can you help with our Washington DC Planning

[TiggerTails57]

My family and I were in DC this past March. We went to the Holocaust museum, the Museum of the American Indian, the Air and Space Museum and the American History Museum. At all of the museums our backpacks were scanned but we were allowed to bring them in with us. My guess is that the scanning isn't very sophisticated because I had forgotten that I had my Swiss Army knife at the bottom of my backpack and no one said a word.

There were no photos allowed in the Holocaust museum but I did take photos at the American History museum.

There is a nice little cafe here.


http://www.ushmm.org/visit/cafe/

 

[thatslygirl]

I work at a hotel where we get lots of DVC members so I will be happy to help with any questions you may have. I also get off at the Smithsonian Metro Station for work almost every day so have seen it all.

Food tax is 10%. Sales tax recently increased to 6% (effective as of Oct 1st) so it is the same as MD. VA is 5%. Recently they have implemented a 5-cent surcharge on any "to-go" bags containing alcohol or food items. This is why you will see many people in DC bringing reusable bags at the grocery store.

There is also talk of a "soda" tax:
"To pay for a council initiative requiring city schools to serve more fresh fruit and vegetables to students, council member Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3) has proposed a 1-cent-per-ounce tax on bottled and canned soda that contains sugar. Diet soda would be exempt."
(This is still in the works but of course there is strong opposition from the beverage industry).

 

[enigmaticorange]

We were just in DC this weekend. We live about three hours away and like to pop in a few weekends a year to the National Mall area or the zoo. We always drive in and use both street parking and garage parking.(The one time we tried to take the Metro, there were no parking spaces left in the Metro lot!) If you are going to be in the Mall area, as a tourist myself, here is what we have learned:
1. If you want to find good parking, arrive before noon. Best time to arrive is 9, right before most places open.
2. If you are parking in the areas near the lincoln memorial, bring quarters for off street parking. Park on the side streets. just trust me.
3. If you are parking near the Smithsonian/ main museum area, use a parking garage a few blocks off of the mall. We paid $20 for the day. It is worth not stressing about the parallel parking or circling around.
4. You will be walking a lot, but there are beautiful shady areas to take advantage of and cafes in the museums. I have walked directly from Lincoln memorial to Air and Space with a 6 and 10 year old. Yes, they complained, but it wasnt too bad.
5. Cafe food is of course, expensive, but not the traditional cafeteria food. I expect to pay around $50 for 2 adults and two kids.
6. If you are visiting museums, dont try to tour every single thing in there. Pick out your "must sees" before you begin touring. There are so many amazing things to see!
7. pack light! If at all possible, leave all bags in the car and purchase drinks from one of the zillion vendors on the street. It is just like getting into a Disney park- every bag is searched, and they take it more seriously than Disney. If you have no bag, you walk on through.
8. Ive never done the tour bus, but this can be a great option to really get the highlights.
9. Hotwire often has 4 star hotels in DC as low as $45 a day.

 

[Fyrefly]

We're thinking of going in late August just for a weekend (2 nights) and getting there via Amtrak.

We were looking at hotels online not too far from the Amtrak station, but since we don't know the area, have no idea if it's a sketchy part of town or not, or if there is transportation from the station to the hotel. Or if there is transportation to the places we want to go, like the Lincoln Memorial etc...from the hotel. Any tips?

You mean the Metro station? What you probably want to do is go to http://www.wmata.com/ and pick the area near one of the outside branch stations. Look at hotels in the area and do the train in. The Smithsonian stop on the Orange and Blue lines is close to most of the (suprise! ) major Smithsonians. There are a lot of restaurants within a few blocks of the Gallery Place/Chinatown stop as well.

The Smithsonian food is crazy overpriced, but I've been told the Museum of the American Indian has the best food of any of them because they have people rotating in from different Native American tribes and they actually serve their food down there.

A recommendation I have if you can afford and if your kids are old enough is a Segway tour. My boyfriend was jealous I went on a Segway tour of another city. I booked a tour as a surprise birthday present just so we could ride them, but it ended up being an incredibly informative and fun tour. I learned new stuff, and that surprised me. There is no way you could walk to all the memorials, Ford's Theatre, the FBI Building, National Archives, White House, Treasury, Washington Monument etc. on foot in one day. You get to cruise past and see it all on Segway and I found it was much more fun because you get way closer to the sites. I had seen most of them by bus on various school trips, but its so much better to be right on the steps of the Capitol rather than waving to it from the street!

