bargains

Hello everyone,
We've gained so much information from reading this site and now I have a schedule that I was hoping you could comment on for me. My husband and I and two daughters, 15 and 12 are traveling by car from Boston to DC on Saturday! Thanks!

Saturday is pretty much a travel day. We are staying at the Holiday Inn Rosslyn and will probably just eat there that night and use the pool.

Sunday - Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Mass and tour; National Zoo.

Monday - Metro to Arlington Nat'l Cemetary and pick up the tourmobile tour for the cemetary and stay on for the tour of the national mall, getting off for all the monuments, and White House Visitor's Ctr. (couldn't get a tour). Hoping to get to Breadline for lunch. Will Metro back to Arlington and have dinner there.

Tuesday - American History Museum, Lunch at Old Post Office Pavillion, Natural History Museum.

Wednesday - Postal Museum, Lunch in the area, Capitol tour arranged by congressman at 1PM, Supreme Court tour.

Thursday - Bureau of Printing and Engraving, Air and Space Museum, Nat'l Gallery of Art (eating lunch there), Nat'l Archives, dinner in the area, Monuments at Night tour.

Friday - Everyone should be wiped by this time so I'd give them the choice of sleeping late or shopping at Georgetown for the morning and the Spy Museum in the afternoon. They also want to go to Hard Rock Cafe for dinner.

Saturday - Leaving for home but would like to check out the Eastern Market before we do.

How does that sound? Thursday sounds a little crowded to me. I also would like to fit in the Library of Congress but am not sure where to put it. Also, my older daughter just mentioned wanting to see the Holocaust Museum which we had passed on because we thought it would be too emotional for her sister to handle it.

Also could you comment on the weather for next week if you have heard anything.

I would like to get timed tickets for the Washington Monument but not sure what time to pick on Monday. I would also like to get timed tickets for a couple IMAX theater shows and planatarium and am wondering if I should get timed tickets for the Spy Museum.

Thanks so much for your help!

MikeT

I think the Holocaust Memorial is a "must see" and would probably be fine for a 12yo. There is a special guide material for kids and I think she would find it fascinating without being depressing.

You could rearrange a few things or cut. I would put the Postal Museum or Bureaui of Engraving lower on the "must do" list--although they are both great to see.

richbutnot

Our kids were 14 and 11 last year when we did a very similar trip.
Monday - sounds great
Tuesday - Take the elevator to the top of the Old Post Office Tower. This should eliminate the need to go up the Washington Monument.
Wednesday - Visit the Library of Congress while you're in the area. It is much more interesting than the Supreme Court.
Thursday - Sounds too crowded. Of all the SI museums, we spent the most time in A&S. I would move National Archives to Tuesday since you will be in the area. We went at night and there were no lines at all. I've read on this board that wait times can be over an hour during peak periods.
Friday - We went to the Spy Museum in the morning and walked right in. You might want to go here first and shopping second.

Suggest buying the weekly pass for the Metro that let's you ride anytime including rush hour. I think it is $20. We had two days left on them at the end of the week and left them at the front desk for the employees.

The Tourmobile tours are expensive for a family of four, and can have long waits to get on at times. We took the Tourmobile tour of Arlington and walked the rest of the Monuments. We are not in great shape, but we made it easily with lots of stops. It was four miles starting and ending at the Smithsonian Metro stop. The one time we got the car out all week was to tour the monuments at night. Traffic wasn't bad and we didn't have a hard time finding parking.

Have Fun, Rich

dcdilettante

The only advice we have is not to miss Eastern Market! We moved to Capitol Hill because of it -- Best breakfast in town, freshest locally grown produce and the works of hundreds of local artisans. Be forewarned, however, that the breakfast is so popular that a line for it starts snaking out the back around 9 am. But, it's well worth the wait...

KatieL

I agree that Thursday is too crowded. I would skip the Bureau of Printing and Engraving. I would prioritize the Library of Congress over the Postal Museum. Or, you may be able to fit it in after the Capitol tour, since they are pretty close to each other. The Holocost Mueseum is also a must. It can be emotional, but should be fine for a 12 year old. They do a good job of featuring people who helped rescue Jews during the Holocost, which helps you leave on a positive note. I would choose the Holocost Museum over the National Zoo...but, I'm not a big fan of zoos, so take that advice with a grain of salt!

I also agree that the Tourmobile is more expensive than it's worth, except for the Arlington part. You can easily get to Arlington on the metro, and take the tourmobile there. The metro is convenient for the mall monuments and museums.

Check to see if the Washington Monument is open currently. I went last October and it was closed.

The monuments at night are beautiful!! I've seen them on an official tour, and just by driving and parking. Driving was just as easy, cheaper, and we weren't rushed. Make sure to see the WWII at night!!

bardo1

Yout itinerary looks just fine.

Glad you are doing your driving on Saturdays, you'll avoid most of the Friday/Sunday weekenders driving. You'll also miss the commuters - smart plan.

I, too, would pass on Engraving & Printing. Your other plans for Thursday will more than keep you busy that day and are all infinately more interesting, IMO.

I also agree with the weekly Metro passes - great idea.

yk

I'm researching my upcoming trip to DC, and I'll just add my 2 cents.

