Washington, DC

[VAfamily1998]

Thanks so much for the info , it looks simple enough. Is it possible to see Arlington cemetery, the Washington and Lincoln monuments, the White House (just walking around the outside), and the Vietnam wall the same day riding the Metro in from Virginia? The plan is to spend a week in Williamsburg, then tour Monticello and Mount Vernon on our way to a new hotel near DC, hit DC the next day and drive home the following day.

You will be able to see all those DC things in one day. Am I interpreting it wrong, or do you hope to drive from Williamsburg to tour Monticello and Mt. Vernon all in one day?

 

[nchulka]

You will be able to see all those DC things in one day. Am I interpreting it wrong, or do you hope to drive from Williamsburg to tour Monticello and Mt. Vernon all in one day?

The plan is to leave our Williamsburg hotel early in the morning, tour Monticello and Mount Vernon and then check in late to a new hotel closer to DC. Is one day not enough to see both houses?

 

[skjuls]

Awesome, thanks, I didn't know they were all close enough to walk to, that will be super simple Sorry for hijacking the thread, I was working on planning our vacay this morning and decided to take a break on the dis and found this!

Depends on your definition of close, when it's nice out I will walk from work (near Metro Center)to Arlington Cemetery and it takes me 45 minutes at a leisurely pac.

So you'll get some exercise while viewing the monuments.

 

[KathleensKid]

The plan is to leave our Williamsburg hotel early in the morning, tour Monticello and Mount Vernon and then check in late to a new hotel closer to DC. Is one day not enough to see both houses?

You need to check to location of all of these on the map. I love Monticello and Charlottesville (love!) but they are far out of your way if you are planning to head from Wmsburg to DC!
Charlottesville is 2 hours west of Wmsburg. While DC is 2 1/2 hours north of Wmsburg. I wouldn't do all of that in a day. If you want to see Monticello, I'd devote a whole day to Charlottesville. It is a great university town (UVA is there) and the mountains have great wineries.

 

[VAfamily1998]

The plan is to leave our Williamsburg hotel early in the morning, tour Monticello and Mount Vernon and then check in late to a new hotel closer to DC. Is one day not enough to see both houses?

No, you will not have enough time to do that. Mount Vernon is pretty close to DC, but Monticello is at least a couple hours drive. You could probably leave Williamsburg, tour Monticello, then go on to your DC hotel, then see Mount Vernon on another day of your trip.

Our family went to Monticello this past summer. We spent about 4-5 hours, at least, there!

 

[it's kelly]

I'm thinking of trying the priceline way, although it makes me nervous!

I'm not sure what areas to check off...

 

[SplashMo]

we were in foggy bottom. Which is close to everything. It seemed like a nice area as well.

 

[lovemygoofy]

Thanks so much for the info , it looks simple enough. Is it possible to see Arlington cemetery, the Washington and Lincoln monuments, the White House (just walking around the outside), and the Vietnam wall the same day riding the Metro in from Virginia? The plan is to spend a week in Williamsburg, then tour Monticello and Mount Vernon on our way to a new hotel near DC, hit DC the next day and drive home the following day.

I don't think there is any way you can see Mount Vernon and Monticello in the same day. First the traffic can be such a nightmare even though it's not that far in distance. Second, I think you need minimal three hours in Monticello and that is with the timed ticket for entrance.

I took a group to Mount Vernon recently it we were there for over five hours and also included timed tickets to get into the mansion. There is just so much to see and do but there is also alot of people around both places and again I just can't stress the traffic enough getting into and around town.

As for seeing everything else mentioned you can but it will be for a long long day and walk. It's a great walk down the hill to everything but getting back up the metro can be a witch. If you all are not walkers or you have strollers make some plans on the order you see everything.

When moving to DC we bought the DC Guide for Dummies and it was great help! If broke everything down according to metro stops and suggestions for places to eat and see at different metro stops as well as help for each season. I can't say enough good about it.

 

[nchulka]

Thanks for the advice I had it all worked out on paper, leave hotel at 7, get to monticello at 9, stay till 12, drive 2 hours to mount vernon, arrive at 2 stay for a few hours. It seemed like it would work. Thanks for letting me know about the traffic and timed tickets and how long it would actually take to tour the houses, I guess I'll have to do some tweaking of our schedule! Better now than being surprised that day

 

[EricaG]

I'm thinking of trying the priceline way, although it makes me nervous!

I'm not sure what areas to check off...

Go to betterbidding to look at what kinds of prices other folks are getting, keeping in mind that the "name your own price" thing often means waiting until pretty close to your trip time (a week or two) so making a reservation that can be cancelled is a good back-up. That site can also explain the "free re-bids" process if you are willing to bid 3 or 4-star properties.

If you look at the map on Priceline for D.C., you'll see that the three areas closest to the tourist areas (Mall, White House, etc) are DuPont Circle, Georgetown, and White House. It's generally a good idea to start with only one area (the one you want most) and go from there--again, do a little research on the best bidding strategy and you'll feel more comfortable.

I love Priceline and have used it a ton of times for various cities, but you do need to do some research on the process and good starting points for bids in order to get the most out of it. Good luck!

 

[SplashMo]

Thanks for the advice I had it all worked out on paper, leave hotel at 7, get to monticello at 9, stay till 12, drive 2 hours to mount vernon, arrive at 2 stay for a few hours. It seemed like it would work. Thanks for letting me know about the traffic and timed tickets and how long it would actually take to tour the houses, I guess I'll have to do some tweaking of our schedule! Better now than being surprised that day

I did Arlington, Mount Vernon and the spy museum in one day. That is a nice loop. I used the subway and public busses to get to mount vernon.

Then I took a group to mount vernon two days later and that slowed things to a crawl. There is a great museum at Mount Vernon as well and that takes awhile to get through. There is also a boat to and from there.

 

[wbeem]

I'm glad I saw this thread, since I'm also planning a trip to D.C. in late February. I'll be driving up from Orlando. The plan is to use Priceline to find a comfortable place outside of town (Hyatt Place, Hilton Gardens, etc.) that's near a Metro station and just commute in and out of the city. I don't want to hassle with the traffic or spend money on parking.

This is kind of a business trip for me. I'll be dragging my camera gear along to get shots of most everything I can get. I'm working with someone in my Congressman's office to make arrangements for access.

 

[it's kelly]

Go to betterbidding to look at what kinds of prices other folks are getting, keeping in mind that the "name your own price" thing often means waiting until pretty close to your trip time (a week or two) so making a reservation that can be cancelled is a good back-up. That site can also explain the "free re-bids" process if you are willing to bid 3 or 4-star properties.

If you look at the map on Priceline for D.C., you'll see that the three areas closest to the tourist areas (Mall, White House, etc) are DuPont Circle, Georgetown, and White House. It's generally a good idea to start with only one area (the one you want most) and go from there--again, do a little research on the best bidding strategy and you'll feel more comfortable.

I love Priceline and have used it a ton of times for various cities, but you do need to do some research on the process and good starting points for bids in order to get the most out of it. Good luck!

Thanks so much! I will be checking this out for sure!