Washington, DC Trip Help Needed - How Many Days/Nights?

[Wendy31]

Happy New Year!!

We've been planning a spring Washington, DC trip for our DD's senior year (which is this year), & our DD, a history buff, is very excited.

We were initially planning a one-week trip (7 nights, 8 days) in April of this year (2018). However, we now also have an out-of-town wedding in mid-May & then a beach trip at the end of June. So, now, in order to put more time between the Washington trip & the wedding trip, we're thinking March.

And all this means additional time off from work for DH & additional money as well.

So, realistically, how much time does a family need to effectively tour Washington, DC?

We know we want to see the Lincoln & Jefferson Memorials, the Vietnam War Memorial, the Capitol, Arlington, Ford's Theatre, & the Smithsonians.

And then there are additional sites in which we're interested as well: the National Air & Space Museum (this would be a MUST for both DH & DD), the WW2 Memorial, the National Archives, the Library of Congress, and Mount Vernon, and maybe the Newseum as well.

I think the Holocaust Museum is extremely important as well; however, due to how sensitive both our DD & younger DS are, I'm still iffy on this one.

And I'm sure there are other things I've forgotten!

So, would a 5-day trip be doable? We'd be driving, so that would mean, really, just having 3 days to tour. I'm thinking we may need at least 4 days to tour.

Thank you for any advice & suggestions!

Also - I'd love any suggestions on the best places to stay & where to eat!

Thanks!!

 

[Christine]

Some of the memorials you can group together and do relatively quickly: Lincoln, Jefferson, Vietnam. You can walk through relatively quickly as compared to the museums. The other things will take some time. You can maybe do two of things in one day such as the Capitol, and Arlington. The Newseum took me about 2-3 hours but I had one bored teen with an attitude so we did rush through some things. The Air & Space Museum will be one day because of its distance from DC. Or you could do Mount Vernon and Arlington in one day.

To do everything you are mentioning, I think you will need 5 days of touring. If possible, you should also try for the African American Museum. I haven't been yet but EVERYONE who goes raves about it. Unfortunately, it's very hard to get tickets but you can check online every morning and they release some. That takes a LONG time to go through also.

Or you could just go for 3 days and pick your top things and realize you won't do it all (kind of like Disney).

Since I live in the area, I don't use the hotels so I'm probably not the best person to recommend them, but I'm sure many others will chime in. It depends a lot on what your budget is and how much you want to use the Metro.

 

[Wendy31]

Some of the memorials you can group together and do relatively quickly: Lincoln, Jefferson, Vietnam. You can walk through relatively quickly as compared to the museums. The other things will take some time. You can maybe do two of things in one day such as the Capitol, and Arlington. The Newseum took me about 2-3 hours but I had one bored teen with an attitude so we did rush through some things. The Air & Space Museum will be one day because of it's distance from DC. Or you could do Mount Vernon and Arlington in one day.

To do everything you are mentioning, I think you will need 5 days of touring. If possible, you should also try for the African American Museum. I haven't been yet but EVERYONE who goes raves about it. Unfortunately, it's very hard to get tickets but you can check online every morning and they release some. That takes a LONG time to go through also.

Or you could just go for 3 days and pick your top things and realize you won't do it all (kind of like Disney).

Since I live in the area, I don't use the hotels so I'm probably not the best person to recommend them, but I'm sure many others will chime in. It depends a lot on what your budget is and how much you want to use the Metro.

Thank you for your reply!

That's kinda what I've been thinking as well... we're going to have to make some cuts. I've already cut out a side-trip to Williamsburg & trip to Virginia Beach.

DH & DD both LOVE anything that has to do w/ space. But, we visited Kennedy Space Center in September & Huntsville Space Museum in October, so I'm almost thinking we could cut out the Air & Space Museum.

I haven't visited Washington, DC since a 6th grade school trip, & DH has never been. But I do remember seeing the Lincoln, Jefferson, & Washington Memorials/Monument on the same day, & we may have toured the Capitol that same day as well. I think we had one day for the Smithsonians, & we had one day for Mount Vernon, Robert E. Lee's house, & Arlington, if I'm remembering correctly.

But we didn't see Ford's Theatre or any of the other museums. I do remember the Vietnam War Memorial though.

We will have our dog w/ us which complicates our lodging. (He gets separation anxiety - & gets sick - if we leave him. He's absolutely fine being being left alone in his crate for a few hours wherever we're staying - but he can't handle being left somewhere over night w/o us.)

