Getting in and out of Washington D.C. as fast as possible...
 

...without blowing my life savings while doing it.

Here's the deal: I need to renew my Finnish passport, but because the US changed their requirements regarding passports, Finland had to switch to so-called "bio-passes" (they would have done so eventually anyway, maintaining the Visa-free travel option was just the incentive to do it now). What that means is that none of the 30-50 consulates across the country can no longer accept passport applications from Finnish citizens. You can only renew your passport by going to their embassies in Washington D.C., Los Angeles, or New York.

Since I live in San Antonio, TX, Washington is probably the closest... Gonna be an expensive passport. I figure with the airfare and the passport application fee, I'm looking at 600-700 green ones. Don't get me started on how happy that makes me with the Finnish embassy.

My problem is, I don't know my way around Washington D.C. I just want to fly in, take a bus or something downtown, locate the Finnish embassy, put my application in, and ideally either fly back out the same day, or spend the night and fly out the next day. I'd prefer not to spend the money on a hotel or motel, though, but it may not be helped.

So my question is: what options (besides a cab, which are so damn expensive) are there for getting around Washington? Is there a train? A lot of cheap bus routes?

I want to plan my trip as intricately as possible before-hand. Any advice or help would be welcome.

Metro has ALL your needs covered, bro.

Take the Metro from the Reagan DC airport.

$6.50 for an all day pass.

http://www.wmata.com/

to get here:

http://213.138.148.37/doc/en/contact/driving.html

Get on the Yellow Line at Reagan DC airport and go to Metro Center and get on the Red Line. Take the Red Line to Shady Grove and get off at the Zoo / Adams Morgan. Is a longish walk, but saves you money.

Use this map if you get confused: Map of Metro

i live in springfield, right off the franconia exit. what crompsin sez is all true, wmata.com is damn handy. that’s a drag about just coming in for the day, we’ve got some fun stuff here -- you should find a couch to sack out on and go barhopping in adams morgan or the arlington/clarendon strip. also the museums are pretty great.

They are both correct. The subway system in DC is awesome and very clean/safe.

Oh, c'mon... sometimes during the summer it smells like hooker ass.