Thinking of a DC vacation...tips needed

[snowball22]

We are thinking of doing a short 4 day vacation to Washington DC this spring. We have two teens. What are the must sees? We are also trying to do this on a budget so any good info on cheap but nice hotels, inexpensive places to eat, and free places to visit would be great. Thanks!!

 

[NewJersey]

check out the cherry blossom festival!

 

[MariDisney]

Depending on their interests obviously the various Smithsonian museums are great...and best of all they're free. We particularly like the exhibits of the First Ladies' innagural gowns, all the dinosaur stuff, and all the pop culture stuff (Fonzie's jacket, etc). I also really like to do a monument bus tour at night. There are brochures all over the hotels about them.

 

[Lesleyluvsdisney]

HI There Snowball22

I visited for a very short 4 night Washington DC/Annapolis/Baltimore break in November 2004 I was travelling on a work related trip (I'm a travel agent), and thought it was Fab!!

The Smithonian museums are great, so many, with so much to see.

The Metro is really easy to use, and very inexpensive.

Chinatown is a great place to eat! Union Station is great for lunch.

Love to go back

 

[TDC Nala]

check out the cherry blossom festival!

Nice, but extraordinarily crowded. I'd come after that.

The Metro is about to get a lot more expensive, but there isn't a better way to get around.

The Tourmobile still seems to be a good deal, you can get on and off anywhere along the route if I remember correctly.

The Museum of American History is closed for a major renovation and will remain closed for the next two years. Some of the popular exhibits have been moved to other Smithsonian museums.

 

[NewJersey]

Nice, but extraordinarily crowded. I'd come after that.

The Metro is about to get a lot more expensive, but there isn't a better way to get around.

The Tourmobile still seems to be a good deal, you can get on and off anywhere along the route if I remember correctly.

The Museum of American History is closed for a major renovation and will remain closed for the next two years. Some of the popular exhibits have been moved to other Smithsonian museums.

I would fight the crowds for that festival..it's beautiful.

I'm down in DC 2 weekends a month...the metro fare is going up? I already think it's pretty high compared to NYC.

 

[HollyJoy]

Definately check out the museums.. All free.. except for the special imax shows, but well worth it. If you time it right, you could catch the Cherry Blossom Festival as well. No help here on hotels though.. sorry!

 

[Pixiedust34]

The Insect Zoo in the Natural History Smithsonian is interesting. It gets crowded, so we head there right at opening time. Most people start touring the museum from the ground floor. We start at the Insect Zoo and branch out from there.

The Air and Space Smithsonian is another place that gets crowded fast. It's best to see that early in the day, too.

 

[DizkneeDenna]

The Zoo is a great visit....free....and on the Metro. I've used the TourMobile a couple of times with visitors....I won't use it again. It really doesn't go anywhere that Metro can't take you to and it can get so crowded that all the busses that show up are completely full....so you just stand there and wait for the next one. Very frustrating.

I also completely recommend the Cherry Blossom Festival...crowded but so worth it. Check it out on the web at:

http://www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org

Also, check out the day passes on Metro....if you are going to 1 or 2 places not worth it....but if you are seeing lots of stuff that day and hopping on and off it is a good value. Check it out at:

http://www.wmata.com/

You might want to try the DC Duck tour....that is pretty cool. Here is the site: http://www.historictours.com/washington/dcducks.htm

You kids will get a kick out of the amphibious vehicle (goes from water to road)!

Also look into staying at a hotel in Arlington, VA right outside of DC...they can be cheaper and lots of the hotels are close to the metro or have shuttles to the metro. Try either Pentagon City or Crystal City areas in Arlington.

I also second Union Station as a great place to eat. It is a huge food court with all kinds of food and fairly decent prices considering it's DC!

Hope this helps,
Denna

 

[shortbun]

We got a great deal at the Omni Shoreham by asking for the Panda package at the zoo last year. The rooms are large and the location is wonderful for good cheap food-Chipoltle and other similar nearby. (don't eat in the hotel but it's wonderful!) Could be that this time of year is already sold out in the cheap category as it is a very busy time. Don't miss the zoo and the pandas, Tai Shan gets sent to China this summer and they just opened the new Asian Trail.

 

[HollyJoy]

Don't forget Arlington Natl Cemetary, Mount Vernon and the National Zoo There's also the National Aquarium in Baltimore.. not that far!!

