Budget trip to Washington DC

[brandiramirez]

Hi all I need some help. My husband go laid off from his job and we already had a weekend trip planned for the middle of June, got hotel from priceline so its already pd for and no canceling. We had planned on going to the zoo which I think is free, any other budget friendly things to do for a family of 5?

 

[Ava]

There are so many free attractions in DC that you can easily have a great time without spending money on anything but food & transportation. The zoo is free, all of the Smithsonian museums are free, it is free to see all the monuments & buildings from the outside. Plenty of free attractions to fill a weekend.

 

[v.t.]

We went last summer and had a blast. Almost all of the buildings and museums are free. But the food and parking is expensive. Call your congressman and line up a tour of the capital (free). Have your tour guide show you the basement of the capital, there is a food court there that is very reasonable. We also got a map of the city (I think by calling the vistor center) which showed all the CVS drug stores, which was a great place for snacks and cold drinks. If you are doing the zoo there is a 7-11 right out the gate. One of our favorite places was the Bell Tower in the Old Post Office. You take a glass elevator up to the tower which has a great view of all the buildings. The Washington Monument is also free but you have to get there real early for tickets. If you have little kids there is a Forestry building by the Holocaust museum. It is very small but has a talking Smokey the Bear. It is a great place to cool off and they give the kids some freebie stuff; pencils, coloring books, etc.
Be prepared to walk a lot and carry water, it was record heat when we were there last summer! But you will have a great time! If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me.

 

[disney1990]

DC is a great city for "free" touring. There are numerous Smithsonian Buildings, the Air and Space Museum, the American Indian Building, the U.S. Capitol, all the Memorials, Jefferson, Lincoln, Vietnam Veteran, World War II. We live only about a 20 minute ride from DC and love to go into the city on the weekends just to spend time.

 

[Sam's_Mom]

Parking is very expensive. It is best to leave the car in a park and ride type place out of DC and take the metro in. It is a very clean, easy to use public transportation. Children 5 and under (I think) are free. If you ride during nonpeak hours the fares are cheaper.

 

[Janet Hill]

Yes all of the federal govt owned museums are free. The metro can add up quickly for a family of 5 even with the weekend rates. I know that when my family of 4 goes into DC on the weekend we drive. There's free parking on the street and the garages that are open usually charge just $5 on the weekend. Where are you staying? Are any of the attractions walkable?

 

[TN Hockey Mom]

subscribing

 

[shruley]

Most places to visit in DC are free. All of the monuments, Smithsonian Museums, government buildings. When we went we used the Unofficial Guide and it was a great help...see if your library has it or can get it for you. Food can be expensive, this may help you find some cheaper places. We also ate at Union Station, some good, cheaper food options there and close to our hotel. Also contact your congressman. They got us tickets for all kinds of stuff for free and gave us a tour of their office, etc., and we got to meet the senator (who we really liked so that was special, even more so when he passed away in a plane crash just a little while later). And if you want to tour the Capitol building, etc., I believe you need to go through them. Now we went in Oct. right after 911, so I think we got more tickets than normal since no one else was "touring" at this time (we were told our holocaust tickets were normally only for VIPs.) but you should get something. We never rented a car, we just did the Metro and in general had no problems as our hotel was very near a stop. For us it was easier to navagate the Metro than driving in the city. Hope you have a great vacation!

 

[Tina]

Definitely be prepared for the heat. We don't get much of a Spring here. We got straight from winter into the steaming days of summer. The mall is much larger than it looks and you can get tired and thirsty very quickly. Plan ahead and bring refillable water bottles that you can fill at drinking fountains to save money. Bring along snacks if you can. The food courts in the museums are extremely overpriced.

 

[disneyfan007]

The US Army band puts on a performance called Twilight Tatoo (Not sure why) but it is free and very entertaining to watch. It has been a few years,but we really enjoyed it. Just google Twilight Tatoo DC and it will take you to the site.

 

[Buckeye Princess]

I grew up in Harrisburg, PA so my family used to visit DC several times a year, largely because it is so affordable. The Natural History Museum and the Air and Space Museum are great for all ages and were especially my favorite when I was young. We would often bring a long a lunch and a blanket and have a picnic in the middle of the mall. (The grassy area that all of the Smithsonian buildings surround. You could also eat near the capital or other monument of choice. The Washington Monument is free, but you have to go first thing in the morning and wait in line to get a time to come back later in the day. (Sorta like a Fastpass). However, you can go online ahead of time and buy passes for $1.50. Definitely worth it. I would check right now because they sell out fast.

