Think I will take the family to DC this summer. Hotel parking is crazy by the capital. Not spending $250 a night either. OK Washington pros, fire up the suggestions. Have a call into Donnie, but it seems he is out of town, and his couch is very old and lumpy.
Where to stay as a DC tourist
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Be interested myself.
Staying out of the city will be cheaper but you'll have to drive in and pay parking or take the bus/metro. Springfield area is going to get you cheaper rooms, but don't go too cheap. Anywhere decent downtown is going to be $250/ night or more
If it's on the metro it will be expensive, of course if you can go in august you'll be a little better off. You can get into the 150 range in august out by the navy yard and Reagan national. I'm a Hilton guy so maybe you can do even better. Highly recommend a guided night tour of the monuments.
IMHO The Mall has so much to see...week minimum stay.
We used to live in Arlington, VA and haven't visited the DC area in about 5 years. But getting from surrounding areas into DC is a royal pain. Not something I'd want to do if I was intending to spend all of my time touring DC. For the dollar difference, I'd personally get a hotel in DC. In the end, you will probably be thankful you did. JMO.
Residence Inn or Hilton in Arlington, near Court House Metro station. Forget driving, just Metro, Uber and walk. Driving in DC is an exercise in Frustration. Must see's:
Capital
White House
Smithsonian
Supreme Court
The Vietnam Memorial
Washington Monument
Lincoln Memorial
Arlington National Cemetary
Holocust Museum
Marine Corp Museum
FBI
Korean War Memorial
WWII Memorial
National Gallery of Art
Capital
White House
Smithsonian
Supreme Court
The Vietnam Memorial
Washington Monument
Lincoln Memorial
Arlington National Cemetary
Holocust Museum
Marine Corp Museum
FBI
Korean War Memorial
WWII Memorial
National Gallery of Art
Do you know how much it costs for the metro, and how long it takes to get to the mall from the area in Arlington you suggested? Starting to think I should just bite the bullet on the parking to get close. Don't want to waste the time I would have commuting.
Thanks for all the input.
Thanks for all the input.
I visited DC just a few weeks ago. I stayed at the Trump Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue. I had a rental car but left it with the valet almost the whole time, except for a couple ventures. Most everything was well within walking distance. Thank god for valet parking because I could only imagine how horrible trying to even find parking in DC can be. The traffic in DC is effin nuts. If you have the means, its better to pay a little more on a hotel that's close than the time and frustration you'll experience staying outside and trying to get in imho.
Last summer my family stayed at the Holiday Inn Washington Capitol and could not have lucked out any better. It's two blocks from the L'Enfant metro station, which is the single biggest confluence of all the metro (subway) lines that can get you all over the damn city and even out to the VA suburbs. It's two blocks from the Smithsonian Air & Space museum and from there virtually all the Smithsonians are walking distance. Taxi's are always waiting there and Uber drivers know where it is. And it didn't cost a fortune. We didn't take a car so we didn't have to worry about parking, which SUCKS everywhere you go. We'd have spent half our vacation looking for parking and paid a fortune for it when we found it.
While we were there, we saw:
-Arlington Cemetery
-Capitol
-Air & Space
-Udvar-Hazy Air & Space out at Dulles, which has the space shuttle and a concorde among other things worth making the trip
-Natural History museum
-National History museum
-The White House visitor center, although we didn't get a tour of the actual grounds because we didn't start soon enough to get passes
-Bureau of printing & engraving (aka "the mint")
-Ford's Theatre and the house across the street where Lincoln died
-The Spy Museum
Plus lots of restaurants around DuPont Circle and Chinatown. Food is expensive but we always ate well.
While we were there, we saw:
-Arlington Cemetery
-Capitol
-Air & Space
-Udvar-Hazy Air & Space out at Dulles, which has the space shuttle and a concorde among other things worth making the trip
-Natural History museum
-National History museum
-The White House visitor center, although we didn't get a tour of the actual grounds because we didn't start soon enough to get passes
-Bureau of printing & engraving (aka "the mint")
-Ford's Theatre and the house across the street where Lincoln died
-The Spy Museum
Plus lots of restaurants around DuPont Circle and Chinatown. Food is expensive but we always ate well.
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I've stayed at the Omni twice and it's really easy to grab the subway from almost underneath the hotel and go to the different areas. Don't remember ever using a cab.
I think it is $2.00 - 3.75 one way from court house to farragut west or $15.00 for a day pass. It takes 15 minutes.
https://www.wmata.com/schedules/index.cfm
Ask the folks that live there, but DC traffic can be some of the worst in the country and the Metro is easy and safe.
