Washington D.C. program - teens without their parents?

[SKL]

Are there D.C. one-day tour options that will take a couple/few 16yos without accompanying parents?

We have to be in D.C. for a conference later this summer.  My kids don't have school on that day.  And their school Washington D.C. trip (2020) got canceled due to Covid.  So I was thinking, it would be nice if they could have a guided tour of D.C.  Does anyone know of options that exist?

ETA - it's not that my 16yos "need supervision," but I thought having a guided tour would be more educational and would give them better access to certain controlled spaces.

Edited July 2, 2023 by SKL

[Drama Llama]

There are trolley tours where there are buses with tour guides that stop at all the touristy places on a schedule and you can hop on and hop off.  Would that work or would you want a guided group that stays together all day?  
 

https://www.trolleytours.com/washington-dc/1-day-itinerary

 

[SKL]

Just now, BandH said:

There are trolley tours where there are buses with tour guides that stop at all the touristy places on a schedule and you can hop on and hop off.  Would that work or would you want a guided group that stays together all day?  
 

https://www.trolleytours.com/washington-dc/1-day-itinerary

I think I'd like an informational tour that stays together all day.  But it would be good to know about different options.

[historically accurate]

Our local Boys and Girls Club takes teens to DC every couple of years. Maybe yours does too?

 

[City Mouse]

Depending on the individual teens, I would be comfortable with leaving them on their own in the mall area. They could easily spend an entire day just going to the Smithsonian museums.

It sounds like you are wanting something with more adult supervision than just a “regular” tour, so maybe look for local YMCA or day-care type programs. I don’t know if something like that exists, but I grew up not too far way from DC and I was allowed to roam the tourist areas with out adults around 12-14 yrs.

[Kassia]

21 minutes ago, City Mouse said:

Depending on the individual teens, I would be comfortable with leaving them on their own in the mall area. They could easily spend an entire day just going to the Smithsonian museums.

It sounds like you are wanting something with more adult supervision than just a “regular” tour, so maybe look for local YMCA or day-care type programs. I don’t know if something like that exists, but I grew up not too far way from DC and I was allowed to roam the tourist areas with out adults around 12-14 yrs.

This is what I was thinking too.  I remember going to DC to visit my much older cousin when I was 15.  She worked full-time, so I explored DC on my own while she was at work.  Of course, this was 40 years ago (!).  It was so much fun!  I loved it and it's one of my favorite memories.

[JennyD]

27 minutes ago, City Mouse said:

Depending on the individual teens, I would be comfortable with leaving them on their own in the mall area. They could easily spend an entire day just going to the Smithsonian museums.

I agree.  

[Innisfree]

Maybe one of these would work?

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Products-g28969-zfg11873-a_contentId.123659228819+10534496145-District_of_Columbia.html

[Faith-manor]

Once we taught our rocket team about navigating the big city environment, what to do if they got separated and felt concerned about that, reading the subway maps, etc. we would take them into DC. (The Smithsonian stop),turn them loose in pairs or groups, and have them meet up at X time at the subway, train platform for our return to the Vienna Station. We also told them that if they were late, we would remain at Vienna Station until they caught up and not to panic, but for goodness sake, attempt to keep an eye on the clock and judge how long of a walk they had to get back. Some kids hung around Smithsonian Air and Space for long periods of time, others tried to hit all Smithsonians, some wanted to see as many monuments as possible, and some want to climb those blasted stairs in the Washington Monument. Mark and I were always exhausted and just plopped down at the Ait and Space or out on the grass. One year I think we took a long nap under a tree on a blanket I brought with me for that purpose. Everyone had money for lunch, and we told them they could find a diner at Natural History, the McD's at Air and Space, and there was a Subway shop somewhere that I can remember at the moment.

