katilac Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 We're thinking about a trip to DC in the next year or two. We're in New Orleans, so it will be a big vacation for us! 2 adults, a 12 yr old, and a 10 yr old. We definitely want to do museums and monuments, but would be very open to any nature attractions as well. Are there big price differences based on when you go? Winter is just too cold for us, but we'd consider hot summer if we had to. We cannot go in September due to dh's work. Will we need a car, or is public transit do-able? What do you love/hate? What do we need to know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeacherZee Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 (edited) Public transport once in DC is really the way to go. The Metro is easy to figure out and if this is your first trip to DC pretty much everything you will want to see is accessible by it. My biggest tip is: Don't try and do everything. Me and some girlfriends "did" DC over a long weekend a few years back and I'm sure my head hasn't stopped spinning yet:D Despite the fact that me and one of the women didn't do everything that some of the other did. Oh and the National Museum of the American Indian has awesome food as well as being a super museum. Educational and beautiful. Edited March 19, 2011 by TeacherZee because the negation changes the whole sentence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 One thing I was pleasantly surprised by, is how much is free! The zoo, the Smithsonian are the national ones, and they are free. Also, touring the Capital also free. Send and e-mail to your representative and they can set you up with a tour. Having a tour from the aid is fun, quicker and different than the big tours. Oh, and they can also set up your free tour of the white house. We did the hop on hop off bus, I can't remember what the price was but it was a great way to get around to all the monuments. What we did was on day 1 we used the metro and went to our representatives office and picked up our white house tour info and took a tour of the capital. We then went down to the native American Museum and called it a day (all free save food and transport.) The next day we took the hop on hop off bus. We went all around and got off and toured the monuments that were the furthest away from everything else. THe outskirt things. Day 3, we did the white house tour, the museum of natural history and the Air and Space museum Day 4 wen went to the Lincoln Memorial, then we walked the Korean and Vietnam way memorials. Then we walked up the Mall to the Washington Monument stopping at the WW2 memorial on the way. We just wandering slowly up, it was fall so the kids were playing in the leaves. (oh, we grabbed a hotdog and bathroom break in between Korean and Vietnam memorial before our big walk, the have hebrew national hotdogs there) After the Washington memorial we walked to the smithsonian castle and had soup and hot drinks and then we splurged and took a taxi to the zoo to see the Pandas. That was our 4 days in DC. I loved being there in the fall with the leaves turning color, but we were lucky that it did not rain on us. It would have been a different trip if it had been raining. We are looking at going to New Orleans in the next couple of years. I was there 15 years ago, but really want to go again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted March 19, 2011 Author Share Posted March 19, 2011 We are looking at going to New Orleans in the next couple of years. I was there 15 years ago, but really want to go again. Well, come on! We're waiting for you. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 okay, so I am hijacking. We have four families that want to come down. 8 adults and 7 kids. Would we be able to find a house to rent? Also, what is the best time to go? I went for New Years 97, and it was nice, but cold. I heard that is the best time for trying raw oysters, but I have done that now. We went on a swamp tour, and while it was beautiful, the gators were all asleep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athena1277 Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 I grew up near New Orleans and now live outside of DC. :D Plan on using the Metro and walking a lot. The Smithsonian museums are great and free, but if you eat at their restaurants, it is not cheap. If you want to save some $, you can always pack lunches and have a picnic on the National Mall. We've done most of the museums/monuments around the mall since we've moved up here. My must see list would include the Washington Monument (get tickets online if you want to go at a certain time), the American History Museum and the Air & Space Museum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS Mom in NC Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 My kids were 14,12, and 5 at the time. 1. Public transportation is excellent, efficient, and easy. If you are taking a hotel shuttle to and from the Metro, be aware that their schedule may not fit yours. If they only pick up once every hour and the Metro arrives at your station 15 minutes after the shuttle's pick up time, you'll be waiting for 45 minutes. The Metro bathrooms in Rockville, MD are appalling. There are no snacks, drinks, or things to do at the Metro station. 2. Expect to walk LOOONG distances to everything on The National Mall and Arlington National Cemetery. 3. Prioritize what you most want to see. You'll likely have to let some things go. 4. Restaurants are not conveniently located on the National Mall. Planning when and where to eat on the National Mall usually means eating in a Museum restaurant with a long line. Very little choice. Keep snacks and drinks on hand. There are plenty of snack vendors around the Mall, but you have to go outside to get to them and come back in which can really slow down or disrupt seeing things. The sheer volume of things to see is staggering. 5. Museum entrances are free, but some have a special exhibit that has a fee. The Museum of Natural History has a butterfly enclosure that charges a fee (definitely worth it) to go in and hang out with butterflies that land on you-the 5 year old was thrilled. 