Washington D.C. to Madison

Compare trains, buses, flights and ferries from Washington D.C. to Madison. From €91.00, fastest 5h 3m, with the total price and every fee shown up front.

Traveling from Washington D.C. to Madison costs €91.00 at the cheapest and takes 5h 3m door to door at the fastest, across 1 mode and 2 operators. The route covers 1,170 km. Cheapest is by Flight, fastest is by Flight.

Checked September 10, 2026Priced for September 29, 2026One passenger, all fees included

At a glance

Distance
1,170 km
Fastest
5h 3m
Average
5h 9m
Services per day
8
Cheapest
€91.00
CO2 per passenger
287.8 kg
Door to door

Every way to make this journey

Journey times below are door to door, so they include getting to the terminal and away from it at the other end. Fares are the cheapest we currently sell on September 29, 2026.

Door to door means the whole journey, including reaching the terminal and leaving it at the far end. Fares are the cheapest sold on each mode.
ModeDoor to doorMovingAt the endsFromCO2Per day
Flight5h 6m1h 56m3h 10m€109.29287.8 kg8
  • 5h 6mFastest, by Flight
  • €109.29Cheapest, by Flight
  • 287.8 kgLowest CO2, by Flight
  • 1,170 kmDistance traveled
Real services

The cheapest and the fastest on September 29, 2026

Two journeys we can sell today, with the service number each operator files them under.

Cheapest€91.00
  1. PSA Airlines PS358507:301h 3m08:33Washington DCAAkron CAK
  2. PARTA PA884809:5710h 33m20:30Akron Greyhound StationMadison - Dutch Mill

Changes at Akron, with 84 minutes between services and a walk of about 14 minutes.

Door to door 14h 57mCO2 136.0 kgChanges 1Fixed, no changes

Fastest€101.62
  1. PSA Airlines PS125006:231h 56m08:19Washington IADMadison MSN

Door to door 5h 6mCO2 287.8 kgChanges 0Fixed, no changes

Today's real departures

Live from the operators' own published timetables, through the open transit feeds they publish. Times and services are real. Fares are modeled until our booking connectors are live.

No live timetable for this trip yet.

Live from the operators' own published timetables, through the open transit feeds they publish. Times and services are real. Fares are modeled until our booking connectors are live.

Prices over the next three weeks

Live from our own engine, refreshed on every request. The cheapest days for each way of traveling are marked.

Cheapest fare by mode and day for Washington D.C. to Madison
Cheapest fare by mode and day for Washington D.C. to MadisonFriSep 11SatSep 12SunSep 13MonSep 14TueSep 15WedSep 16ThuSep 17FriSep 18SatSep 19SunSep 20MonSep 21TueSep 22WedSep 23ThuSep 24
Flight€240.27€194.25€170.65€155.31€152.36€147.64€188.35€119.32€141.74€135.84€109.29€111.06€111.06€155.31

Cheapest day: 2026-09-29 · €91.00

The trip ends at Madison station (C&NW). Everything past the gates belongs to somebody else, the rooms included.

A hotel room

A room in Madison for the night the flight gets in

Sort by distance from Madison station (C&NW) and you can see which places are ten minutes on foot and which are not.

Partner links. We do not sell accommodation. We earn a commission when a booking completes, and it never changes what you pay.

Booking window

When to book Washington D.C. to Madison

The same search run across the whole booking window, so the shape of the curve is visible rather than described.

  1. €89.2390 days
  2. €72.1260 days
  3. €93.3645 days
  4. €102.8030 days
  5. €130.5321 days
  6. €155.3114 days
  7. €188.357 days
  8. €170.653 days
  9. €240.271 days
Cheapest lead time
Fares bottom out around 60 days ahead, at €72.12.
How much it moves
The gap between the cheapest and most expensive lead time is 233 percent. The most expensive point is €240.27, 1 days out.
What that means
Today sits inside the cheap window, which closes about 60 days before departure. Waiting from here has usually cost money on this corridor rather than saved it.
€240.27€72.121371421304560

Book now Fares on this route are lowest around 60 days ahead. You are inside that window.

Day of the week

Which departure day costs least

Median cheapest fare for each weekday, taken across the next three weeks of real prices.

  1. €135.84Sun
  2. €109.29Mon
  3. €111.06Tue
  4. €111.06Wed
  5. €155.31Thu
  6. €119.32Fri
  7. €141.74Sat
Across the year

How the fare moves month by month

The same journey priced on the fifteenth of each of the next six months.

  1. €152.36Sep
  2. €88.64Oct
  3. €87.46Nov
  4. €92.77Dec
  5. €87.46Jan
  6. €83.33Feb

The route

WashingtonWashingtonMadisonMadison
The journey

What the journey actually looks like

Direct or connecting, how far the route really runs, and what happens when a connection is missed.

Direct or connecting
50% of the services we sell on this corridor run through without a change. The remaining 50% involve one connection.
How far it really runs
The route covers 1,170 km against 1,136 km in a straight line, a detour of 3 percent. Track and road geometry account for the difference.
Where the change is
Connections are made at Cleveland, Chicago, Akron, Milwaukee. The gap between arriving and leaving is 75 minutes, of which about 5 is walking.
If the connection is missed
The tightest connection we sell here has a 13 percent chance of not being made on the timetable alone. Part of this journey is a self transfer between separate tickets, so leave more time than the minimum and expect to check in again.
First and last departure
The first service of the day leaves Washington D.C. at 06:20 and the last at 14:36, across 8 departures. The return direction keeps its own timetable, so the times back are not these times reversed.
Terminals

Where you leave from and where you arrive

The stations, airports and ports each mode on this corridor actually uses.

