
Have you considered flying into Frederick Municipal Airport (Maryland) or Hagerstown Regional Airport (Maryland)?
if it's still there, take the helicopter tour...
yes...and now they have come back to join us
go to Nashville..nowadays you notice if you hear southern talk like me
Definitely rent a car. You’ll have so much more flexibility and the Manassas battlefield is close by, too. Consider taking a horseback tour of Gettysburg battlefield. And, for sure, read “Stars in Their Courses”.
Wow...if you’d like to visit Gettysburg and Cooperstown, don’t fly into BWI or Reagan. Think Harrisburg or something else in No./ East Pa.
Gettysburg is indeed a money vacuum. A person can drop a lot of cash in little time.
Stay away from the motels. I stayed in a couple and they were like roach motels. The hotels looked ok, but again expensive.
They have a night tour of the battlefield around Halloween. a lot of people said it is a spooky place at night.
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