Washington Dc on a budget ?

[Andrea]

Does anyone know of a board like this for washington or any advice to sites that i can go look at all the things to do in Washington ? I know there is a ton of things to do there but i am not sure what.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Do a search of this board; this topic has been discussed a number of times. Also try travel web sites such as tripadvisor.com or use Google. There are also many travel books available; try your library if you don't want to buy one.

 

[Flight]

Well, most of the museums are free!

Top list of things we like to do in Washington D.C.:

These are the Smithsonian Museums -
Air and Space Museum (on the Mall)
Portrait Gallery
Museum of American History
Natural History

Try this web site - www.si.edu/Museums


Lincoln Memorial
Arlington National Cemetery
Air Force Memorial
Iwo Jima Memorial (Marine Corp Memorial)


This is just a beginning list and all are free.

 

[kimmyann]

To add to the above, we have stayed in Alexandria & Fairfax because hotels are cheaper & many don't charge for parking. You can just use the metro to get to D.C. http://www.wmata.com/

 

[brymolmom]

Just a heads-up that Washington ended up a bunch more expensive than I had anticipated. You hear so much about the museums being free, etc. but other things add up fast. I'm sure it CAN be done very budget - but we only had 2 and 1/2 days so if we wanted to do a lot - we ended up spending some money.

#1 - The 'convenient' places to eat on the Mall are pricey. Now, there are lots of good and less expensive options but if you have kids, after walking miles and miles the thought of walking a couple more miles to get somewhere else to eat was not appealing, so we sucked it up and paid at the convenient places.
#2 - I usually bring a lot of snacks and water (and sometimes sandwiches) in our backpack. But if you do a Capitol tour (and I believe White House too but not positive) - you cannot bring ANY food or water in with you - even if it is unopened. SO on one of our big touring days I only brought one little bottle of water since I knew we'd have to throw everything out when we got to our tour anyway.
#3 - Yes, the museums are free to enter, but many things inside are not. The shows and IMAX that they have are very cool and HUGELY advertised in and around the museum so naturally kids especially are going to want to go into those theaters. And they are NOT CHEAP! Don't get me wrong - we enjoyed them and I chose to spend the money - but I didn't anticipate so many pricey things adding up.
#4 - We had intended to get the all day Metro pass since we stayed right on a Metro stop, however, they don't let you start using that day pass during 'peak' times - so when we got there bright and early at about 8 or so on our first day - it wasn't worth waiting an hour or so to go later and take advantage of the day pass....So the Metro passes did end up being more expensive than anticipated.
#5 - We did go to the zoo - it was walking distance from our hotel and honestly it was the MOST FREE thing we did the whole time. Had a great time, brought in our rolling cooler and just sat down in the shade to eat our lunch.
#6 - Because there was so much walking and the kids were exhausted - we ended up paying for a Monuments By Moonlight tour. Yes again we chose to do this - but we saw about 3 times as many things as we would have if we hadn't done this - ended up worth it.

We stayed at Mariott Wardman Park - got $109 (for weekend) per night and that included parking and kids eat free. Metro right outside and walking distance to zoo. I loved the location.

Enjoy!

 

[stitchfan18]

DH and I visited my parents in DC for about a week between Christmas and New Years and had lots of fun on a budget! Food was about the biggest budget buster for us, but really wasn't too bad for just the two of us. We would hit the mall museums first thing then be to other attractions off the heavy tourist path before we would eat. We found several little hole in the wall places that were great! Most of the museums and attractions are free, but some require reservations in advance, or you have to get tickets the day of for a time later that day (the capital and fords theater are the only ones I can remember off the top of my head, but I know the holocaust museum requires a reservation during peak times.) Just a small word of warning on the capital tour, they make people throw out and food or drinks, but also water bottles, even if they are empty. Make sure you don't have a reusable bottle with you on that day if you choose to do that. We didn't rent a car since we were staying with my parents, but I think taking the metro is cheaper and more convenient than having a car anyway. We drove downtown one night for dinner and had to pay a ridiculous amount to park no where close to where we ate.

 

[memakwed]

try to look up 100 things to do in DC. I believe that's what I use when we make our annual trip.

