Washington D.C. Travel Forum

The short story is that we will be driving from Atlanta up to Baltimore and then back home to MN in June. I know I should spend more time in DC, but it is not in the budget or itinerary for this particular vacation. We do plan on driving through and seeing what we can out the window. If anyone could recommend a city where we could park the car and take the train in, then indeed we will get out of the car and spend some time there. We could do it from Baltimore, but that is a one-hour train ride each way. Perhaps a city that is on our way West, that is only 30 minutes away. That way when we get back to our car, we hop in and continue home or get a hotel that is not $400 a night. The kids (13,11,9, and 10 months in June) really want to see the White House. I suppose we can see that driving through. If anything, I would like to get to The Mall and see some memorials close up and some monuments from far away. I will have a diaper bag and stroller to hinder me. Any suggestions? We would love to take an East Coast trip next year, but I just cannot stand the fact that we will be so close this time--we must stop, if only for a few hours, but I prefer those hours not to be horribly stressful and terribly expensive. Thank you.

You could try Crystal City which is close to Reagan National. They have an Embassy Suites and Hampton Inn so you and your kids could stay in the same room. The Metro is right there so you could hop on the train to get to see the sites.

I would agree with around the airport, or a little more South in Alexandria (which has some very neat sights of its own) and then take the Metro into downtown D.C.

I would check the METRO www site and find the nearest station to your route that has parking (not all do) and then take the METRO into where you want to go. The METRO is great for getting around DC with the all day ticket you can get on a ride a couple of blocks if you want rather than walk.

Last time I was there I stayed out in Chantilly VA and drove to the Vienna station and rode into to downtown. There are plenty of hotels out that way that should meet you price range. With that many people you will want something like a Residence Inn, which is where I stayed in Chantilly just a short distance from the Air & Space annex at Dulles, admission is free parking costs. The RI was only about 14 miles to the Vienna METRO stop.

Check with your congress critter ASAP about White House tours. I think that is the only way to get in these days.

You will have no problem getting on the mall and seeing the monuments close up, even with a diaper bag and stroller. There are nearby metro stops. Don't miss the dinos at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum and the space junk at the Air and Space Museum, all on the mall.

For searching for the best deals at all the motels around Washington, I would use

http://www.travelaxe.com

It searches all of the major travel web sites.

You should be able to find paid parking near Court House Metro (dont need Smart Card) on the orange line, take the metro to Smithsonian Station and walk all day !

You could also park at Union Station (or take the MARC train to Union Station), pay an arm and a leg, take the Tour mobile or Duck Tours or some such tour from there Metro and cover most of the attractions in one day - or you could find a local friend to DRIVE you around.

It is a shame you give yourself only one day

lots of info about the metro system, includes parking, attractions, etc
at http://wmata.com/metrorail/systemmap.cfm