JaneB

Has anyone taken the tour boat from Washington, DC to Mount Vernon and back?? What are your impressions of it; is it an interesting boat ride; is it a worthwhile alternative to metro/bus ride to Mt. Vernon?

jon

We took a tour boat from Old Town Alexandria to Mount Vernon and loved it! It was such a nice trip up the river, with commentary about the different sites along the shore. The price included your ticket to Mount Vernon. There was plenty of time to explore the area before having to get back on the boat for the return trip. I highly recommend taking the boat trip, especially since I don't think the metro goes anywhere near Mount Vernon. The company we used was the Potomac Riverboat Company, at potomacriverboatco.com. Have fun!!

BigRed

We took a trip from down near the waterfront in DC to Mount Vernon. I thought the boat ride was OK, the Potomac is not that interesting though.

The neat thing is you dock down by the river and come into Mount Vernon "the back way"...you beat some of the crowds since you're starting on the wrong end

JaneB

Thanks! It sounds like the trip from downtown to MV is o.k., but the trip from Old Town Alexandria to MV is great. I think we'll take the metro to Old Town and the boat to MV from there.
I appreciate your in-put.

JungleCat

I didn't take a boat tour to get there but I know that the river's approach to Mount Vernon is beautiful, something you might see in a Ken Burns documentary.

Word of caution, the slave quarters at MV are disturbing to witness but it is an undeniable fact of history. There's no sugarcoating it.

mrwunrfl

I just took a look at the website that jon recommended. Check out the map here:
http://www.potomacriverboatco.com/tours/washington/map.html

Maybe BigRed took a boat from the SW Waterfront. I could see that it might be a bit uninteresting from there down to M.V. (especially when passing the Blue Plains water treatment center). But on the way south, there would be some good views of D.C. from the back of the boat. Past Alexandria would be more of the Potomac which he found uninteresting.

The tour shown on the page mentioned above that leaves from the Georgetown dock out to be pretty spectacular, with great views all the way down to the airport.

One thing I'd consider would be taking the metro and bus down to M.V. The bus ride would be fairly scenic down the parkway. Then take the boat up the river and visit Old Town. Continue with a boat ride up to Georgetown.

If I had to choose between the Georgetown-Alexandria boat and the Alexandria-M.V. boat, I'd take the former. A boat would be a nice way to get to M.V., though.

I haven't taken the tour boats, but the drive on the G.W. Parkway along the Potomac from Key Bridge to 14th Street is really scenic. I think a boat ride from G'town would be picture postcard pretty.

Ann41

I've done the OT-Gtown route, and it's a nice change of pace. If your alternative to the boat is the bus, take the boat.

It's about a 15-20 minute walk from the King Street metro down to the dock (straight down King Street--you can't get lost). Some peole seem to imagine that this is a 4-mile journey, but I walk from my office right by the metro down to the water almost every day, and it truly is 15-20, unless you aren't particuarly mobile.

It's a really nice walk in decent weather. Lots of shops and restaurants. Stop at Misha's for coffee.