The national theatre has kids programs on Saturdays or old themed movie nights. Tickets are generally free but you have to line up 1/2 ahead of time. The mall is pretty free. Last I new the washington monument was closed due to the earthquake last year but we were there last in April so things might be different. The aero space museum at the airport is free as well. That is not in DC directly but not far and free. There is even a Mc Donald's there to stop for lunch. My DS7 enjoys Ford's theatre. I believe tickets are free first come first serve or you can reserve for a nominal fee ahead of time with your credit card or debit card. WE have never done Madame Tsuad's becuase it seems pricey but it is close to Ford's theatre. Also hard rock cafe is down the street from Ford's theatre so a good place for lunch as well. We find food and parking to be where are costs add up. In a parking garage it is roughly $20 a day for parking but when we spend the day doing all sorts of free stuff we find it worth it. The street are metered parking so that can be a pain to have to keep going back and forth. However, they have started switching them over to the computer kind that I think can take a credit card but again we do the garages so I don't know much about this. Contact your local representative to try to get tickets to the white house or a tour of congress with your congressman etc. There is the lincoln memorial, Jefferson memorial, the new MLK memorial. By the Jefferson memorial there are even p-addle boats on the river basin that aren't expensive. Lots to do for free if you look for adults and kids or for small amounts. I have heard there is a good ethopian restaurant there as well that we have not tried yet but maybe next trip. If you need any ideas please feel frr to message me. We've been alot over the last 5 years so I will gladly give you any info you might need.

Also try NPS.org ( national park service) to cover some monuments and ranger guided tours.

 

[SamWayne]

Does anyone know of a board like this for washington or any advice to sites that i can go look at all the things to do in Washington ? I know there is a ton of things to do there but i am not sure what.

The National Mall: dcjourney.com =>outdoors section, definitely a place to visit in Washington DC. Almost all museums/memorials in the national mall area are Free

 

[100AcreWood]

I've been following this thread and I'm curious - when is the best time to go to DC? It's definitely on our "short list" but I was thinking Spring Break or possibly summer?

 

[lovemygoofy]

I've been following this thread and I'm curious - when is the best time to go to DC? It's definitely on our "short list" but I was thinking Spring Break or possibly summer?

Unless you have another choice, I would NOT NOT go to DC during Spring Break. Every 7th and 8th grader in America is in DC starting late March through first half of June. There are lines upon lines to get into the museums let alone the exhibits. A sea of colored tshirts as far as the eye can see gather on the mall and in the malls.

If you have any kind of fall break, I think that is a great time personally. It's gorgeous in the fall and not so nasty hot or humid and less crowds.

If you do summer, I would go late July to early August. Kids don't go back to school until September in DC so it will still be crowded.


For anyone going to DC a great guide book is the Dummies Guide to DC. It breaks down the different sites and the metro and the seasons to make it as easy to navigate as possible without overloading the details.

Also don't forget to sign up for groupon or living social. They usually have some good deals on sightseeing things in the city and surrounding areas.

People can also purchase timed tickets to get into some places instead of standing in line to get a ticket to stand in line. I think the 2 bucks or whatever it costs is well worth it when traveling during summer or crowded seasons.

 

[MasterShake2]

We love DC and have visited 5 times in the past 10 years. DC is a great budget vacation because most of the museums are free. Must sees are Natural Science Museum, Air and Space, and American History Museum. These are all within walking distance from one another and near the Washington monument and the Lincoln Memorial. The National Zoo is a top 10 zoo in the country and free as well. If you enjoy zoo's it can easily take a whole day to tour. Just some other interesting stops you can go to for free I think are; Archives, Postal Museum (cooler than you would think), White House (need to make arrangements online well in advance), Capital Building and various memorials. Some thing that cost a little money worth doing are Ford Theater (Lincoln assignation) and walking/duck boat tours. We did a great haunted walk that ended at a famous haunted house (The Octagon House) in DC. A lot of fun!

As far as budgets we have used price line negotiator to get downtown hotel rooms for $50 - $75 a night. If you go this route make sure you select a part of town you want to stay in and realize you can't choose hotels with specific amenities. (Sometime we end up with no pool) Make sure you select at least 4 stars to ensure nice hotel. If you do this keep in mind most hotels in Downtown DC will charge for parking. With parking you end up paying about the same as a 3 star hotel with a little longer travel commute to attractions.

