1st trip to Washington, DC-Help???

[soccerchick]

is it true that the museums are free? I know the monuments are


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Smithsonian museums are free. Some you need tickets for timed entry (Holocaust) and other private museums charge a fee. Some that charge are Newseum (great for news or history buffs - it's one of my favorites), the Spy Museum and the Museum of Crime and Punishment (I also liked this one). Figure around $20 - $25 per adult for those. If you are interested in those, sign up for GRoupon, Living Social and Capitol Deals/Washington Post as I've gotten half-price tickets to all of the three I listed.

 

[ChrisinNJ]

I can't speak to tours but I wanted to recommend a trip to the Bureau of Printing and Engraving to see money being printed. It was a highlight of our trip 2 years ago. If you want to go, you have to get there early in the morning to get tickets, they are free, and they go fast.

The Holocaust museum is right next door to Printing and Engraving so they are 2 good museums to schedule for the same day.

Have fun.

 

[eduk8r26]

Check travelzoo.com for rates for Washington D.C. Sometimes you can get some good deals, often with parking included.

 

[clori]

We did an evening monument tour with Royal tours almost two years ago. The girls who were 7, 10, and 12 still mention how funny the driver was. What I really appreciated was the free/included ride to/from our hotel in Alexandria. We only used it to get back but after a long day it was nice to get door to door transportation.

I believe I paid a small fee to reserve timed tickets ahead of time to the National Archives. Your Congress people can reserve some tours for free. I paid for the evening monument tour, tour mobile ride of Arlington National Cemetary, and a play etc at Fords Theater.

 

[shopnfun2me2]

Thanks for all of your ideas! We can't wait to go

 

[DebMcDonald]

We've done DC lots of times, it's always a weekend stop for us coming back from Myrtle Beach, we've always toured ourselves, never part of a regular tour and have never had a problem doing it that way. We've done the Museum of Natural History, Air and Space Museum, Holocost Museum, tomb of the unknown solider, Lincoln Memorial and I honestly can't remember anything else. We're heading back again in August and this time I'm hoping to contact my congressman/women to get tickets to the Capital and White House - I've tried previously but have been unsuccessful.

 

[NotUrsula]

I'm going to buck the tide here re: the Monuments by Moonlight tour. It is VERY expensive, IMO, and not all that pleasant, especially with younger kids in tow. My recommendation if you want to do the monuments at night is to use cabs to do it. Cabs in DC charge on a zone system, so they are relatively cheap, and it is generally easy to walk between the monuments; the strenuous part is getting over to the monuments area from the nearest Metro, which is where the cab comes in. On most clear evenings cabs are easy to hail at the major monuments, but plug a cab service number into your cell phone, and you are good to go at your own pace.

I also think that the standard Capitol tour is not worth the hassle of going through all of the security and waiting that is required, because you really only get to see two rooms: the Rotunda and the Sculpture Hall, along with the visitor center. If you really want to see the Capitol, stick to the tours that are only available by writing your representative in advance.

I second and third the Bureau of Engraving and Printing; it is a GREAT tour, and you can only do it on weekdays; they are not open on weekends. The same-day walk-up ticket booth next to the Holocaust Museum opens at 8 am, but if you are not in line by 7 am you probably won't get any tickets. Each person in the line can claim up to 4 tickets, so unless your family is large, you can send one early-bird scout to pick them up. DH is our scout; he is a camera-bug, so he's fine with getting up at the crack of dawn to go fetch them and take morning-light pix along the way.

There is no charge to get timed-entry tickets to the Archives, and it also is a good tour, but you need to reserve your entry time well in advance. You can do it online at http://www.recreation.gov/tourList.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=79052

BTW, one privately-owned museum that has not yet been mentioned is the one at the Nat'l Geographic Society. They host some REALLY good travelling exhibits there, and it is worth checking out what they have going on for your dates.

 

[thatslygirl]

I work in a DC hotel and you'll be hard pressed to find cheap parking. My hotel charges $48/night for valet parking and we are walking distance to the museums. It seems the same valet companies run all the garages and can do this kind of price gouging. However, the Central Parking garage nearby sometimes have special for weekend parking. If you have the app, you can get coupons, too.

Some friends and I visited the National Harbor for the first time over the weekend and were not too impressed. There is no metro station there but there is a ferry that will take you to Old Town Alexandria. Since it was cold, we drove. The whole place was deserted and we were able to find street parking. The highlight of the trip was the Peeps store!

I do not drive but take the Metro everywhere, so if you have any questions about using the Metro, I can answer them for you. I also get off at the Smithsonian metro station 5x week to walk to work.