 

[lorimay]

You have to try Birch and Barley, best chicken and waffles!
Also, give Founding Farmers a try for breakfast or dinner, delish!

 

[Wendy31]

You have to try Birch and Barley, best chicken and waffles!
Also, give Founding Farmers a try for breakfast or dinner, delish!

Ooh! Thank you!! Chicken & Waffles is one of my favorites!

And Founding Farmers sounds interesting too! We are huge fans of "farm to table"!

 

[BrinkofSunshine]

The Air & Space Museum will be one day because of its distance from DC.

The National Air and Space Museum is in the heart of DC on the National Mall.

 

[Christine]

The National Air and Space Museum is in the heart of DC on the National Mall.

But *the* best one is the Udvar Hazy Air and Space Museum out near Dulles Airport. I may have wrongly assumed she meant that one as that is where most people go.

 

[Wendy31]

But *the* best one is the Udvar Hazy Air and Space Museum out near Dulles Airport. I may have wrongly assumed she meant that one as that is where most people go.

Yes, that's the one because it houses the Space Shuttle Discovery, I believe. Kennedy Space Center has Atlantis - the whole set up before you actually go into the area where the shuttle is displayed was awesome & actually made DD teary. We were excited to see Discovery.

I'm assuming Udvar Hazy is a lot like Kennedy & would take basically a whole day to tour.

But the Space Museum at the Mall might be a good compromise.

 

[mnrose]

We spent a week there last Spring Break. It was barely enough. Seriously. The museums alone are worth the week's investment, not to mention all the memorials, National Cathedral, etc. I would definitely do the Newseum. One of the BEST to me (despite the admission charge). And, do make time for the Holocaust museum. If your younger kids want to skip it, might it be possible to split your group up? I thought it was amazing, and, of course, difficult, but so important to never forget. Ford's Theatre, to me, was just "eh." I liked the tour of the Capital Building (arranged through our Senator's office), but you need to jump on that pretty quickly as they get booked out quickly at that time of year. Same with the Holocaust Museum. The National Archives was a geek fest for my history loving daughter....so definitely try for that. Get the docent led tour, if possible, as it allows you to bypass some of the lines.

We rented an Airbnb in the heart of the City (PennSquare neighborhood), and found it very convenient. We walked to all Museums, and the Capitol, and ubered to the monuments. Parking is crazy expensive in DC, and taking the Uber was by far the cheapest option. Public transport is also quick and easy.

 

[Erin1700]

My DD16 spent a week in DC for a National Security conference and we spent time there touring. We also returned a few months later to hit things we missed.
I think you need more than 3 days to do all of that.
Please feel free to message me for info on our trip. My DS is 10 and sensitive too!

 

[wvjules]

Pick a museum or 2 to do in the morning/early afternoon. Save the monuments for evening as they do not have “hours”. You can probably do 4 Smithsonian museums on the Mall and see all of the monuments in 2 days. Take another 2days to go to Arlington cemetery, udvar hazy air and space museum, the pentagon memorial, newseum, and fords theater.

Eat at Old Ebbitt Grill.

I love Founding Farmers for dinner but am not a fan of breakfast. Of course I’ve only had breakfast once but dinner multiple time. (We live right across from a FF unfortunately lol)

 

[Christine]

Pick a museum or 2 to do in the morning/early afternoon. Save the monuments for evening as they do not have “hours”. You can probably do 4 Smithsonian museums on the Mall and see all of the monuments in 2 days. Take another 2days to go to Arlington cemetery, udvar hazy air and space museum, the pentagon memorial, newseum, and fords theater.

Eat at Old Ebbitt Grill.

I love Founding Farmers for dinner but am not a fan of breakfast. Of course I’ve only had breakfast once but dinner multiple time. (We live right across from a FF unfortunately lol)

I was thinking about hitting the Founding Farmers at Tyson's for breakfast. They have a buffet that sounds great. Did you go to that one or is the regular menu service breakfast you don't care for?

 

[CynBeth]

Just to give an FYI you might not want to go in March as we are supposed to have a bad winter this year. Also, I would recommend the zoo. You pay for parking but there is no admission.

