Washington DC trip Need help..

[mi*vida*loca]

Great. You will have a great time. There is no metro. I am not sure of the shuttle prices as I am a local. I'm sure you can call the Whyndam and ask or check their website. There is always something happening there so check out the schedule online.

I will do that. I'm going to call them because I can't find much on the internet for some reason. Thanks!

 

[chartle]

Do you have any idea how much the shuttle costs that runs to DC from National Harbor? Is the metro an option nearby?

We are staying at the Wyndham in National Harbor. I had a certificate for two nights free so we got a one bedroom deluxe.

https://www.nationalharbor.com/by-public-transit/

It appears that the fare is $1.75 but thats just from the metro station to the Harbor.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

https://www.nationalharbor.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/New-Shuttle-Schedule.pdf

Thanks! I just found that myself a second ago but still wasn't understanding it until I spoke to the front desk at Wyndham. Now I know the shuttle will take me to the King Street Metro and from there I can get into DC. Only thing it ends at 8 pm so I guess we will Uber from there back to the Wyndham since we plan on staying in DC a bit later those two nights.

 

[TwoMisfits]

All the museum advice given is good. I too agree go for all the free ones. For the paid I would only do the Spy museum as that is excellent. I'd skip the Newseum as someone else mentioned. It's expensive and all news you've seen before.
One lodging suggestion I have is to stay at the National Harbor especially if it is the Fourth of July weekend. You can see the fireworks and not deal with crowds. Heck we got a balcony once at the Gaylord and saw the fireworks from our room. There is a shuttle to DC a boat to Alexandra and Georgetown. Many boat tours. Plenty of dining and entertainment options. Check it out.

I disagree on the Newseum ESPECIALLY if you will be in DC between July 1-Labor Day and have kids 18 or under. Those kids will be FREE with an adult paid admission. So, you can enjoy all of the fun for way less that you would during the year. It's not a great museum for non-school aged kids, but anyone school-aged and up will enjoy it.

Of note, the 4D film (free with admission) shouldn't be missed and neither should the Berlin Wall exhibit. It's a steal of a museum for $50+tax/family during these summer months.

http://www.newseum.org/visit/tickets/summer-fun-deal/

PS - 2nd day is free if you want to come back for any reason to enjoy other attractions..."Remember to save your admission ticket and come back the next day for free!"

 

[mi*vida*loca]

https://www.nationalharbor.com/by-public-transit/

It appears that the fare is $1.75 but thats just from the metro station to the Harbor.

The Wyndham told me the shuttle is free for hotel guests. Either way we will have cash on us. At least we know the easiest route into DC.

 

[WaywardMemphian]

It's my vacation this Summer that I wished that the DVC facility was built. Oh Well.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

The Wyndham told me the shuttle is free for hotel guests. Either way we will have cash on us. At least we know the easiest route into DC.

Free is even better. Uber is also a good option in this area. I'd still put the Newseum on the bottom of the museum list. My personal favorites are the Air and Space in both DC and Virginia, American History museum , Spy Museum (fee), all the memorials. There is so much to see have a plan when you go. Bottled water is allowed in the museums but not the capital. There are free lockers in some museums like the American history. You will have to go through security at all the museums so pack as light as you can. Enjoy!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Free is even better. Uber is also a good option in this area. I'd still put the Newseum on the bottom of the museum list. My personal favorites are the Air and Space in both DC and Virginia, American History museum , Spy Museum (fee), all the memorials. There is so much to see have a plan when you go. Bottled water is allowed in the museums but not the capital. There are free lockers in some museums like the American history. You will have to go through security at all the museums so pack as light as you can. Enjoy!

Thank you!

We're in NJ so we've done D.C. as kids and I went about ten years ago but only for day trips. We're looking forward to a more relaxing pace with 3 days.

 

[Eureka]

Do you have any idea how much the shuttle costs that runs to DC from National Harbor? Is the metro an option nearby?

We are staying at the Wyndham in National Harbor. I had a certificate for two nights free so we got a one bedroom deluxe.

