My sister-in-law is planning a trip to DC with her family this summer, and I shared some of the tips that worked for us when we visited last year. I thought you might enjoy my “Top 10″ list as well.
1. Do stay at the Hotel Harrington - it’s affordable, historic and close to everything.
2. Don’t rent a vehicle – just hoof it, use the metro and the bus. One bus goes around the loop all day long and only costs $1 per trip.
3. Do visit the treasury, National Archives and sculpture gardens. We would have loved the American History museum also, but it was closed for renovation last summer.
4. Do visit Mt. Vernon - just take the metro and then a bus for very cheap and efficient transportation. Mt Vernon is often open when other museums are closed. But get there early and tour the mansion right away, or you’ll end up waiting in line for 2 hours.
5. Do visit the Holocaust museum. The “Daniel’s Story” exhibit is excellent for adults and kids alike – and much less horrific, while still telling the story.
6. Don’t plan on viewing most of the rest of the museum with kids.
7. Do eat at the cafeteria in the Agriculture Building near the mall. It’s an inexpensive place to eat normal food at normal prices. Few know about it because it’s where the government workers eat, so you need to ask around to find it.
8. Do rent bikes right away, to visit the mall monuments without having to walk so much.
9. Don’t rent a tandem bike with your spouse.
10. Do find out which monuments offer timed-entry tickets. I waited in line by myself at 8 AM for the Washington Monument, and got 4 tickets for our family to go that afternoon.
BONUS: Do see the monuments at night. We were always too tired to go out after dark, but we heard so many people say the evening tours were wonderful
Washington DC series:
View from Washington Monument
Mount Vernon
National Archives – Declaration of Independence
Sculpture Gardens
Arlington Cemetery – Unknown Soldier
Washington DC Subway – Metro
Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial
Tags: travel with kids, Washington DC
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3:14 pm
Ha. I love #9 – this is probably good advice although we rent a fair number of tandems to couples. I’m the Marketing Director for Bike and Roll and came across your site in a search for mentions of bikes and DC. We rent and offer tours, but even if your sister doesn’t rent from us, we’re pleased you suggested biking as the way to get around! We think it’s the best way to see all the sites! We even have a new location in Old Town from which she could bike to Mt Vernon. I hope you sister takes your advice and goes by bike.
3:57 pm
Thanks for commenting, Cat! Your company is the one we used – great service, thanks!
12:22 am
I want to go again so much. I’m going to keep this list (even though I don’t have kids!)
11:54 am
Hi there, my friend. How are you doing? How is your book doing?
Great to stop back by and “see’ you, and it’s great to be back blogging.
Genny
5:26 pm
Too bad you didn’t write this two weeks ago – my sister just got back from a family trip to DC and NYC. She was asking what to see first in DC………
5:27 pm
Oh, and I never did hear what they visited. It would be fun to compare notes!
5:35 pm
I hope to get to DC when we come to the USA, so this is great advice. I will definitely eschew tandems!
7:51 am
4. Visit Mount Vernon.
Can’t wait for you to show up, let me know when you get here so i can meet you at Fuel for some green tea! Mount Vernon, Iowa that is, where WE await your empowering ways…
4:03 pm
Number nine really made me laugh. I can’t imagine an experience more risk taking than that one.
2:21 pm
I went up to DC in January to see the inauguration. Wonderful town. Its so pretty. I hear the Spy museum is great too, although I missed that one when I was visiting.
11:15 pm
Thanks you so much for sharing these travel tips with us.I think this will be really very useful for all travelers.There are so many thing to do while traveling and so many things to avoid.So You can keep this in mind.
9:32 pm
Great tips, Kelly! I thought #9 was funny, though so true. We’ve never tried tandem bikes, and don’t think we’ll start.
I’ll have to refer back to this post as our trip gets closer.