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Overnight tour from New York to see Washington, D.C.

Overnight tour from New York to see Washington, D.C.

Old Sep 2nd, 2015, 03:39 AM
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Overnight tour from New York to see Washington, D.C.

Looking to see as much of Washington, D.C. In an overnight tour From New York then back. Best tour or option for easiest and cheapest way and if we could include side trip to see Amish country would be a bonus.
Thanks in advance for any help.
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Old Sep 2nd, 2015, 04:41 AM
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Sorry - an overnight from NYC to DC gives you very limited time there and IMHO makes little sense 10 hours on the road to have very limited time there). You can get the budget buses (Megabus or similar) from NYC to DC for as little as $19 each way if tickets are bought in advance. As long as you are going find a budget place to stay and make it 2 or 3 nights.

As for fitting in Amish country - no - that would be a whole separate trip on it;s own taking at least one night
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Old Sep 2nd, 2015, 05:11 AM
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While it may not make a lot of sense, it's certainly possible to do this. Frankly, I'd skip the tour and do it on your own. Leave NYC as early as humanly possible by train (book this in advance yourself on line ... train tickets get more expensive the later you wait to book), and return as late as humanly possible from DC. Find a hotel in a central part of the District. And buy a circulator pass on arrival. There are some things you can book in advance (Washington Monument, Holocaust Museum, etc.). Then you can see the things that you prefer.

However, the Amish country of Pennsylvania is nowhere near the route you'd take to DC. It's simply not possible to see both on a single overnight trip.

There are companies that will try to pack all this in and shove you around for 2 days on a bus, but it's hellish, and I don't recommend it.
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Old Sep 2nd, 2015, 07:01 AM
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I agree with nytraveler on this one, with this exception: If you can go to DC on a day when you are guaranteed to tour The Capitol and The White House, it would be worth an overnight trip. For me, these are memorable experiences--right up there with peering out of the Statue of Liberty's crown in the days when you could climb the stairs inside the statue.

HTtY
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Old Sep 2nd, 2015, 07:16 AM
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I agree with Doug. It's doable if you understand that you will get just a peek at the city. And I agree that a tour is not needed, although that is a matter of personal preference. I can see wanting a tour in order to avoid wasting time being lost or confused.

I strongly disagree that tours of the Capitol and the White House are necessary for this one day whirlwind. Especially the White House, which is a lot of fuss and bother--where is he to leave his daybag, for instance??--for an extremely abbreviated look at a couple of rooms on the ground floor.
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Old Sep 2nd, 2015, 07:17 AM
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Sorry, just saw by the OP's screen name that I got the gender wrong--so I ask, where is she to leave her daybag? (lol) My point being that the WH does not permit bags at all.
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Old Sep 2nd, 2015, 11:03 AM
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Do you still have to apply the US Embassy or Consulate for a White House tour these days if from overseas? I know for US citizens you have to go through your Congressman or woman.
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Old Sep 2nd, 2015, 12:39 PM
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Yes, jamie99, the White House tours are still restricted that way.
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Old Sep 2nd, 2015, 04:19 PM
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I don't know if non US citizens are allowed to visit the White House at all any longer. I think it used to require application from the national's embassy - but it may have been from the US embassy in the foreign country.

But it's still possible to get entrance to the Capitol I think.
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Old Sep 2nd, 2015, 07:08 PM
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From the website for WH tours
https://www.whitehouse.gov/participate/tours-and-events
"If you wish to visit the White House and are a citizen of a foreign country, please contact your embassy in Washington, DC for assistance in submitting a tour request."

So, contact YOUR embassy in DC.
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Old Sep 2nd, 2015, 07:25 PM
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>

I don't know why this outdated information is still on the White House website. None of the foreign embassies apply for White House tours anymore on behalf of their citizens.

