Washington DC bus or trolley tours - reviews?

[Claire&TheBoys]

We're planning a June trip to Washington DC. We'll have 6 days there and I want to dedicate most of one day to seeing all the monuments and memorials, specifically:

Lincoln Memorial
Jefferson Memorial
Vietnam Memorial
WWII Memorial
Washington Monument


I know to walk between them all would take a lot of time and be pretty hot in June. Is there a good bus tour or trolley tour that's a hop on/hop off that would make it easy to see them all in an afternoon? I thought about a night tour, but I know they go pretty late and I know my 9-yr-old would be exhausted by the end.

Looking for any recommendations and experiences with the tours in DC.

Thanks!

 

[ibob52]

 

[momtosam]

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[Judique]

We're planning a June trip to Washington DC. We'll have 6 days there and I want to dedicate most of one day to seeing all the monuments and memorials, specifically:

Lincoln Memorial
Jefferson Memorial
Vietnam Memorial
WWII Memorial
Washington Monument


I know to walk between them all would take a lot of time and be pretty hot in June. Is there a good bus tour or trolley tour that's a hop on/hop off that would make it easy to see them all in an afternoon? I thought about a night tour, but I know they go pretty late and I know my 9-yr-old would be exhausted by the end.

Looking for any recommendations and experiences with the tours in DC.

Thanks!

Your list is all relatively close together. I don't think that a trolley tour would be worth it. From the Washington Monument to the WWII is about 500 yards, and then to the Vietnam, about the same, and maybe 300 yards to the Lincoln, so less than a mile of walking, including time spent at the Monuments. there is a pedicab stand near Lincoln...might save you some steps! And you can walk faster than traffic on Constitution Ave some times of the day.

The Jefferson is sort of on the other side of the Tidal Basin and is one of my favorites for views and picture taking. It is maybe 3/4 mile or less from the Washington Monument. I love it at night but you should see it in the day first. The atmosphere is nice at night, but in daylight you will see more.

If you were doing Arlington and some other sites in addition a trolley might be nice. You would also get the trolley tour history talk. And it will be hot here in June...no doubt. Hot hot hot!

Enjoy your visit!

Do a google mapping of the area and you will see they are all lined up in a row. (Except Thomas Jefferson.)

 

[seasheller]

Years ago we did the trolley tour after our daughter jammed her ankle by sliding down a slide into the swimming pool. We would hop on even if we only had a few blocks to walk. We knew she was in pain even though she wouldn't admit to it. Hopping on and off of the trolley was easy for all of us and we loved doing it. We thought it was well worth the price for five of us.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

Your list is all relatively close together. I don't think that a trolley tour would be worth it. From the Washington Monument to the WWII is about 500 yards, and then to the Vietnam, about the same, and maybe 300 yards to the Lincoln, so less than a mile of walking, including time spent at the Monuments. there is a pedicab stand near Lincoln...might save you some steps! And you can walk faster than traffic on Constitution Ave some times of the day.

The Jefferson is sort of on the other side of the Tidal Basin and is one of my favorites for views and picture taking. It is maybe 3/4 mile or less from the Washington Monument. I love it at night but you should see it in the day first. The atmosphere is nice at night, but in daylight you will see more.

If you were doing Arlington and some other sites in addition a trolley might be nice. You would also get the trolley tour history talk. And it will be hot here in June...no doubt. Hot hot hot!

Enjoy your visit!

Do a google mapping of the area and you will see they are all lined up in a row. (Except Thomas Jefferson.)

Thanks! I knew they were in the same area, but estimating actual distance is not something I'm good at, so thanks for putting it in terms I can relate to. So would it be best to start at the Lincoln and Vietnam Memorials (I know they're close together) and walk to the WWII memorial, then the Washington Monument (I want to get advance tickets for that), then the long walk to the Jefferson? No boats or anything across the Tidal Basin?

 

[kaytieeldr]

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You don't need to do this. Directly above the first post, you can click on watch thread. Voila! You're subscribed.

 

[JaxDad]

I agree that the monuments you listed are relatively close to each other and definitely walkable. You may want to look into using public transportation too, at least to get to the Mall area and maybe to get over to the Jefferson. It is generally very convenient to use the Metro train and bus system to get all around the DC area. If you avoid peak commuting hours, the train would be a fun way to travel for your 9-year old, and you can get very close to many of the sites (Mall, National Zoo, etc).

http://www.wmata.com/index.cfm

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

I agree that the monuments you listed are relatively close to each other and definitely walkable. You may want to look into using public transportation too, at least to get to the Mall area and maybe to get over to the Jefferson. It is generally very convenient to use the Metro train and bus system to get all around the DC area. If you avoid peak commuting hours, the train would be a fun way to travel for your 9-year old, and you can get very close to many of the sites (Mall, National Zoo, etc).

http://www.wmata.com/index.cfm

Oh, definitely, that's a given. We are staying just outside the Beltway in VA at a relative's house. We plan to extensively use VRE (station is less than 1/2 mile from their house) to get to L'Enfant or Union Station, then get on Metro to access all the downtown sites. I just wasn't sure about the easiest way to see all the monuments. My tentative plan is to spend a good part of one day at the Air & Space Museum on the Mall, then do the monuments late in the afternoon.