Use DC metro to get around it's one of the best in the country. Very clean, safe and reasonably priced. Don't drive in DC, it's a labyrinth of one way streets and is not laid out in a grid pattern.

Food is very expensive at the mall and expect this to be your main expense in DC. If you avoid eating at the museums or on the mall you help reduce costs. Check trip advisor for a list of restaurants with ratings. We ate at a BBQ place called Red, White and Blue. It's a small chain, but has really good food at a reasonable price.

Have Fun!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Must sees are Natural Science Museum

We ate at a BBQ place called Red, White and Blue. It's a small chain, but has really good food at a reasonable price.

Have Fun!

It's actually called Red, Hot and Blue.

I do not know what you mean by the Natural Science Museum, as no such museum exists in DC. Did you mean the Natural History Museum?

I would not recommend visiting DC in the spring or summer, if you can avoid it. Super crowded and miserably hot. Early winter (after Christmas) is a good time.

 

[MasterShake2]

It's actually called Red, Hot and Blue.

I do not know what you mean by the Natural Science Museum, as no such museum exists in DC. Did you mean the Natural History Museum?

I would not recommend visiting DC in the spring or summer, if you can avoid it. Super crowded and miserably hot. Early winter (after Christmas) is a good time.

Ouch, it's a good thing you were here to put me in my place.

Not sure what you mean by Natural History Museum, no such museum exists in DC. Did you mean the "Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History"?

 

[stitchfan18]

I've been following this thread and I'm curious - when is the best time to go to DC? It's definitely on our "short list" but I was thinking Spring Break or possibly summer?

We went the week between Christmas and New Years and that seemed like the perfect time to go. The crowds weren't bad and it wasn't too cold to walk around to see the sites. Lots of Christmas decorations were still up, so that was an added bonus. The national Christmas tree was kind of a letdown this year. After seeing Disney Christmas trees I expected the national tree to be a huge one like those. It was puny in comparison, but still fun to see!

 

[Trixiezzz]

We just got back from a fast-paced trip that started in DC and ended in New York City.

We stayed at the Springhill Suites Tech Center in Alexandria VA and only paid $94/nt in late May (with AAA rate) & that included free hot breakfast, free parking, free wifi and free shuttle to the Eisenhower Station metro.

It was a nice new smaller hotel and we were VERY pleased!

There are not many eating places close by, but with the Metro so handy, we would go into DC and then stop at King St to eat dinner. It's only 1 subway stop away and the subway runs till midnight or so. Also, at Kings Street, there's a free trolley that meets you at the Metro station and then will take you all the way to the riverfront -- and there are plenty of restaurants all along the way. You just signal the driver and he'll stop and let you off when you see someplace you want to try.

 

[PaulaSue]

Ugg, Im still looking for a hotel for 5 (queens) near downtown, breakfast and indoor pool ... Guess I wont be going when its cheaper for us to stay at Disney a week than Dc for 3 nights.

 

[jessp1021]

http://www.bethesdacourtwashdc.com/ This is an awesome place to stay, a 10min walk to the Metro and a 10 min ride in to Smithsonian and monuments! We went in March and I would LOVE to go back again..our 4yr old says it was the funnest trip ever

Also if you install some sort of navigation on your phone it can make finding food a breeze, IMO that was the only difficult part of the trip bc we had no clue where to look!

 

[crisi]

Food does get pricey fast, especially if you eat in or near the Smithsonian. If you do that, its probably worth it to get a membership to the Smithsonian for the discount. And, as someone said, after walking, walking walking, most people don't go three blocks out of their way and back to get to a Subway or McDonalds.

Likewise, you'll pay for either transportation or convenience - either way you'll walk a LOT. Staying near the Mall will mean you can walk most places - but you'll spend more per night on your hotel room. Staying out will mean you take the Metro in and have those fees. If you are counting dollars, do your math - and do keep in mind that the Metro Passes that are cheaper aren't going to get you anywhere during rush hour - so you'll be arriving a little later to the museums (which is probably fine, it isn't Disney World).

Watch the museum hours. When we were there, there was at least one popular museum that had extended hours into the evenings each day.

If you want to see the Holocaust Museum or Ford's Theatre, get tickets in advance (both through their website). Get tickets to the Bureau of Engraving through your Representative. There is a small charge for advanced tickets for the first two - but its a very small processing fee.