IMO, the best place to find deals for hotels is via Priceline or Travelzoo, but you have to be flexible about the neighborhood. End of May is a popular time to travel so it will be very crowded. We do get DVC members staying at my hotel and I try to chat it up with them. A lot of people try to do too much in one day and wear themselves out. People often joke they walked less when they were at Disney

 

[Eureka]

I live about 20 minutes from National Harbor and love it, though I can see how tourists would not really think it's all that. It's mostly shopping and eating. I love the Life is Good store, Stonewall Kitchen (I grew up in Maine, and it's a ME-based company), and a handmade soap place called S.O.A.P. It's beautiful on a warm day just to walk around. And the Gaylord hotel is gorgeous. My kids love the Peeps store, lol.

I was also going to mention the Kennedy Center as a place to tour, another beautiful building. I am not sure about tour schedules and it's not really very close to any Metro that I am aware of. There are also free shows at 6pm on the Millenium Stage. I am not sure if that's every day or just Fridays.

 

[danygirl]

OP - DC local here. The Gaylord at the National Harbor is awesome! You can take a water taxi to Alexandria or DC (I think). There are fun places to eat there and a PEEPS store. Friday night fireworks for much of the year.

There is now a free shuttle to DC so don't worry about that
http://nationalharbor.com/national-harbor-courtesy-shuttle/

I think you will have a great time. My kids would LOVE to spend the night at National Harbor.

The museums are free except the wax museum, spy museum, crime and punishment museum and the national geographic museum and the aquarium (there is a small one in DC affiliated with the big one in Baltimore). Zoo is free but you pay for parking. You can become a FONZ and park free, maybe they have reciprocity if you are a zoo member in your town. The monuments are free, too. Check travelzoo or groupon for deals on the musuems you have to pay for. There is a second Air and Space Museum location near Dullles Airport. No admission, but you have to pay for parking. You have to pay to see the movies at Air and Space too, but they are worth it.

There are free shows at the Kennedy Center every night
http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/millennium/

I would catch a Nationals game, the stadium is very DC. Just make sure that you leave before the metro closes, they don't stay open if the game goes into extra innings.

DC is amazing in the spring.

 

[bridgie04]

Just wanted to claify--dc taxis now operate under a meter system.

 

[Jridou]

And not at all a budget option is the Newseum. Hands down the best museum in DC. I think they offer an internet deal, and an AAA rate.

Also, if you have a car, it's worth it to drive out to the Air & Space Udvar-Hazy out by Dulles. It's way better done (and less crowded) than the Air & Space on the Mall. It's still free, but parking is $12 (?) a car.

We try to avoid taking the metro to the zoo, it's about 1/2 mile walk, but the zoo itself is another couple miles walk. My kids were always exhausted by the time we got there. Plus if you have a car you can go to lunch or dinner in Adams Morgan which doesn't have a metro stop but has some really terrific & unique restaurants.

If you take the metro, remember on the elevators that you stand on the right and walk on the left. Makes locals crazy when tourists begob up the metro elevators!

Have a good trip !

 

[DebMcDonald]

If you take the metro, remember on the elevators that you stand on the right and walk on the left. Makes locals crazy when tourists begob up the metro elevators!

Have a good trip !

This makes me laugh but it's so very very true. I'm in Boston and people just don't understand that those that are traveling for work are in a rush and are on a specific time limit and need to get from train A to B with a certain amout of time (that we have planned down to a science) and those standing on the left drive me crazy many a missed train because of this.

 

[danygirl]

Hands down the Newseum is a downer and I would avoid it. Especially if you are with kids. Try the spy museum instead. IMHO the Newseum was a total rip off - over priced, plus it was just plain depressing. The kids HATED it. DD went with school and said the school trip was much better because they did a special program. When I took the kids they were horrified by the pulitzer prize winning photos (never realized before that they are mostly photos of horrific things), and just found each display worse than the last. They have kleenex posted strategically in many of the galleries (note, the do not do that at the Halocaust Museum!). The kids I took were young teens - 13 and 14

Better to go to the FBI or the Bureau of Engraving!

and pardon my spelling!!!!

 

[Danibelle]

It's .8 miles from the Woodley Park metro to the Cleveland Park metro - the two closest stops to the zoo, which is about halfway in between. The furthest the zoo could possibly be from a metro is .4 miles (which is about what it is). I don't think being less than half a mile from major public transport is too bad in a large city. I wouldn't take the bus when metro is so close. If you're strategic and lazy, you can walk downhill both to and from the zoo.