However, it is still possible for non-U.S. citizens to obtain tickets to tour the White House. A resourceful Australian citizen wrote about how she did it on Trip Advisor and her thread is now one of the Top Questions on the Washington, D.C. forum. I'll include the link to it, but just be aware that it is difficult for ANYONE to get White House tour ticket.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic..._Columbia.html
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Old Sep 2nd, 2015, 09:20 PM
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< None of the foreign embassies apply for White House tours anymore on behalf of their citizens. >
longhorn55, what is the source for this statement?
The blogger you link to says the Australian embassy won't help with WH tours. Do we know that none of them will?
Anyway, she advises contacting a U.S. Congressperson even if one is a foreign national--it worked for her, although it's worth noting that she chose DC's delegate, which was smart.
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Old Sep 3rd, 2015, 05:33 AM
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My information is based on over 10 years of following the tourism industry in Washington, D.C. Not once since the White House re-opened for tours in 2013 have I read or heard any reports of non-U.S. citizens being able to apply for White House tours through their embassy.
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Old Sep 3rd, 2015, 08:43 AM
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OK, well...I'm still going to go with what's stated on the WH website. I mean, I don't see the harm in emailing a US member of Congress if one is a foreign national, and great if it works, but I also wouldn't be surprised if it didn't work.
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Old Sep 3rd, 2015, 09:10 AM
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OK, well...I'm still going to go with what's stated on the WH website.

Makes sense to me, HTtY
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Old Sep 4th, 2015, 05:59 PM
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I wrote to the Australian Embassy in DC and the reply was they do not process White House tours.

As time was limited for our tour to the States a couple of years ago we had to choose whether to see Washington DC for a day or not see it at all. I know people say if you cant see all there is no point in going to places but our day in Washington was a very special day in our holiday and I am so glad we went.

I booked a train to leave NYC at Penn Station at 530am which got us into Union Station around 9am. We had breakfast at the station (beautiful interior) and walked outside and got on one of the hop on hop off buses. My husband was ex military so we wanted to visit the memorials. We knew there was no way we could visit any of the Smithsonians and although that was disappointing we did get to walk around the memorials and go to Arlington. These were the things that were on the top of our list anyway.

We stayed on the bus and did the complete circuit of the memorials before getting off at Arlington. We watched the changing of the guard and walked around the cemetery for a while. We then went to the Lincoln memorial and walked around there for a couple of hours visiting all the others.

I think our train left at 7.30pm and we got into NYC around 11pm. It was a full day but we got some sleep on the train both ways.

Do I wish we could have spent more time in DC. Absolutely. Do I regret going for just a day. Absolutely not. I would do it again if I had to. We loved walking around the mall and Arlington. It was one of the best days of our trip.
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Old Sep 5th, 2015, 05:22 AM
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A bus is the cheapest way to get to DC from NYC. If you really want to pack a ton in, I'd do a Segway tour. I'm a local and did one with friends last year and it was fantastic! $60 for 3ish hours. We used Capital Segway but there are several companies who do this. We saw tons of memorials and interesting buildings and it was a really neat way to get an overview of the monuments without exhausting ourselves with schlepping around. Capital Segway is a few blocks from Zaytinya so we caught lunch there. It was delicious especially for a group. We did the mezze lunch and it was such fun to share dishes.
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Old Sep 12th, 2015, 02:14 PM
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I've gone to NYC for an overnight from DC, so not only is it possible, I don't think it is senseless, either. It's the same thing in reverse. Of course you can do it. You can't combine Amish country with it, though. In fact, it's a good way to economize since hotels are expensive (in both cities, NYC is more which is why I sometimes only stay one night and come home in the evening).

I take the bus sometimes but if you really want to maximize time, you take the Acela train and that only takes 3 hours each way (if you're lucky, sometimes they are not on time). The regular train takes 3:30-4. So it doesn't take five hours to get there. In fact, I've taken the bus when it got there in only 4 hours, although you can't count on that, and it would depend on day of week, etc.
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