 

[Wendy31]

We spent a week there last Spring Break. It was barely enough. Seriously. The museums alone are worth the week's investment, not to mention all the memorials, National Cathedral, etc. I would definitely do the Newseum. One of the BEST to me (despite the admission charge). And, do make time for the Holocaust museum. If your younger kids want to skip it, might it be possible to split your group up? I thought it was amazing, and, of course, difficult, but so important to never forget. Ford's Theatre, to me, was just "eh." I liked the tour of the Capital Building (arranged through our Senator's office), but you need to jump on that pretty quickly as they get booked out quickly at that time of year. Same with the Holocaust Museum. The National Archives was a geek fest for my history loving daughter....so definitely try for that. Get the docent led tour, if possible, as it allows you to bypass some of the lines.

We rented an Airbnb in the heart of the City (PennSquare neighborhood), and found it very convenient. We walked to all Museums, and the Capitol, and ubered to the monuments. Parking is crazy expensive in DC, and taking the Uber was by far the cheapest option. Public transport is also quick and easy.

Thank you for all the suggestions! I've been looking at some available Airbnb - but it's so hard to determine exactly where they're located. It seems maybe either they're located within walking distance to the Capitol or within walking distance to many of the museums - but I'm probably not reading/understanding the information correctly.

I found one that was within walking distance to the Capitol, but, in the reviews, a couple of different reviewers commented on the "sketchy" area. I also found a couple that were in "garden" neighborhoods (I can't remember the specific neighborhoods now), but it seemed that they're not as close in to everything.

And I agree! We need to finalize our date, so I can contact our senator's office about a Capitol tour.

I had forgotten the National Cathedral - that's another one on my list.

My DD16 spent a week in DC for a National Security conference and we spent time there touring. We also returned a few months later to hit things we missed.
I think you need more than 3 days to do all of that.
Please feel free to message me for info on our trip. My DS is 10 and sensitive too!

Did your family tour the Holocaust Museum?

Pick a museum or 2 to do in the morning/early afternoon. Save the monuments for evening as they do not have “hours”. You can probably do 4 Smithsonian museums on the Mall and see all of the monuments in 2 days. Take another 2days to go to Arlington cemetery, udvar hazy air and space museum, the pentagon memorial, newseum, and fords theater.

Eat at Old Ebbitt Grill.

I love Founding Farmers for dinner but am not a fan of breakfast. Of course I’ve only had breakfast once but dinner multiple time. (We live right across from a FF unfortunately lol)

Thank you! Great advice! I like that schedule! And I'm sure the Memorials are lovely at night too!

Just to give an FYI you might not want to go in March as we are supposed to have a bad winter this year. Also, I would recommend the zoo. You pay for parking but there is no admission.

Well, bummer.... and I'm sooo not a fan of winter weather. Originally, we were planning an April trip, but now we have a mid-May wedding for which we are traveling as well. (The wedding is in a tourist destination, so we're planning "extra" days to sightsee there as well.)

Right now, I'm thinking either the 3rd or 4th week of March for Washington.

And, again, THANK YOU, all, for the replies!! This is all very helpful!

What I'm seeing is, w/ everything that we want to do, we really need at least 4 days, & we'll have to pick & choose out of our museum list. But, w/ 4 days, we should be able to see the Capitol, the Jefferson & Lincoln Memorials, the Vietnam War Memorial, the Smithsonians, Arlington, & maybe 3-4 other museums (w/ one of those possibly being the Advar Hazy).

Or maybe something like this -

One day for the Capitol & a Museum & then the Lincoln & Jefferson Memorials & Vietnam War Memorials that evening
One day for the Smithsonians
One day for Arlington & Mount Vernon
One day for 2 other Museums

Do you think it would be possible to tour the Advar Hazy in either the morning or afternoon & fit in another museum for the other part of the day?

 

[AquamarineSteph]

I loved our trip to the greater DC area. We were there for three days/four nights, and it wasn't nearly enough time to do what we wanted to do.

My number one suggestion - however many days/nights you will be there - make your list of 'must see' items and take the time now to look the websites for each attraction and plan out what is located where + its operating hours and how to best access it. Then you can add the 'if we have time' items if you have more time to see something.

We had applied early and did the White House tour. I loved that one, but you may be too late if you're going in March of this year. I LOVED Ford's Theater and the Petersen house across the street. If you want the tour of Ford's Theater, again, check the schedule. Afternoons are sometimes not available because it is currently an active theater.