Mapquest shows the distance as 0.47 miles. I did not find it to be a difficult walk (my DH who was a few months post hip replacement did not find it hard either). I guess you could use the Cleveland Park metro but it would be about the same distance, I believe).

 

[PlutoPony]

Standard advice for using Metro for a zoo visit is get off at the Cleveland Park stop to go to the zoo - you will be walking all downhill to get there. Then when you leave walk downhill to the Woodley Park metro stop, which is the one before Cleveland Park. That gives you a downhill walk to metro both coming and going.

HTH

 

[4HOLIDAYS]

Any advice on days of week for which sites to visit when? Like we have for Disney? Are certain places much busier on weekends/weekdays?

I am thinknig of mid April. I am hoping that by then it will be warm enough we don't have to bundle, no spring break or school breaks.

I was thinking of a week but people are menytioning so many places I can't imagine getting to see evrything we want.

We want several yrs ago and did a great tour of the cap building with my son's hockey team. Someone had a freind in congress so we walked under ground in the "utiladoors", got to actually go into the house, so small in person, lots more but , it was really fun. As we were there for hockey we only got to do a few other things.

 

[Eureka]

Any advice on days of week for which sites to visit when? Like we have for Disney? Are certain places much busier on weekends/weekdays?

I am thinknig of mid April. I am hoping that by then it will be warm enough we don't have to bundle, no spring break or school breaks.

I was thinking of a week but people are menytioning so many places I can't imagine getting to see evrything we want.

We want several yrs ago and did a great tour of the cap building with my son's hockey team. Someone had a freind in congress so we walked under ground in the "utiladoors", got to actually go into the house, so small in person, lots more but , it was really fun. As we were there for hockey we only got to do a few other things.

Mid April is probably going to be prime cherry blossom time....the winter has been cold, so it won't be early like last year. That will make for a busier time near the monuments. Most of the local schools have a break around Easter, but many New England schools are on break in mid-April (plus maybe other areas of the country? I only know about where I grew up) and there are a lot of tourists down here regardless.

 

[rosiebean2]

Standard advice for using Metro for a zoo visit is get off at the Cleveland Park stop to go to the zoo - you will be walking all downhill to get there. Then when you leave walk downhill to the Woodley Park metro stop, which is the one before Cleveland Park. That gives you a downhill walk to metro both coming and going.

HTH

I went in mid-winter 2011 (between Christmas and New Year's) and took Woodley Park both to and from the zoo...with just myself and my two boys (ages 5 and 6 at the time). They did fine, it's not that far of a walk and you get to see potential lunch/dinner stops on the way (we hit a taco joint after the zoo for a late lunch). We stayed in Dupont Circle and the subway to the zoo was quick and the walk not that bad at all...the walk through the zoo was not bad either. But my kids have loads of energy!

We stayed at the Carlyle Suites (on embassy row...with a great view from our room, plus we could see the Washington Monument from a side window). Got a great price on Priceline (regular sale, not a bid). Parking was free (small lot, first come first served, but we got lucky and got a spot).

Breakfast was not included, but the room had an eat-in kitchenette (with a small stovetop, not just microwave), so we ate breakfast and dinner in the room more than once. Great savings and really nice location if you can get a good price. It helped that all our outings were free (Smithsonian, Mall, Zoo, great school playground just up the street ).

Good luck and have fun...I love DC!

 

[ProudMommyof2]

OP- We stayed at the Wyndham National Harbor last April and had a blast. The resort is great and the area is nice. There is a grocery store right across the street.

We drove to Union Station each day and parked the car and took the Metro anywhere we needed to be- plenty of parking. My kids love taking the Metro! The only day we didn't do this was the day we went to Arlington. We parked there all day and took the Metro wherever else we needed to go!

The only part of DC that is not convenient to the Metro is the Memorials (Lincoln, Jefferson, FDR, etc.) The closest Metro is the Smithsonian stop and it is quite a walk around from there. On this past trip, (3rd for our family- my kids like DC better than Disney ) we rented bikes to tour the Memorials. Check here- http://www.bikethesites.com/ The absolute highlight of the trip for my kids. We rented our bikes and went off on our own but they also have guided tours available.

Some other less than obvious stuff to do is
1. Check out if the Washington Nationals are playing while you are there. The field is right off the metro and we walked up and got $11 tickets.
2. The Air & Space Museum has a large facility at Dulles Airport called the Udvar Hazy complex. So much of our avionic history in 3 huge hangers, including the Space Shuttle that you can get right up to. We did this on the way home on our 1st trip.
3. A day trip to Mount Vernon is also a ton of fun.

Any questions- just PM me