Also if you have little ones Arlington is beautiful, but very grueling on a hot day. It is a long largely unshaded walk from parking or the metro to where the Tomb of the Unknown is located.

http://www.nps.gov/wamo/planyourvisit/feesandreservations.htm

If you have any other questions feel free to PM me. I consider myself a bit of a DC expert.

 

[Janet Hill]

http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/millennium/schedule.html

Check out the Kennedy Center schedule. They have a free performance everyday at 6:00 and no advance ticket is required. You might find something that interests you and your family.

http://www.ngmuseum.org

The museum at the National Geographic Society is also free, my kids like this place, but I will say that my son is really geeky, so it may not appeal to all.

 

[brandiramirez]

Thanks everyone for the great tips. We are staying at the Marriott Courtyard Navy/ Capitol Hill I believe its called. Great deal on priceline 98 for the whole weekend. I am surprised of all the free things to do, feel a lot better about it now.

 

[PinkRhombus]

Call your congressman and line up a tour of the capital (free).

I wouldn't hold your breath on getting anything like this at this stage. You usually have to request 3 or so months in advance.

 

[mom2threecuties]

Most of the government tours offer same day walk-up tickets too. We weren't able to get National Archives or Bureau of Engraving tickets in advance, but we were able to get them the day of.

Our family of five visited DC in April. Every activity was free. The kids loved the Air and Space Museum, the Museum of Natural History, and the National Archives. We all thought the zoo was a bit of a let down. Our only expenses were parking ($39/day for hotel parking!), metro, and food. The metro was really convenient. By the end of the week I got tired of paying so much $$ for food, and we ended up eating lots of $5 footlongs from Subway .

 

[barbnbrian]

All these ideas are great. Now my big question is . . .

If so many events are free, why does my school charge families $800 per student for their 4 day trip to Washington, D.C? The school has been doing this 8th grade trip for a number of years, and they use a tour company called World Strides. They travel by Motor Coach from Connecticut, stay at a hotel for three nights, the cost includes hotel and all meals except during the travel to/from CT. They do a Mediaval type dinner one night. Not sure which museums/monuments they did this year.

My daughter will be in 8th grade next year, and we have to send in the $100 deposit in the next week. The thought of the cost of this trip is killing me! I'd much rather take my whole family, and it would probably cost me less doing it on our own!

Anyone elses kids do a school trip to Washington, D.C.? If so, what's the cost for your school per student?

 

[Janet Hill]

All these ideas are great. Now my big question is . . .

If so many events are free, why does my school charge families $800 per student for their 4 day trip to Washington, D.C? The school has been doing this 8th grade trip for a number of years, and they use a tour company called World Strides. They travel by Motor Coach from Connecticut, stay at a hotel for three nights, the cost includes hotel and all meals except during the travel to/from CT. They do a Mediaval type dinner one night. Not sure which museums/monuments they did this year.

My guess is that most of your $800 is for the transportion and it's associated high overhead.

Also if they are staying Sunday - Thursday these are typically the higher rate nights for hotels in DC.

If they are having catered meals, these cost more than just ordering on your own. Even box lunches tend to cost more than if you just walk into the same place and get it on your own.

You possibly could take that whole family for a 3 night trip for the same or not much more than your daughter taking the school trip, but your daughter probably wouldn't like that.

 

[eeyorefan74]

As others have said, the food in the Smithsonians is unbelievably expensive. We went outside and bought from the food vendors who set up along the streets near the museums- hot dogs, etc. Not gourmet, but definitely much cheaper. The Ronald Reagan building, which is not far from the White House Visitor's Center, also has a large food court where we ate a couple of times. We were in DC in January and were amazed at all you could do for free. Have a great trip!

 

[Belle5]

Your metro tickets will be a bit of an expense--you will just have to figure that in--there is no getting around it unless you want to pay outrageous parking fees. I may have missed an earlier discussion, but if you are driving in your hotel will likely charge you a hefty fee each day just to park there. I hope you have figured that into your budget already. Also, check Tripadvisor.com for more info on Washington DC. Have fun! We'll be there in June, too.

 

[belle22]

Does anyone know if the Butterfly house at the Botanical Garden are free on Tuesday?