National Harbor has Metro buses that take you to Metro stations.
https://www.nationalharbor.com/by-public-transit/

Oh, and if you want to check out the MGM casino or the outlets, there is a shuttle from the harbor to up there. Some of the hotel guests are free (I know for sure Gaylord is) but otherwise it's $5/person for a day pass.

I love National Harbor. We live about 20 minutes away.

 

[afan]

I've toured it many times and have gone to events there but all my experience with it is pretty dated. I'm definitely out of touch with it now and can only say that it was a nice experience and quite interesting many years ago. It's quite convenient to do before a baseball game as far as location goes, but I would check the hours that it is open. Let us know what you think if you go! I have many fond memories from my time there including meeting Dr. Ballard after the Titanic discovery at a reception where he spoke about the expedition. Long time ago and things do change, even historical displays.

I walked all the way there from the metro stop only to find a sign that said the visitor center closed at 12:30 for training and it was after 1 so I didn't get to tour the museum. It was a bit of a bummer since I was planning to do it prior to the Nationals game and didn't know anything else out that way to do. I was also tired from a late night/early morning and didn't want to deal with going back to the mall and a museum with all the school groups that were around. I ended up at Starbucks for a couple of hours using their wifi and outlet to charge my phone.

I visited the postal museum, which I'm sure isn't really on anyone's radar, but if you've been to DC before and are looking for new things it was interesting. There were some interactive stuff for kids as well. As crowded as the other museums were with school groups and it being the week before memorial day, this museum was quite empty in the morning which was nice.

 

[Judique]

I walked all the way there from the metro stop only to find a sign that said the visitor center closed at 12:30 for training and it was after 1 so I didn't get to tour the museum. It was a bit of a bummer since I was planning to do it prior to the Nationals game and didn't know anything else out that way to do. I was also tired from a late night/early morning and didn't want to deal with going back to the mall and a museum with all the school groups that were around. I ended up at Starbucks for a couple of hours using their wifi and outlet to charge my phone.

I visited the postal museum, which I'm sure isn't really on anyone's radar, but if you've been to DC before and are looking for new things it was interesting. There were some interactive stuff for kids as well. As crowded as the other museums were with school groups and it being the week before memorial day, this museum was quite empty in the morning which was nice.

Sorry you missed it. I rarely go into the city any more but maybe when retirement hits, I'll revisit it.

 

[mdsouth]

Thank you everyone for your input. I am planning a short first time visit to DC while we happen to be in the area. This trip will be our first time in DC and we just want to get a basic view of the key monuments. We plan to just view the monuments (WW II, Vietnam, Washington Monument (outside view only since it is closed) and hopefully see the Capital building and White House.

We will be going back later for an extended stay and at that time, I will plan tours with my Congressman/woman and get tickets for museums. So, I knew I had to come to the DIS to get great information! And I did!

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

We are back from our trip. It was OK but I never want to go there again. We travel a lot and this is the only place I won't go back to. Between the gajillions of badly behaved school groups, the metro that went from full throttle to dead stop over and over so much that it made 2 of us really sick, and the fact that our hotel was next to the metro (seemed like a good idea until Amtrak came through at 3:30AM and blasted the horn lol), we couldn't wait to leave. We found an earlier flight and came home a day early. Wyndham Old Town Alexandria was a really pretty hotel, the employees were delightful, and the unit was nice. The loud train horns were what did us in. We did a white house tour, capitol tour, a bunch of the smithsonians, the monuments, the mall, etc. so I feel like we saw enough of it to call it good

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

We are back from our trip. It was OK but I never want to go there again. We travel a lot and this is the only place I won't go back to. Between the gajillions of badly behaved school groups, the metro that went from full throttle to dead stop over and over so much that it made 2 of us really sick, and the fact that our hotel was next to the metro (seemed like a good idea until Amtrak came through at 3:30AM and blasted the horn lol), we couldn't wait to leave. We found an earlier flight and came home a day early. Wyndham Old Town Alexandria was a really pretty hotel, the employees were delightful, and the unit was nice. The loud train horns were what did us in. We did a white house tour, capitol tour, a bunch of the smithsonians, the monuments, the mall, etc. so I feel like we saw enough of it to call it good

Sorry but at least you got to see everything you wanted so your done. I feel the same way about some places.