hello from the uk board!/question

[Netty]

Hi all!!
Can anyone help??
we are flying into Washington Dulles airport on saturday, 23rd October (not long to go!!).
We land at 3pm and our connecting flight to Orlando leaves at 21.45.
so we were thinking of going into washington d.c.

 

[Netty]

sorry my thread just posted before i had finished writing it!?
we would like to go into washington d.c. maybe see the white house.
please could anyone tell us how we do this, is it easy transportation from the airport?
are there any nice eating places etc. etc.
Jeanette

 

[caitycaity]

We land at 3pm and our connecting flight to Orlando leaves at 21.45.

given traffic and security lines, i would say that it is not worth your time to try to see anything in dc. it takes at least an hour to get from the airport downtown. plus, the security lines at dulles can be long and then you also have to wait for the little shuttles to take you to the correct area of the airport. it's just not worth it.

ETA: plus the walkway in front of the whitehouse is under construction now (at least it was a few weeks ago) and you can't really get a good view, except from the back. since you can't really drive by the white house, you would have to find parking which would also be a pain, especially since you will be there during rush hour.

i hope you have a good trip to orlando, though.

 

[Da Vinci code]

We caught a cab to Reston once which only a few miles from the airport had a bite to eat and went to the movies. Have fun !!!

 

[Netty]

thanks for your replies... not worth it then? thats a shame.
Jeanette

 

[WDSearcher]

The White House is currently undergoing a lot of construction, so it can be difficult to see. What you might want to consider doing instead is seeing the Capitol Building. That's much easier to get to and you can get a good view of it and most of the National Mall.

You'll still have a bit of travel time on the front and back of any sightseeing trip, but if you do a simple "get out of the cab, take a few photos, get back into the cab" thing, you can certainly see a bit of Washington. If your flight leaves at 21.45, you'll need to be back at Dulles by 20.45 at the latest. So with travel time, you could easily have three hours to look around -- plenty of time to see the Capitol and several of the buildings along the Mall.

The cab ride will run you about $50 (or more, depending on traffic) each way.

I'll be in Washington DC that same day, wandering the National Mall myself. If I run into a family from Wales who are in a hurry, I'll know it's you!

 

[Micca]

It's a shame that with almost 7 hours you just have to sit and wait in the airport. Is there something our friends from Wales could do that might not be the White House, but something more interesting than just chilling at the gate????

 

[Belle041281]

I would say I would definately agree with WDSearcher. I would be sweating the whole time and not able to enjoy myself. If I missed that plane to Orlando, well lets not even go there. . Maybe you should just take some books to read and try to see DC some other time.

 

[caitycaity]

i don't know if this is something that might interest you, netty, but about a year ago they opened up this a new part of the air and space museum in dulles. it is not at the airport, but it is very close. you could definitely take a cab.

http://www.nasm.si.edu/museum/udvarhazy/


at least that would help you kill time, but you'd be close enough that you wouldn't have to worry about not getting back in time because of traffic.