 

[LadyyRedd]

Another thing teens might really find interesting is the International Spy Museum.

www.spymuseum.org

Kimya

 

[northcapemaymom]

We were just in DC Thanksgiving weekend. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Capitol (5th and C) which is 1 1/2 blocks from the Mall and the Air and Space Museum. Our rate was $91 a night (AAA rate) plus $22 a day to park (worth the money). We were able to walk to everything in the mall area and around it, too. Within 1 block of the hotel (which was very clean) was McDonalds, Quizno's, Starbucks and CVS pharmacy. Within a 15 min. walk (which was very nice at night looking at the lit up attractions and such) was ESPN Zone, Hard Rock Cafe and Fuddruckers. Most of the museums have fast food restaurants such as Subway and McDonalds. The Metro is one block from the Hol. Inn, but we didn't have to use it because the walking was quite manageable (and that's with a 7 and 9 year old).

Some of the attractions are first come, first serve with tickets that are free. The Washington Monument and the Currency and Engraving Museum (sorry, I can't remember the official name) function this way with tickets going quick if you don't get there early in the day. The American History Museum is closed for renovations for the year, but the Natural History Museum is open (and Air and Space) and does have an IMAX theater.

Trust me, there is lots of things to do in the city and the building designs are spectacular. Definitely worth the trip - the kids ask us when we are going to go back. Good luck with your planning!

 

[rie'smom]

Arlington
Mt Vernon
Spy Museum
Smithsonian
We stayed at the Marriott in Crystal City. The metro is a short walk from the underground elevator. There's a shopping mall too. It's very close to Reagan.

 

[Bearvet]

We spent some time in DC this summer with 3 teenage boys while visiting colleges. We stayed with my cousin in Alexandria, so I can't help with hotels, but I can tell you some of the highlights. Watch "National Treasure" before you go - DS12 begged to go to the National Archives and the Library of Congress after watching this movie - and we're so happy we listened to him. We had been to DC a few years ago and saw most of the monuments then, so we focused on other things this time.

Our favorites:
Ford's Theater - where President Lincoln was shot (be sure to go to the ranger presentation and the small museum in the basement) - FREE
National Archives - houses many original documents including the Declaration of Independence (FREE)
Library of Congress - absolutely amazing - try to go on a tour - FREE
United States Capitol building - arrange tour through your congressman - FREE
Holocaust Museum - extremely well done and very moving - FREE (however, I ordered timed tickets ahead of time online for $1.50 each which was well worth it during busy season)
Washington Memorial - last time we were in DC it was under repair and the kids wanted to go up to the top. Again, you can order tickets online for a small fee which helps during busy seasons - FREE
Washington National Cathedral - we took a taxi, but DS14 really wanted to go here. The architecture is amazing - we took a tour (donation) which was very informative.
WWII Memorial - this was new since we'd been to DC previously and DS14 is a big WWII history buff. Very nice - FREE
Lincoln Memorial at night - beautiful! FREE

So-So sights (in our opinion):
International Spy Museum - this was one of the few things we had to pay for and didn't feel it was really worth it. If your kids like James Bond movies they might like it - we probably wouldn't go back. $$
Smithsonian Air & Space Museum - people rave about this but it was only okay for my kids. The best part was the AC because we were there during a heat wave. They didn't want to go to any other Smithsonians after that. FREE

Restaurants:
Hard Rock Cafe - right next to Ford's Theater - the kids loved it!
ESPN Zone - the boys were in heaven (I think DH was too) - all big sports enthusiasts, they loved the wall of TVs and the one at our booth! It's also like a Dave & Buster's with arcade games.
Capital City Brewing Co.- this was DH's choice but we all enjoyed it - in the old post office building.

We did all of this in 2 1/2 days (we like to keep busy) and it was great. If you want to tour the White House, call your Congressman's office now - we called too close to our dates to be able to get a tour. We didn't do the zoo since it was so hot (106 plus humidity!). There's so much to do and I just planned things in clusters based on their location. My boys are not into shopping, so we didn't do any. Hotels and food will be your main expenses - as you can see, most attractions are FREE - which is amazing!!!!!

Be prepared for security checks everywhere you go - TRAVEL LIGHT!! DS17 and I had to drink from our open water bottles at the Holocaust museum - ????