We loved walking through the National Mall (see the WWII Memorial), the Lincoln Memorial (check out the steps! you can stand where MLK Jr. did) and onto the many Smithsonian Museums. I'd also include the newest one, the National Museum of African American History & Culture (check if reservations are required.) We heard there were also some amazing after dark tours of the downtown DC area. We didn't do one, but the reviews we heard from other travelers were hugely popular.

We also loved Mount Vernon and were awed by Arlington.

Again, we're planning to return in a year or two. This is ground zero for much of US history. You will find yourself surrounded by so many cool things! Have a great trip!!!

 

[wgeo]

We went and stuffed in as much as we could - which meant non stop moving, and somehow our kids kept up the pace until one of them got sick. Arrived in DC after lunch - got settled and did the Air & Space on the mall because it's open until 7:00.

Next morning we did a White House Tour at 7:30AM and then the natural history Museum in the AM, had lunch, did our capitol tour - then got on the hop on/hop off bus (i would def skip this) and went to the Art museum and saw all of the monuments from the bus. I forget what we did that night.

Full day #2 we had tickets for the African American History museum (they open them up months in advance and open the entire month at once - I would look today for these tickets if you are going in March). Lunch then American History Museum in the afternoon - where DD got really sick so we headed back to the hotel. Son and I did the nighttime Monuments bus tour and loved it - very much worth it, great way to see the monuments. IIRC it was from like 6:30 - 10:30 - it was long.

Last day was a half day and we went and toured the Supreme Court when it opened and then went back to the American History museum since we'd missed so much the day before. Then had to leave.

We could have easily spent another day to see more museums, but for a short time frame we got a lot in.

 

[wvjules]

I was thinking about hitting the Founding Farmers at Tyson's for breakfast. They have a buffet that sounds great. Did you go to that one or is the regular menu service breakfast you don't care for?

I went to the one in MoCo. No buffet. DBF got really good waffles. I wasn’t fond of my biscuits and gravy. I will try them again but so far dinner is the real winner at FF for me.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

It you can't get a White House tour, there is a visitor center about a block away that is very interesting.

We have enjoyed both Air and Space Museums, the one on the mall and the one out by Dulles.

I give another vote for Old Ebbitt Grill. We went to Founding Farmers, after having difficulty getting a reservation, and were unimpressed.

Be aware of the Cherry Blossom Festival which starts March 20. http://www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/2018-signature-event-dates/ Things get very crowded then. But there is always something going on in DC. In the spring there are a lot of school tours.

 

[okeydokey]

We did 5 nights in March two years ago and are going back for 7 nights this June.

We are doing the cathedral for sure and want to be there when they play the organ. Arlington is on the list for this time and the Nuseum.

The Holocaust Museum and all the Smithsonian museums were incredible. We did the Capital tour and White House tour and will plan on those again. There is so much!

My son will turn 18 on our summer trip amd is a history buff so I am looking for a restaurant in a historic building. Amy suggestions?

 

[AppleDumpling]

OP, you can definitely see a lot in 4 days, however, I think your list is very ambitious. It really depends on how you tour and how much time you spend in museums. Do you realize that “the Smithsonians” are 10+ different museums/galleries? Even if you are able to move quickly through exhibits and only focus on the highlights (which you might research in advance), I would allow a minimum of 2-3 hours for most of the museums.

My family loves both locations of the Air and Space Museum and could easily spend most of a full day at either one. Be aware that the main one on the National Mall is the most popular Smithsonian and the most visited museum in the US. My other favorite is the National Museum of American History, which is huge and has things like the original Star Spangled Banner flag, Edison’s lightbulb, and Judy Garland’s ruby slippers. I also love the National Portrait Gallery, but since we live outside NYC, we tend to skip the art museums and the Natural History Museum (also great!) since we can see comparable museums close to home. The Newseum is wonderful too; FYI, tickets there are good for 2 days. Also recommend the National Archives (see the Declaration of Independence and other documents), and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

We go to DC fairly often and each time like to do something new. Haven’t been to the Holocaust museum yet but it’s on my list. You need to prioritize what you want to see as you will not have time to see everything.

As pp mentioned, Cherry Blossom festival is the last week of March, and since Easter is April 1 this year, that week will likely be spring break for many schools. Sometimes multiple large school groups of 100+ kids can clog the museums, so maybe have a Plan B for each day if your chosen destination is packed (like switching to another park at WDW when crowds get too crazy).