Philadelphia or Washington to the Baltimore Cruise Port by Rental Car, One-Way Included

Cruise Maryland writes directions for drivers from the north (I-95 South through the tunnel), the south and the west (I-70), and lists a Western Pennsylvania shuttle company, Lenzner, among its ground operators.

Coming from Philadelphia, that northern route is yours — Delaware first, then I-95 straight into the tunnel.

On the Philadelphia drive we count the Fort McHenry Tunnel ($4 on an out-of-state E-ZPass, $6 by video) and Delaware’s $5; the JFK Highway charges northbound only, so it adds $8 on the drive home, not on the way down.

So budget $9 on the way down and $17 on the way back, on an out-of-state E-ZPass. Enterprise’s TollPass bills the higher video or cash rate on top of its fee, roughly $15.95 for the drive down, our arithmetic.

Enterprise says your own E-ZPass avoids its charges, so bring one if you have it. The hub sets the brands’ plans side by side.

Pennsylvania adds 6% sales tax, Philadelphia’s 2% local tax and a 2% vehicle rental tax, 10% together by our arithmetic, plus a $2-a-day public transportation fee.

The survey lists an $8-a-day facility charge at Philadelphia airport since Feb 1, 2026, cap not stated. Take it as a survey number, not a posted one.

Those two daily lines come to $10 before any tax, our arithmetic — on a $35 car they’re more than a quarter of the rate.

At that “from” price, with the tunnel and Delaware on an E-ZPass, the one-way lands near $71 before the drop charge, the survey’s $8 included — and that’s the number that decides it.

A Philadelphia contract follows Pennsylvania’s rules, not Maryland’s 11.5%, as we read the state pages.

No company published a Philadelphia-, Washington- or Dulles-to-Baltimore drop fee on the pages we read. Every figure you’ll see is in the quote, not on a policy page.

National’s line is the useful one. If airport-to-airport typically carries no drop charge, Philadelphia to BWI may price better than Philadelphia to a city desk — check both.

A BWI return leaves you about 12 road miles from the ship by our routing, where the rides from BWI take over.

Budget’s $45 is a penalty, not a fee: it’s what you pay for dropping somewhere you didn’t book. Book the drop you mean.

Our one-way guide covers the brands across every cruise port.

Union Station to the terminal is about 37.6 miles and 58 minutes by our routing, without traffic.

There’s no tunnel on it, by our reading of the port’s directions — you come up from the south and leave I-95 at Exit 55, Key Highway, before the toll.

We didn’t price a car collected in Washington itself — we didn’t read the District’s rental tax, so we won’t guess the total.

If you live near Washington, Union Station is no place to leave your own car for the cruise. Its garage runs from $39 for 25 hours to $416 for 384 to 408 hours, against $25 a day at the terminal lot.

A Washington airport car is a different calculation, with Virginia’s tax on it. The airport page prices Dulles and Reagan.

Amtrak stops at Baltimore Penn and BWI; it prices only in its booking engine, so we can’t print a fare.

Cruise Maryland puts Penn Station 5.5 miles from the terminal and the BWI rail station 11.5 miles — Penn Station is the closer of the two.

MARC’s Penn Line runs from Washington to Baltimore Penn for $9 a person, under its 2021 fare chart.

BWI’s free shuttle to its rail station runs 24 hours a day, every 10 to 15 minutes, which helps if your train stops at BWI instead.

We found a flat fare only the other way, terminal to Penn Station at $12.50 — so expect the city meter on the ride in.

We can’t price Amtrak for you. Get its fare, then set it against the one-way total above.

Search Philadelphia’s airport with the drop set to BWI and again to a Baltimore city desk. The drop charge, not the daily rate, will separate them.

If you return in the city, mind the hours: 6 PM on weekdays, as early as noon on a Saturday.