BTW, wear your most comfortable walking shoes.
Alexandria. Look for Spring Hill Suites or Marriott on Eisenhower. Catch metro from a walk just over bridge.
Definitely stay near a Metro station. You can go ANYWHERE a tourist needs to go using it. Buy a Day Pass each day and enjoy.
Me and my wife went back last fall and stayed in Alexandria. Our hotel was very nice and ran about $115 a night. It was a 5 minute drive to the metro station with free parking and we rode the train into dc every day. Imo it was the way to do it if you don't want to pay for the expensive hotels in dc. We also used both cabs and uber while in dc and found uber to be much cheaper. Absolutely loved the trip and plan to go back when my son is old enough.
I had good luck with Priceline in DC. I got a very nice random 4 star in Capitol Hill for under $150. What's nice with the Capitol Hill area on Priceline is the area is small enough where the "worst" hotel is still walking distance to the Capitol building.
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As a transplant from Pittsburgh, I've lived in the Crystal City, ( Arlington VA) area and Old Town, (Alexandria VA) for over 7 years and travel quite frequently into the District.
Here is what I would recommend;
Look for hotels in Crystal City or Old Town Alexandria.
Crystal City has great restaurants located on Crystal Drive.
Old Town also has great restaurants along King Street, plus you can walk to the bottom of King Street to enjoy the Potomac River.
Both locations I have mentioned are close to a Metro stop, but lately the Metro is going under significant repairs which usually means single tracking with big delays.
Maybe ride the Metro once to check that box, but after that use Uber or Lyft.
Uber/Lyft rides usually run about $10 to $15 and just sometimes $20.
Both areas are pretty safe with numerous families with kids in tow, my GF and I walk everywhere.
Food in DC near the mall is ok for lunch, but don't expect choices for dinner. Only when you go to places like Adams Morgan or the
China District will you find food choices and great night life.
DC is very walk able. You don't need a car, a car will be a pain in the butt there.
The nice thing about Crystal City or Old Town is that it gives you a chance to decompress after a long day in the District.
Feel free to PM for more info.
Here is what I would recommend;
Look for hotels in Crystal City or Old Town Alexandria.
Crystal City has great restaurants located on Crystal Drive.
Old Town also has great restaurants along King Street, plus you can walk to the bottom of King Street to enjoy the Potomac River.
Both locations I have mentioned are close to a Metro stop, but lately the Metro is going under significant repairs which usually means single tracking with big delays.
Maybe ride the Metro once to check that box, but after that use Uber or Lyft.
Uber/Lyft rides usually run about $10 to $15 and just sometimes $20.
Both areas are pretty safe with numerous families with kids in tow, my GF and I walk everywhere.
Food in DC near the mall is ok for lunch, but don't expect choices for dinner. Only when you go to places like Adams Morgan or the
China District will you find food choices and great night life.
DC is very walk able. You don't need a car, a car will be a pain in the butt there.
The nice thing about Crystal City or Old Town is that it gives you a chance to decompress after a long day in the District.
Feel free to PM for more info.
D.C. is a shit hole lmao but has a lot to sight see. A lot of the above info is solid, as I would recommend staying in Crystal City, it is nice and walk able as well or Alexandria.
If visiting Mon-Fri stay off of I-95 during morning and afternoon hours, it is pure hell.
Check out the NRA HQ National Firearms Museum in northern Fairfax, its right next to the Udvar-Hazy Air & Space Museum that MFE^^ mentioned, has some real cool guns, movie props, and steam punk.
If you dont mind a little walk you could park at the USMC memorial by Ft. Meyer it is free, and walk across the Arlington Cemetery bridge as it leads right into the National Mall by the way of the Lincoln Memorial.
If visiting Mon-Fri stay off of I-95 during morning and afternoon hours, it is pure hell.
Check out the NRA HQ National Firearms Museum in northern Fairfax, its right next to the Udvar-Hazy Air & Space Museum that MFE^^ mentioned, has some real cool guns, movie props, and steam punk.
If you dont mind a little walk you could park at the USMC memorial by Ft. Meyer it is free, and walk across the Arlington Cemetery bridge as it leads right into the National Mall by the way of the Lincoln Memorial.
We stayed in Arlington and walked to the Metro station. I don't remember the hotel, but we could see the Iwo Jima monument walking to the station. Def stay at a chain hotel in Virginia and ride the metro. Be prepared to walk a ton around the mall. We probably did 15 miles a few days. We did all the usual stuff. We did the FBI HQ, long wait and sort of out of the way and maybe not worth it IMO. Best highlight was the White House.
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