Washington DC ??

[2disneyboys]

My boys have been asking for a few years to go to Washington DC for various reasons. My MIL brought up us all going for all or part of the kid's spring break this April. The would be 7 of us (5 adults & our 2 boys) so we are considering either a hotel that has "suites" or a rental home property.

I've been looking on the vrbo website and have found some nice places, just have no ideal of the area so don't know if there are certain area's to avoid or not. We are fine with staying outside the city and using the metro to get the the cities and other parts, but again, want a safe area. Trying to keep this somewhat budget trip as MIL said they really want to go so they will cover the cost of the lodging. Any advice & or suggestions welcome!!

TIA!

 

[leslieh]

You could get two rooms, or look for a timeshare/rental in the Alex. area, which is about 15 minutes from DC. Metro is near. Be careful on distance from city, we live about 32 miles from DC. which takes about an hour with traffic or more. DH worked on Capitol Hill for 35 years. Crystal City, Alex. Va., DC Rockville, Bethesda areas are nice and has access to Metro. The new National Harbor on the MD side of the river has several hotels, The Gaylord hotel and a timeshare unit, and restaurants etc. about 20 minutes to the city.

 

[disneyofcourse]

If you want it to be budget you should go on craigslist and go to "Temp rentals" and find a condo or home for rent. Hotel suite prices in DC are so expensive.

NorthWest DC is nicer (my opinion) near the zoo, Chevy chase is nice, Rockville is nice. Bethesda is really nice. Alexandria (old town) is nice next to King street metro.

 

[disneyofcourse]

You could get two rooms, or look for a timeshare/rental in the Alex. area, which is about 15 minutes from DC. Metro is near. Be careful on distance from city, we live about 32 miles from DC. which takes about an hour with traffic or more. DH worked on Capitol Hill for 35 years. Crystal City, Alex. Va., DC Rockville, Bethesda areas are nice and has access to Metro. The new National Harbor on the MD side of the river has several hotels, The Gaylord hotel and a timeshare unit, and restaurants etc. about 20 minutes to the city.

Hi leslieh, I'm going to be staying in zip code 20853/ Rockville for a few weeks and I'll need to go into Mclean, Va and Great Falls , Va. How much time do you think it would honestly take to get there. The appointments all fall between 8am and noon on weekdays. I'm wondering if Its best to switch them to later in the day? On map quest it looks so close by, I've seen the traffic and that worries me. I think it listed 30 minutes for Mclean and Great Falls and yet its taken me that long to go 5 miles in Maryland.

 

[lisa-upnorth]

I went in May for 3 nights. We had 3 of us and stayed at The Hyatt Regency Capital Hill. I got it on priceline name your price for $90 a night!! I have seen many other people post that they won bids of about $75!!! I had a few posts about my DC trip and they can be found here in the budget board if you search we had a 4 day vacation and saw it all!!!

 

[swilshire]

Be aware that you're going at a very busy time. Cherry blossoms and lots of bus loads of kids on their spring break. We waited ages to get into some of the museums the one time we went on Spring break.

Sheila

 

[lovemygoofy]

Hi leslieh, I'm going to be staying in zip code 20853/ Rockville for a few weeks and I'll need to go into Mclean, Va and Great Falls , Va. How much time do you think it would honestly take to get there. The appointments all fall between 8am and noon on weekdays. I'm wondering if Its best to switch them to later in the day? On map quest it looks so close by, I've seen the traffic and that worries me. I think it listed 30 minutes for Mclean and Great Falls and yet its taken me that long to go 5 miles in Maryland.

I know you didn't ask me but you are going to need alot of time. There is no metro out to McLean and the traffic is horrible with all the construction. I love probably less than 15 miles to McLean and I had a doctor appointment at 8:30am and I left at 7am. I arrived at almost 9:00am. You really have to pad your schedule. I'm guessing coming from Rockville you will take 495 which might help some but really at that time of morning every street in the area is filled.

 

[lovemygoofy]

My boys have been asking for a few years to go to Washington DC for various reasons. My MIL brought up us all going for all or part of the kid's spring break this April. The would be 7 of us (5 adults & our 2 boys) so we are considering either a hotel that has "suites" or a rental home property.

I've been looking on the vrbo website and have found some nice places, just have no ideal of the area so don't know if there are certain area's to avoid or not. We are fine with staying outside the city and using the metro to get the the cities and other parts, but again, want a safe area. Trying to keep this somewhat budget trip as MIL said they really want to go so they will cover the cost of the lodging. Any advice & or suggestions welcome!!

TIA!

If you go in April, be prepared to wait and wait and wait. It seems like every 8th grader in America is in DC starting late March until June. You see tons of same colored shirts grouped together as far as the eye can see on the National Mall. Be prepared to be at the museums when the doors open and then change to do something else by mid morning to early afternoon.

There are several suite style hotels in the area. There is embassy suites, residence inn and some others of the same style in Old Town Alexandria. Will you have a car? You can stay out in the Springfield area at the extended stay style suites which are within 2-3 miles of the metro. They offer shuttles or you can drive to the metro.

If you decide to go DC, you can purchase timed tickets ahead for specific things. A great book that I love and still use is DC Guide for Dummies. It breaks down the whole area and the tourist things and how to plan a trip no matter the season of the year.

 

[indymom]

I just made a reservation for June at the Embassy Suites in Alexandria. It is right across from the metro station. I am a Hilton Honors member and joined their MVP program and got a discounted rate. It looks like a nice hotel. I also just emailed my senator to try to do the White House tour (fingers crossed the news will be good 2 weeks before we go). They sent lots of useful information in the email.

I also did see some nice places on Home Away and VRBO.