I am fairly certain if their parents had known prior to us making those plans, they would have squawked. Many of the kids had parents who have never been to Detroit, much less somewhere like D.C., and they feel very unsafe about the whole idea of going to a big city. But the security and police presence in that area of D.C. is rather vast. It is probably safer than walking around our home town of 200 people. It was just a matter of reminding them to cross only at the crosswalks, keep the money and train tickets in their front pockets or in a pouch under their shirt, be aware of surroundings, stay with your friend, watch the clock, when in doubt, anyone who works at these places will answer questions or point them towards someone can assist. This is the land of every 8th grade class east of the Mississippi seems to go to D.C., and despite five adults or so managing 100 or more kids, they manage not to lose a bunch or have anything bad happen.

I would totally leave a reasonably mature group of teens in the Museum/Mall area without an adult. I actually think it was really great for our rocket teens. Their confidence grew so much from those experiences. Their schools tended to infantalize them, and this was nice prep for being a grown up soon.

[Farrar]

Unless there's some reason you specifically feel they need to be supervised, you can just get them the hop on Trolley tour or you can just drop them on the Mall for the day with a map. I mean, they can just wander the museums. Give them $20 for food trucks and let them have the day to themselves.

[Halftime Hope]

I wish I remember the tour group that did a tour for us when we were at a conference in D.C. The tour guide was phenomenal, an immigrant from Colombia with a couple of decades in the US, and a palpable love for the US. We did the DC Monuments by Moonlight Tour, but anything like that where they bus you from monument to monument is great. The meet up location was in front of a diner across from the mall, so it would be super easy to plan the day by dropping your kids on the mall in the morning, for example, and then have them meet up with a tour group for the afternoon.

BTW, what kinds of thing interest your kids? Can you plan anything that would capitalize on their interests or passions?  I remember in high school I made it a point to go off the beaten path from being with my high school group and I went to tour the Voice of America studios, because as an expat kid, VOA was part of our daily life.

One final thing: the conference I mentioned was scheduled at the end of May, right after Memorial Day. I swear, every third 8th grader in the nation was there. There were also groups of high school cheerleaders in their cute, colorful uniforms in DC for a national something, and the 8th-grade boys were in full throat. 😄 I don't think your teens will have that problem given school is out for the summer, but you might prep them just in case, if they will be on their own.

Edited July 2, 2023 by Halftime Hope

[SKL]

To clarify, it's not that I think my kids need supervision.  I just think it would be nice if they got some of the education they missed by not having a guided tour to DC when younger.

Although they could find their way around (though probably inefficiently given only 1 business day), they wouldn't be allowed into some of the important places absent a tour guide, right?

My kids might not actually want the education aspect, LOL.  Maybe just hanging out on the mall would make the most sense.

[KungFuPanda]

They can pick any museum and get an education. By that age I was dropping groups of kids at the metro and letting them spend the day in the city. There was usually a specific exhibit that they wanted to see. You can’t do all of DC in a day and a daytime bus tour might leave them wishing they could have gone inside somewhere. My kids could spend the day in any given museum, but maybe if they’re from out of town it would be nice to go in with a specific plan. Maybe one museum, lunch, then a second museum followed by an evening bus tour of the monuments when the museums close? If you’re thinking of a White House tour or capital tour you should plan way ahead for that. We once did a White House tour that finished before the museums even opened but it was planned months in advance. 

[Farrar]

SKL, I see the 8th grade kids here every year. Let me tell you what they missed... Talking to their friends while waiting in line, talking to their friends while being shuttled from location to location without enough time to appreciate them, getting shushed by their teachers, eating mediocre bag lunches, and way too much time for souvenir shopping.

Seriously. There are no "important places" that you need a tour guide for here. I mean, sure, there are some things you need to get tickets for ahead of time or that you need to know someone to get into in the first place, but those are not things they take the 8th grade trippers on for the most part anyway. 90% of what you want to see in DC is free and either outdoors so you can just walk past it or is in a museum that is free and unticketed.

I suggest you drop them at FDR or MLK. They can walk to Lincoln, past the Vietnam Wall, past WWII, up to the museums. They can go to whatever museums they want, cool off in the A/C, see whatever stuff they want, eat some food in the restaurant, just hang out. Then wander up to the Capitol and you can pick them up there. That's a full day. It's hard to screw it up too badly.

[Beth S]

If you're concerned, you could put a tracker on BOTH of your phones, so you could easily find each other (at lunch, end of the day).

