Washington DC Bus Tour - Daytime or Nighttime - budget only allows for one choice

[Kari C in SC]

I am still working on plans for DC. Background - we have never been there before and will be traveling with a 7 and 13 year old. We will have 5 days to visit the area. I love the looks of a nighttime tour, but wonder if it would be more practical to do the hop on/hop off day time tour since we have never been. I wish I could afford to do both, but we can't. Input? Thanks!

 

ETA - we are planning to go the last week of August or first week of September if that makes any difference.

[MariannNOVA]

hi, kari --

 

I PM-d you. If you are touring during the day, then the nighttime tour is kind of a real 'oooh' and 'aaaah' thing - the cherry on the sundae so to speak.

 

A WTM-er who just visited DC did the night time thing in their own minivan, saved a bundle of $$$, and said it was great.

 

I am hoping she will chime in.:bigear:

[MariannNOVA]

:bigear:

[Teachin'Mine]

I would do the bus tour during the day as with all the traffic the bus would be so convenient and a great way to see a lot in a short time. Then go out to dinner and drive around on your own. The traffic is much less at night so the driving is a lot easier. Make sure you see the Lincoln Memorial at night!

[Beth S]

We were there last month. There are two competing bus tours, so you may find one suits you better than the other.

 

One has a pre-recorded guide, one is the bus driver speaking. I believe you can get off & on the bus throughout the day which is a boon. One was the Double-decker bus, and I think there's a "duck" tour (http://www.dcduck.com) that enters the Potomac at some point.

 

Yes, I heard the night tour was amazing.

 

They had paddle boats for rent to cross the Potomac (going roughly from the Holocaust Museum to the TJ Memorial). Looked fun for a family.

[jen3kids]

My kids and dh recommend the evening bike tour! They had a blast doing it last summer.

 

They used this company

 

http://www.bikeandroll.com/washingtondc/dcbiketours.html

[4kids4me]

We went to DC last summer...my kids were 13, 12, 8, 6 and my niece's kids were 5, 4, and 1 and my other 16yo niece was with us. We took the subway most places -- easy. One evening we took the big kids and drove around looking at the lighted memorials, then got out and walked. It worked for us and it was an inexpensive way to do it, way less expensive than the bus tour. :)

[Stacia]

We've done a night tour (I think the TourMobile one, leaving from Union Station) & that was great, imo. The memorials are really pretty at night, plus it's cooler & less crowded seeing them at night. The Vietnam Veteran's Memorial & the Korean War Memorial (which are beside the Lincoln Memorial) are not that well-lit at night, so they're harder to see/appreciate the details & impact, though.

 

I'd also choose the night tour because the memorials are open then, whereas many other things in the D.C. area close around normal business hours. That way, my days would be free for other sightseeing & I'd get to see the memorials at night.

 

The day we did it, we spent the day visiting musuems, then grabbed dinner in the food court at Union Station before going on the night tour.

 

I will say that I've been to D.C. numerous times (& lived up there for awhile in my youth) & have seen the memorials so many times, both day & night. You'll enjoy them whichever type of tour you pick. They're wonderful to visit any time of day or night. :001_smile: Enjoy your visit! D.C. is a wonderful place.