Washington

Rail
  • Washington Union Station
  • L'Enfant
  • Seabrook
Bus
  • Washington Union Station
  • Washington Deluxe Bus
Air
  • IAD
  • DCA
Ferry
  • City Cruises Washington DC
  • The Wharf Ferry Landing

Madison

Rail
  • Madison station (C&NW)
  • Madison Milwaukee Road depot
  • Middleton station
Bus
  • Madison - Dutch Mill
  • UW-Madison Intercity Bus
Air
  • MSN
Carriers

Who runs this route

Speed, flexibility and what is on board. Nothing here is a rating, because we have not earned one.

Every operator we sell on this corridor. Speed is the carrier's own typical cruising speed, not the average over this route.
OperatorFromFastest
PSA Airlines€101.625h 5m
Republic Airways€100.445h 3m
  • PSA Airlines
  • Republic Airways
The price

What the fare is made of

Every part of the total, so the number at checkout is the number here.

The cheapest Flight fare we sell on 2026-09-29, broken into its parts. Nothing is added after this.
PartAmountShare
Operator fare€69.5076%
Taxes€12.5114%
Supplier fees€7.008%
Our service fee€1.992%
Total you pay€91.00100%

Check-in is at three and you will be in Madison well before then. Lockers are not something we run.

Left luggage lockers

Somewhere to drop the bags in Madison?

Most of the points near Madison station (C&NW) open before the first train and close after the last one.

Partner links. We do not run these networks. We earn a commission on a booking, and the price is the same as going direct.

Questions about Washington D.C. to Madison

The questions people actually ask about this trip, answered from the same prices and times the page above is built on rather than written once and left to go stale.

How long does it take to get from Washington D.C. to Madison?

The fastest journey from Washington D.C. to Madison takes 5h 3m door to door, of which 1h 56m is spent moving, on the Flight. Most services take around 5h 9m, because that average includes slower stopping services and journeys with a connection. Times include reaching the terminal and leaving it at the far end.

How much does it cost to travel from Washington D.C. to Madison?

The cheapest fare from Washington D.C. to Madison is €91.00, checked on September 29, 2026. A typical fare across the next three weeks is €159.44. Both figures are the total for one passenger, including taxes, supplier fees and our service fee, so nothing is added at checkout.

What is the cheapest way to get from Washington D.C. to Madison?

The cheapest way from Washington D.C. to Madison is by Flight, at €109.29 for one passenger on September 29, 2026. That journey takes 5h 6m door to door. Cheaper is rarely faster on this corridor, and the comparison table on this page shows what each mode costs against what it saves.

When should I book Washington D.C. to Madison?

Fares from Washington D.C. to Madison bottom out around 60 days before departure, at €72.12. Across the whole booking window the gap between the cheapest and the most expensive lead time is 233 percent, measured on September 29, 2026. Booking inside the last week has consistently cost more on this corridor.

Which day of the week is cheapest for Washington D.C. to Madison?

Monday is the cheapest day to depart from Washington D.C. to Madison, at €109.29. That is the median of 21 priced departure days across the next three weeks, checked on September 29, 2026. Shifting a departure by one day is usually worth more than shifting the booking by one week.

Which month is cheapest for Washington D.C. to Madison?

February is the cheapest of the next 6 months to travel from Washington D.C. to Madison, at €83.33 for one passenger. Each month is priced on its fifteenth, so the comparison is like for like rather than a mix of weekends and midweek departures.

Who runs service from Washington D.C. to Madison?

2 operators sell services from Washington D.C. to Madison across 1 modes: PSA Airlines, Republic Airways. Journey times, fares and fare conditions differ between them, and the operator table on this page compares all of them on speed, flexibility and what is provided on board.

Is there a direct service from Washington D.C. to Madison?

50 percent of the services we sell from Washington D.C. to Madison are direct. The rest connect at Cleveland, Chicago, Akron, Milwaukee, with about 75 minutes between the two services. Both legs are sold on one booking, so a missed connection is rebooked at no charge.

Which station or terminal do services from Washington D.C. to Madison use?

Services from Washington D.C. to Madison by Flight leave from Washington IAD and arrive at Madison MSN. Allow about 3h 10m in total for reaching the departure terminal and leaving the arrival one, which is already included in every door to door time on this page.

Can I change or refund a ticket from Washington D.C. to Madison?

0 of the 2 operators we sell from Washington D.C. to Madison allow a change or a refund. A change on a changeable fare costs €5.00. The operator table on this page names which is which, and the condition is shown again before you pay.

Where these numbers come from

Observed service A carrier record shows this named operator serving this named pair, and we carry that through unchanged.

Schedules, seat counts and fares are generated by our own model until the supplier contracts are signed. Places, coordinates, operators, which operator serves which pair, and every distance are real. We would rather say that on every page than let a modeled number pass for a filed one.

Defined in full at Door to door, Fares, The booking window, Carbon, Distances

On this page
Every figure above was computed for Washington D.C. to Madison on September 10, 2026: 1170 km of route against 1136 km in a straight line, 8 services a day, 2 operators, a cheapest fare of €91.00, and 5h 3m door to door on the fastest mode. The return direction is computed separately and its numbers are not these numbers.

The trip is the easy half to plan. The days in Madison are the half people leave until last.

A guided tour group

Day trips out of Madison and across United States

Timed entry, guided walks and half-day trips out of Madison, with free cancellation on most of it.

Partner links. We do not sell tours or tickets. We earn a commission on a booking, and it never changes the price.

Other ways to make this journey

Arriving in Madison

Leaving Madison

  • 41Places you can leave for
  • 1Countries
  • 16Operators

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