The company I used was called City Segway Tours, and I had a fantastic experience. They keep the groups pretty small, and for the price I found it was the longest tour, so the most bang for your buck.

 

[pat fan]

You mean the Metro station? What you probably want to do is go to http://www.wmata.com/ and pick the area near one of the outside branch stations. Look at hotels in the area and do the train in.

Amtrack (train) goes to Union Station, so where would we go from there is what I need to know. And what is Metro? Is it like the T in Boston? There were some hotels listed on the Amtrack site that were anywherefrom .9 miles from the station or up to 12 miles away from the station (Union Station).

I will go the site you mentioned, it's just SCAEY to pick a hotel from a list online and you have NO idea if it's going to be a safe place IN a safe area. Thanks!

 

[magik]

Magik forgot to add to the Metro ettiquette sp?
Don't speak LOUDLY on your phone while riding the Metro I answered my phone while on the Metro (above ground) down by Rockville....didn't realize how loud my voice was so, this man shot his head around and gave me the most evil look. I had to laugh but did tell the caller I'd call them back from a better spot.

That's a good addition. I would expand it to be not to be loud at all on the train. People use their commuting time to read, listen to music, etc., and they do not like to be disturbed by loud talking.

 

[Arielle22]

Amtrack (train) goes to Union Station, so where would we go from there is what I need to know. And what is Metro? Is it like the T in Boston? There were some hotels listed on the Amtrack site that were anywherefrom .9 miles from the station or up to 12 miles away from the station (Union Station).

I will go the site you mentioned, it's just SCAEY to pick a hotel from a list online and you have NO idea if it's going to be a safe place IN a safe area. Thanks!

The Metro is like the T but much cleaner. I don't think food is allowed on the Metro.

 

[Tink-n-MrIncredible]

How safe is Hampton Inn in Chevy Chase? They say it is about 4 blocks from the metro. Is it a good idea to stay here. Any other advice on closer hotels.

 

[lovemygoofy]

Amtrack (train) goes to Union Station, so where would we go from there is what I need to know. And what is Metro? Is it like the T in Boston? There were some hotels listed on the Amtrack site that were anywherefrom .9 miles from the station or up to 12 miles away from the station (Union Station).

I will go the site you mentioned, it's just SCAEY to pick a hotel from a list online and you have NO idea if it's going to be a safe place IN a safe area. Thanks!

The Metro is like the T in Boston. It runs into Union Station also, which is a mini mall kind of with LOTS of choices in the food court on the bottom floor.

I really can't say enough good things about the hotels in Old Town Alexandria. It's a great area and well lit and walkable or can even take the trolley to the metro station but most hotels are within a block or two of the King Street Station.

 

[Tink-n-MrIncredible]

lovemygoofy I sent you a pm

 

[mickeytattoo95]

Here's an idea for those of you traveling with kids. At the entrance of any of the Smithsonian buildings you can find the info desk and ask for the Night at the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian scavenger hunt brochure. We got this when we were there in February. I'd read about it online so we rented the movie just as a refresher. When we went on the scavenger hunt it was fun finding the items from the movie. It really held my 8 year old's attention...even with going to several buildings.

July is hot, so just don't try to do everything. Let each person in your group pick a "must do" building and make those the priorities. Everything else can be a bonus. Week days are a little better at the museums because most people go on weekends. However, you will battle the working people on the Metro. Museums are crazy on weekends, but the travel will be a little better. It's a toss up really.

On our recent trip I got to see is the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights at the Federal Archives building. It brought tears to my eyes as I read the barely visible ink. It was amazing being able to explain to my son the rights we have as Americans were written over 200 years ago on those very sheets of paper. Our forefathers ricked their very lives just by signing those documents.

Anywho...enjoy your trip!

 

[micheleq]

Check out Washingtonian Magazine's annual Cheap Eats article. Below is the 2009 article. It lists the 50 or 100 best, cheap eats in the DC area. When I lived in DC my friends and I lived by that article Some great places that won't break the bank.

http://www.washingtonian.com/packages/cheapeats

 

[thatslygirl]

How safe is Hampton Inn in Chevy Chase? They say it is about 4 blocks from the metro. Is it a good idea to stay here. Any other advice on closer hotels.

I could not locate any information on a Hampton Inn in Chevy Chase.

Were you talking about Silver Spring, perhaps, or the Convention Center?