[SKL]

1 hour ago, Beth S said:

If you're concerned, you could put a tracker on BOTH of your phones, so you could easily find each other (at lunch, end of the day).

We have "find my phone" ... and I'm not really worried about losing them.

You all make good points.  Pretty sure I'll just let them wander freely.  They will prefer that and it's easier to arrange.  😛  But thanks for the ideas.  Thanks for saving my kids from mom overkill!

[Dmmetler]

I'll also say this-16 yr olds and 18 yr olds look a lot alike. Unless they decide to try buying a beer, they're unlikely to attract attention at all-they could easily be summer interns or students at about a zillion colleges. 

[SHP]

On 7/2/2023 at 3:28 PM, Farrar said:

Unless there's some reason you specifically feel they need to be supervised, you can just get them the hop on Trolley tour or you can just drop them on the Mall for the day with a map. I mean, they can just wander the museums. Give them $20 for food trucks and let them have the day to themselves.

I would make it more than $20. Maybe $20 each.

Do the museums still offer docent guided tours? I would suggest this for anyone wanting more information.

[KungFuPanda]

6 minutes ago, SHP said:

I would make it more than $20. Maybe $20 each.

Do the museums still offer docent guided tours? I would suggest this for anyone wanting more information.

You can do self guided audio tours with your phone.

[Farrar]

4 hours ago, SHP said:

I would make it more than $20. Maybe $20 each.

Do the museums still offer docent guided tours? I would suggest this for anyone wanting more information.

Yeah, I definitely meant $20 each! And I meant it more figuratively. I’d have just given my kids the credit card just in case. Tourist areas are expensive even to get an ice cream and some chicken tenders. The offset in DC is that’s often all you have to spend on.

[Farrar]

16 hours ago, Dmmetler said:

I'll also say this-16 yr olds and 18 yr olds look a lot alike. Unless they decide to try buying a beer, they're unlikely to attract attention at all-they could easily be summer interns or students at about a zillion colleges. 

Not to mention that there’s not a vibe in DC of looking for unaccompanied minors. I think my kids first went down to the Mall solo around 12 or 13 when they definitely still looked like kids.

[QueenCat]

I used to go into the Smithsonian/Mall area by myself all the time as a teen. I'd go to work with my dad and walk from his office. I know that was a long time ago, but that area is still safe. If they stay in that area, they won't need transportation other than their feet. Except to get to and from wherever you are staying. There are food trucks in the area and some of the museums have eateries. 

The above is always an option and is likely to be more leisurely than a fast-paced tour. 

[Jaybee]

I might get a map ahead of time of the different museums just to see what they would like to see the most, and plan how they want to spend the day. The last time we were in D.C., my boys were at an age that I thought they would love the Air & Space museum. But they were just ho-hum about it. Then we went into the American History museum, and they got so excited, but we only had a short time left in the day.😐 That was totally unexpected to me.

[SKL]

We generally hold our conference within walking distance of the mall, so it really is an easy deal if they just go on their own.  I just have this need to feel like we're doing something educational.  😛  The kids do not appreciate that aspect of me.

They each have their own Visa debit card, which they replenish with their paychecks.  I can transfer some fun money and give them $20 cash in case they need it for street vendors.

Some of y'all would not believe the stuff I let my kids do without supervision.  😛  It really isn't that.

[Jaybee]

2 hours ago, SKL said:

We generally hold our conference within walking distance of the mall, so it really is an easy deal if they just go on their own.  I just have this need to feel like we're doing something educational.  😛  The kids do not appreciate that aspect of me.

They each have their own Visa debit card, which they replenish with their paychecks.  I can transfer some fun money and give them $20 cash in case they need it for street vendors.

Some of y'all would not believe the stuff I let my kids do without supervision.  😛  It really isn't that.

Well, the times I have gone to D.C., it feels like I have soaked up education in some way or another, just from breathing the air!😂 There are so many, many things to learn from, that it seems like letting them roam the museums/monuments at their leisure might be the way to go. I'd love to go sometime and have a whole week to explore. I've gotten "something" each time I have gone, whether it was a more formalized trip or not.