 

[JaxDad]

I love the Air and Space Museum! I think walking may be your best and perhaps only option. You probably should go from the museum to the Washington Monument first, then after that little break on to the WWII, Vietnam, and Lincoln Memorials. You may want to add the Korean War Memorial at this point too. From there, you will walk around to the Jefferson. It is a long, but doable walk. From Jefferson, maybe you can consider a taxi to a metro stop, if you're tired. There is also something called Capitall Bikeshare that provides rental bikes at various locations. I've never used it, but it seems like a neat idea.

 

[disneyeveryyear]

I also recommend the Korean War Memorial. I don't know why, but it was the most impactful for me. I honestly felt the emotion in that monument, more so than the others.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

I'm a local and I've never had a need to hop on and off the buses. Unless you cannot walk like one poster above, walking is preferable to me. It is an enjoyable walk and you can really see what is between each site and get the feel of being downtown. Just like at WDW you don't want to go from one end to the other. Plan your touring in a logical sequence. The MLK, WWII, Monument, Vietnam are near each other. The Air & Space, Capital etc are at the other end. Get a map and plan accordingly. Note: you can take bottled water into museums. No open drinks or food. Pack a picnic and eat outside. Most importantly just like rope drop, get there early. Beat the tourists!

 

[Ali]

I was there last year for the 4th of July week and we didn't use any of the Trolley tours but I watched them closely because I thought about doing it. The Bid Red Bus tour was better in my opinion because people actually were able to get on and off. Old Town Trolley tour buses were always full and people standing and waiting to get on weren't able to get on. we were with a school group that rented out a whole Old Town Trolley monuments by night bus and that was an awesome tour. I suggest that one. if you are going to do the Water duck tour sign up early.

The last time I was in DC was in 1996 and I used Old Town Trolley exclusively. it was awesome.

 

[momtosam]

You don't need to do this. Directly above the first post, you can click on watch thread. Voila! You're subscribed.

Thank you -- I do know that. I was also bumping the thread at the same time ;-)

 

[sharona]

We really enjoyed the Monuments at Night tour - it is a set tour not a hoho so no worries about not being able to get back on due to crowds. The kids loved it after a long and busy day on our feet at the museums (DD was 11 and my nephew was 12 at the time). It left outside of Union Station. There wasn't a ton of time at each monument but it was enough to get a decent look around and it was a nice overview of downtown DC. We went to the Lincoln, FDR/MLK/across from Jefferson, Korean, Marines/WWII and a stop outside of the Capitol Building just before dark. Not sure if they usually stop at Washington Monument because it was closed for repairs when we were there... If you go, check for a Groupon or ask at your hotel about discount coupons and try to sit on the right hand side of the trolley bus - you keep the same seat for the entire tour even though you are continually getting in and out.

Here are a few pics from the tour:

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

Great pictures! Thanks for sharing! Do you remember which company you used? I've thought of doing the night tour maybe our first night, just to get an overview of the sights.

 

[sharona]

http://www.trolleytours.com/washington-dc/night-tours.asp

We used this one. There may be others.

 

[Tink's Pixieduster]

I think everyone has given good advice on walking to the places you want to see. Since you will be visiting over several days, one place I suggest you consider adding to your itinerary is the Bureau of Engraving and Printing where paper money is printed. It's about one block from the Jefferson Memorial and several free tours are given daily. http://www.moneyfactory.gov/tours/washingtondctours.html

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

I think everyone has given good advice on walking to the places you want to see. Since you will be visiting over several days, one place I suggest you consider adding to your itinerary is the Bureau of Engraving and Printing where paper money is printed. It's about one block from the Jefferson Memorial and several free tours are given daily. http://www.moneyfactory.gov/tours/washingtondctours.html

That is already on my list, for sure. I went on my only trip to DC and still remember it, so definitely want my kids to see it too. I've ordered tickets from our Senator.

My (fairly ambitious) list looks something like this. The actual days are subject to when/if we get tickets to the Bureau of Printing & Engraving, Capitol and The White House from our Senator. Still waiting to hear on that - I submitted my request 2 or 3 weeks ago.

Day 1: Smithsonians: American History and Natural History (1/2 day each)
Day 2: Air & Space Museum on the Mall and tour of monuments
Day 3: Capitol, Supreme Court (just from the outside), Library of Congress, Bureau of Printing & Engraving (all these seem to be in the same area)
Day 4: White House, Ford's Theatre, Spy Museum, National Archives (all these seem to be in the same area)
Day 5: Arlington Cemetary and the Udvar-Hazy Air & Space Center (we plan to drive to both)
Day 6: possibly Mount Vernon, or anything we missed earlier in the week

Any of you DC experts, please let me know if anything looks too ambitious! I figure all these Disney trips are going to pay off in that the kids are used to doing a lot of walking on vacation!

 

[Ali]

Do the Archives first, it always had a wraparound the building line when we were there so we didn't get in.