Washington DC bus or trolley tours - reviews?

[sharona]

Not sure if you'll have the time but we really enjoyed the zoo.

 

[Dee77]

I started a thread a week or two ago about places to stay in DC and then I started to research tours that my Mom, Aunt and Uncle can do while they are there. Thanks for all the great, informative answers in this thread, it has been a tremendous help!!

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

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

You can make an online reservation for the Archives (and the Washington Monument, also) for just a small service charge of $1.50 per person. Well worth the time saved!

You can get online tickets for Ford's Theater for a few dollars, also.

As soon as I have tour dates from my Senator, I'll make reservations.

 

[clori]

I did a DC evening monument tour with a 6, 10, and 12 year old as well as parents in their 80s. We used a trolley company that had a trolley just for the tour (so always the same trolley, driver, etc). We met at the Old Post Office Pavilion but they would have picked us up at the hotel. The driver was hysterical and the kids were laughing non stop. At the end of the tour the trolley drove us back to our hotel in Alexandria for no additional charge. The drive back made it the best trolley company for us to use since it didn't matter if anyone fell asleep by then etc. I can't remember the company name though royal tours sounds familiar.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

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!

When you say White House do you mean tour the inside or just the outside? If you are touring the inside it will take a while with security and may not be the best day to do the Spy Museum as that is one with a fee. I'd do a free museum that day. If your kids are young they may really enjoy the national zoo and remove some day 3 items.
The tour of the Capital is not so quick either. Security is very tight and no food or water or even an empty bottle is allowed.

 

[jwwi]

We enjoyed seeing all the presidents portraits at the Portrait Gallery. The Newseum is great too, but there is an extra charge. My DH and I loved the night tour. Although on our last trip we did not have time for the full tour. We ended up taking a taxi, four adults, to the Korean Memorial, walked to Lincoln, then Vietnam. Ended up continuing down to the WWII, which is beautiful at night. Took a taxi back to our hotel. It was a great way to end the night. Washington DC is beautiful at night!

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

When you say White House do you mean tour the inside or just the outside? If you are touring the inside it will take a while with security and may not be the best day to do the Spy Museum as that is one with a fee. I'd do a free museum that day. If your kids are young they may really enjoy the national zoo and remove some day 3 items.
The tour of the Capital is not so quick either. Security is very tight and no food or water or even an empty bottle is allowed.

I've requested the tour from our Senator, so hopefully the inside tour. I'll keep in mind that we might need to move the Spy Museum to another day, depending on how long it takes. My kids will be 9 and 13 on the trip. The zoo is a possibility, but we'll just wait and see. We've been to lots of zoos and have seen pandas at ZooAtlanta, so not a huge draw for us, and it seems pretty far out of the way compared to all the downtown sights.

I keep hearing about how pretty all the monuments are at night, so maybe we'll make time for a night tour, even if we explore them during the day.

 

[luvlabor]

We are from DC and so my kids loved going to the museums........but the one thing that they always talk about having a blast on was the DC Ducks tour.......not sure if it's still around, we did it about 4 years ago. But lots of fun for kids of all ages. It goes on land and water. Just an idea

 

[sharona]

Just a tip for the WH tour if you get it- no bags or cameras of any kind allowed but your can bring your phones and you should because when you exit through the front doors you are allowed to take pics with your phone once you are outside the columns so you can get pics of yourselves in front of the WH.

 

[Ali]

Just a tip for the WH tour if you get it- no bags or cameras of any kind allowed but your can bring your phones and you should because when you exit through the front doors you are allowed to take pics with your phone once you are outside the columns so you can get pics of yourselves in front of the WH.

If you are looking for a place to store your traveling "park bag" or backpack go to the hotels close by like the Willard and ask bell services to store it for you. Tip them well when you pick up.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

I've requested the tour from our Senator, so hopefully the inside tour. I'll keep in mind that we might need to move the Spy Museum to another day, depending on how long it takes. My kids will be 9 and 13 on the trip. The zoo is a possibility, but we'll just wait and see. We've been to lots of zoos and have seen pandas at ZooAtlanta, so not a huge draw for us, and it seems pretty far out of the way compared to all the downtown sights.

I keep hearing about how pretty all the monuments are at night, so maybe we'll make time for a night tour, even if we explore them during the day.

I can't remember if you planned in the Washington Monument but you can get timed tickets online. Look now. I highly recommend doing this. The monuments at night sound beautiful. Have an awesome trip.

 

[Eureka]

The Spy museum and the Archives could each take longer, esp. the Spy Museum. I don't see how you'd have time to really see as much as you'd want in either one with the White House tour on the same day. That said, we went to the Archives a couple years ago for my birthday (we're local but had never been) and the kids (10 and 12 at the time) were not too impressed.

 

[sharona]

The WH tour itself doesn't take all that long. We had a 10am tour confirmation and were told to arrive by 9:45 which we did. I just checked the photos on my phone that we took just outside the WH after the tour and they were taken starting at 10:40am so we were in there less than an hour. It's a self guided tour and you can take as much or as little time as you want of course. The kids were more fascinated by the secret service agents (who act as docents) than they were with the WH itself. We adults really enjoyed the tour immensely.

I should point out that the thing that may have made a difference in our timing is that we didn't have to line up to get in. My SIL had a contact who had someone from the WH staff come out and escort us to the security check. After she dropped us with security, we were on our own for the self guided tour just like everyone else. I'm not sure how much waiting time this may have saved us as I don't know if that's the typical process for getting in.

 

[seb65]

This thread is interesting to me as we are hoping to go this summer. There seems to be much more to see than I thought! How do you ask for tickets from the senators?

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

This thread is interesting to me as we are hoping to go this summer. There seems to be much more to see than I thought! How do you ask for tickets from the senators?

I googled the name of the senator that I wanted to ask, and there was a form on his website. You can also ask your representative, but ours is newly-elected and a friend who used to work for the previous rep said that it might be better to go through a long-serving senator because as "new kid on the block" the new rep's staff might not know the ins and outs of getting the tours arranged.

 

[hsmamato2]

cool I asked for some tours also, wonder if we will get them....

 

[fabulousfive]

Glad I found this thread! We plan to do the Monuments by Moonlight Tour too but was wondering how to safely return back to our hotel by the White House (The Sofitel) after the tour drops us off at the Union Station. Thanks!

 

[Judique]

Glad I found this thread! We plan to do the Monuments by Moonlight Tour too but was wondering how to safely return back to our hotel by the White House (The Sofitel) after the tour drops us off at the Union Station. Thanks!

Taxi.

 

[fabulousfive]

Taxi.

Thanks! Is that a place where taxis would normally be already?

 

[Judique]

Thanks! Is that a place where taxis would normally be already?

Taxis are normally lined up out front.