6. Different people tour differently. Some people want to read every word of every document and every informative plaque. Some want to look at every detail of every gown, painting, item, etc. Some people want to walk through scanning the room quickly. It's helpful to match up a parent to a child based on the same level of interest. Don't feel bad about diving and conquering based on different interests-there's no way to see it all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blakereese Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 I love DC! We are planning a trip sometime soon for my history loving son. :) How long do you plan to stay? I'm sure some of my advice will be a repeat, I didn't really read the other posts. But first of all, you will NOT see everything!! Just know that now, and hope that you can make another trip in the future. That is what I tell myself each time we go. :) Have a "wish list" of what everyone wants to do and see. Maybe allow each person one thing that is a "must do". Believe me, once you are there and wandering around these amazing museums and monuments, you will lose all track of time. ;) Each day plan to be in a certain area and try to see what you can see (like one day the Air and Space museum and the Natural History museum, as they are near each other). You seriously can lose yourself in the Smithsonian, and you really want to have a bit of a plan ahead of time. The Smithsonian also has a great website that you should check out ahead of time. We always pack food, partly to save money, but also because sometimes you aren't really near a restaurant when you are hungry. I would definitely use public transport, and be prepared to walk. You'll be amazed at how much you will walk, and at the time you will be on that vacation-adrenaline-high ;) but later that night you will be tired. :lol: A few other "must sees" for us, not necessarily for you, but you may want to consider: Spy museum Ford's Theater Monuments by Moonlight Tour (awesome) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*lifeoftheparty* Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 I grew up near New Orleans and now live outside of DC. :D Plan on using the Metro and walking a lot. The Smithsonian museums are great and free, but if you eat at their restaurants, it is not cheap. If you want to save some $, you can always pack lunches and have a picnic on the National Mall. We've done most of the museums/monuments around the mall since we've moved up here. My must see list would include the Washington Monument (get tickets online if you want to go at a certain time), the American History Museum and the Air & Space Museum. Me too! Grew up in LaPlace and Metairie and now I live in Maryland :) What a small world! Sorry, OP, I'm a wee bit burnt out on giving DC advice, LOL, but here's a small tidbit.... check out this blog: http://soyourenewtodc.wordpress.com/ It can teach you lots of info. about our area :) My favorites are the posts about "tourons" and "escalefters" which you may find helpful! ;) (LOL, supposed to be funny, not mean, btw!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2att Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 We spent a week in DC last July. Kids were 14, 9, and 6 at the time. We rented a house in Alexandria through VRBO and loved having the extra room as opposed to being crammed into a hotel room or two. We drove in every day and had no problems parking--it was easier and cheaper than the metro, which would have ended up being about $25 a day for us, and we are familiar enough with the area that we weren't intimidated by driving there. We generally found metered parking and moved the car when we had to. We also found traffic to be a non-issue, but this can vary greatly depending on where you stay. It was incredibly hot and crowded when we were there, but the crowds were not unmanageable and we're used to the heat. We were there for 6 days and did not get to see all that we wanted to. Our favorites were the Washington Monument, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the Air & Space Museum, and the Spy Museum. We often ate at the McDonalds in Air & Space just because it was easy, but we also carried in our lunch for a few days, usually on monument days since you can't bring food into the museums. It was definitely at trip to remember for us--have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 Since you are flying - packing groceries is not really an option for you. I found that there were not a lot of convenient grocery stores in DC near the mall. We found a Whole Foods near enough our hotel (we got to stay for free with my dh while he attended a conference) and got lunch making items. We also found that the restaurant scene in DC was very grown-up. (expensive as well!) So Whole Foods was ideal for dinner as well. I LOVE visiting DC and have done it three times always because my husband has a conference there. If you rent a car, Mount Vernon was excellent. We also loved the Ford's Theater and the Library of Congress. Have fun!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabrizia Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 As for when to come, if you can come in mid-April, you will avoid a lot of tourist season. The summer gets really really busy in DC. We prefer to visit downtown between September and the end of April, because otherwise it is insanely busy. It also gets fairly hot and humid, which isn't a huge deal, but I am not a huge fan of hot and humid with huge crowds! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted March 21, 2011 Author Share Posted March 21, 2011 Thanks, guys! I am taking notes; keep it comin'. We would probably have 4 full days and 2 half-days there. We are thinking about taking the train with sleeper cars; we've taken pretty long train trips with just coach seating, and enjoyed it. If you get the sleeper cars, meals are included, and the dining car is always fun! Dolphin, the gators are generally only awake when it is unbearably hot outside, lol. Which is pretty dang often. The best time to come, well, hmmm, probably spring (March, April, May). Lots of festivals and outdoor activities, and the irises are blooming in the swamp. There's lots going on almost all the time, though. Keep in mind that our spring and fall weather is very changeable; we have a lot of what other people would consider hot summer days most of the year. August is probably the hottest month. I'm pretty sure you could get a short-term rental - when it's not Mardi Gras or Jazz Fest :D. I think everyone who used to live here should come back for a visit, and we'll meet at Monkey Hill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeckyFL Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 We just got back from DC and I think March was the perfect time. It wasn't too hot or too cold and it's not as busy. We got an amazing hotel deal at the Holiday Inn Capitol ($109/night and 1/2 price parking). This deal started at $129, but I kept checking and the week before the price went down. When I called, they were happy to adjust the price on my reservation. Gao and others gave us great tips. We had a short time there, but one of the best things we did was the Monuments by Moonlight tour with the Old Town Trolley company. It was worth every penny! Also, if you want to visit the National Archives (and I think some others may be like this as well) you can book a timed entry for $1.50 pp instead of waiting in line. We loved the Library of Congress, the Capitol and the museums. We went on a weekend so I think we missed a lot of traffic as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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