Chevy Chase is an affluent area. It is pretty safe. Keep in mind that your metro station will be on the red line, which is known to experience delays and repairs. So if your station is Bethesda or Friendship Heights, it may take 25-30 minutes to get to Metro Center and then transfer to a blue or orange line to Smithsonian.

If I *had* to choose a hotel on the red line, the furthest I would go is Woodley Park - National Zoo. My top choice would be a hotel in Dupont Circle. It's a lively neighborhood with lots of hotels and restaurants, and a farmer's market on Sunday mornings.

 

[gandycat]

We were there 2 weeks ago and stayed at the Hampton Inn Reagan National Airport (Crystal City). It was around $135/night with tax and parking, free breakfast, indoor pool and two blocks from the metro. When we've gone, we've been able to easily find a parking space on the weekends, as long as we were there early (between 9-9:30 am). Usually on Sat we take the metro ($2.90 for a round trip to the mall) and drive in Sunday morning b/c we won't be there as long (we found parking near the Lincoln Memorial and at the main entrance to the Natural Hx Museum).

I wasn't thinking about not being able to take food into the museums on our last trip and actually had a softsided cooler. They checked it but didn't say anything. As far as eating, yes, prepare to spend a ton of money. We ate at the Museum of the American Indian this last trip and although it was $$, the food was really good.

Have fun! Oh, and also, there are a TON of D.C. threads on this board with lots of helpful info. If you search for Washington D.C. you'll find lots of them.

 

[pat fan]

Does anyone know anything about the Washington Court Hotel? Someone just recommended it to me, but I'd like to know if any else has heard of it? The website says it's like a 10 minute walk from Union Station, but is it a safe 10 minutes is what I want to know!LOL!!

 

[Tink-n-MrIncredible]

We were there 2 weeks ago and stayed at the Hampton Inn Reagan National Airport (Crystal City). It was around $135/night with tax and parking, free breakfast, indoor pool and two blocks from the metro. When we've gone, we've been able to easily find a parking space on the weekends, as long as we were there early (between 9-9:30 am). Usually on Sat we take the metro ($2.90 for a round trip to the mall) and drive in Sunday morning b/c we won't be there as long (we found parking near the Lincoln Memorial and at the main entrance to the Natural Hx Museum).

I wasn't thinking about not being able to take food into the museums on our last trip and actually had a softsided cooler. They checked it but didn't say anything. As far as eating, yes, prepare to spend a ton of money. We ate at the Museum of the American Indian this last trip and although it was $$, the food was really good.

Have fun! Oh, and also, there are a TON of D.C. threads on this board with lots of helpful info. If you search for Washington D.C. you'll find lots of them.

Not to sound ignorant, but what type of blocks? City or regular, someone said that "a block" in DC could be a very long distance.

 

[Tink-n-MrIncredible]

I could not locate any information on a Hampton Inn in Chevy Chase.

Were you talking about Silver Spring, perhaps, or the Convention Center?

Chevy Chase is an affluent area. It is pretty safe. Keep in mind that your metro station will be on the red line, which is known to experience delays and repairs. So if your station is Bethesda or Friendship Heights, it may take 25-30 minutes to get to Metro Center and then transfer to a blue or orange line to Smithsonian.

If I *had* to choose a hotel on the red line, the furthest I would go is Woodley Park - National Zoo. My top choice would be a hotel in Dupont Circle. It's a lively neighborhood with lots of hotels and restaurants, and a farmer's market on Sunday mornings.

I am looking to stay within a close vacinity of the 4H center. The lady who works there told me Chevy Chase. Does this area have another name? I also want to be very close to the metro.

 

[gandycat]

Not to sound ignorant, but what type of blocks? City or regular, someone said that "a block" in DC could be a very long distance.

It was about a 5-6 minute walk with two kids along.

 

[hopskip]

I didn't do my research beforehand and we missed my favorite attraction on our last D.C. trip. This is the kind of place where memories are made. Even though we missed the tour we were still able to visit the gift shop and get some shredded money souvenirs for the kids.

You MUST HAVE TICKETS (they are free) to visit here, and it's blocks away from everything, but it really is so interesting! I recommend!

Bureau of Printing and Engraving

 

[NCRedding]

The Washington Monument was the one I recall being the most strict. Bags can be no larger than 18 X 16 X 8. No food, drink or GUM. Water only in clear plastic bottles. There is no storage area onsite. The security people were extremely rude.

Gorgeous views; but a little cramped initially until people moved on to the next floor.