The National Gallery of Art hosts free Jazz concerts every Friday from 5-8pm. You may want to consider going in NGA on Fri instead of Thursday. For more info on the jazz concerts, see:
http://www.nga.gov/ginfo/jazzprogs.shtm#garden

mommybryant

My advice is to pick a time soon and get the Washington Monument tickets NOW! We waited til a few days before our trip and couldnt get them online. They only sell a portion of the tickets in advance. However, we were there last August and were able to easily get them the same day. My husband went around 8:30 AM and got tickets for 4:30PM. So we just planned our day around that time. Have fun!

PS We loved the Washington Monument and the Bureau of Printing and Engraving. Try and see it all. You can sleep when you get back home, ha!

DownSouth

We took our children to Washington over spring break for their first time in March (Daughter - 14; son - 9). At first our daughter was not very excited about going but at the end, she said that she didn't want to go home! You must schedule the Holocaust Museum for your daughters. I think it will be fine for your 12 year old. Order timed tickets before you go - they are free but a small handling fee. They will hold them at "will-call" desk on the first floor since you are leaving so soon.

Our daughter loves art so we did spend about 3 hours in the Hirshhorn while my husband took our son to the Air/Space Museum next door. Both children loved the National Gallery.

I think you have gotten some very good suggestions about your itinerary. Since I live with two children with not much stamina, maybe consider sleeping in on Wednesday and skip the Postal Museum. Eat a light breakfast at the hotel and take the metro to the Capitol. We ate lunch at Bullfeather's behind the Capitol (recommended by our Congressman's staff) and then be ready for l p.m. I would visit the Library of Congress after the Capitol tour.

Thursday will be a big day. We heard that it was basically impossible to get tickets for the Bureau of Engraving. One man whom we met at our hotel went to the Bureau at 6:30 a.m. to get in line and didn't end up with any. This was of course spring break week which maybe is an unusual week. (We tried through our congressman's office and it was booked for months.)

I think Friday should be shopping day in Georgetown and skip the SPy Museum (especially with two daughters on your hands!) Schedule the Holocaust Museum for Friday afternoon. Allow at least 3 hours. My daughter and I took a cab from Georgetown to the Museum. If time allows, catch the jazz at the National Gallery but I'm not sure where the Hard Rock Cafe is located.

Cell phones saved us when we split up and remember that Washington blocks are extremely long. I would bring at least two backpacks for water bottles, snacks, umbrellas, etc. Enjoy - it's a wonderful city.

LoriNY

My 2 cents, having just returned. The Old Post Office for lunch - don't expect much, there isn't much. Except for the location to the two museums, there is not much there to eat.
Wash Monument - if you can get the tix in advance do so - the line was quite long Sunday morning.
The metro is great and easy and convenient. As for the weather, it will be hot.

Lmaev

I too recommend skipping the spy museum. It was not all it was cracked up to. We had tickets to the spy museum and the special exhibit. It was a ton of reading and the interactive tools you could use were often occupied by little kids whose parents ignored the time warning posted or just like to press/play with the buttons and not really understand what they were doing.
With all the things to do and see in DC, we were very sorry we wasted a morning here.

RLS

Just a few thoughts. Since Thursday is so busy, you might consider the night tour (DC After Dark) Sunday evening. I have gone numerous times (exclusively through Gray Lines - ask if Arthur is working!) and and always make a point of packing grapes, apples, bread, cheese and beverages to enjoy enroute. It will give you a nice overview of the city and will allow you to explore other sites in greater detail on Monday, and avoid the cost of the tourmobile scheduled for that day. As a first time visitor I would skip the Spy Museum, Old Post Office Pavillion, Postal Museum, and even though I've been there a dozen times, the Supreme Court. Two memorable considerations often overlooked are the National Cathedral and Ford's Theater, but I assume they are both stops on the tourmobile, if you still plan to do it.

On Wednesday, instead of the Postal Museum, head to Holocast Museum, and if time allows, work your way toward the Smithsonian Castle, or any of the art museums along the way and/or the Botanical Garden (or is it the Aboretum?) at the foot of Capitol Hill in time for the 1PM appointment. It's a modest walk along the mall, slight incline at the very end.

I had a two hour wait last April at the National Archives. Pack water, granola bars or something else to take the edge off while waiting at this, or other, sites. Have fun!

bargains

As usual the participants on this board do not disappoint! Thanks to all of you for your wonderful suggestions. I think we will try to move the Nat'l Archives to Tuesday night as Rich suggested. I'll try to fit the Library of Congress in on Wednesday at Katie suggested.

My younger daughter's two top picks are the Bureau of Engraving and the Spy Museum so I'm afraid I'll have to leave them on the schedule.

I might try to do the night monument tour on Sunday night as RLS suggested since Sunday is a relatively light day. I just thought it might be overkill to see the monuments by night on Sunday and then the next day in daylight and I thought I should space them by a few days at the museums. Do you think that after seeing them at night, it will be enough or do you suggest seeing them in the daytime as well? That would free up more time to see the Holocaust Museum.

We will definately try to see the Holocaust Museum if we can and the Eastern Market. There is so much to fit in!

I'm going to purchase the tickets to Washington Monument, IMAX, Planaterium, Spy Museum, and Holocaust timed tickets today. Thanks for the warning! Any suggestions on shows that are better than others for IMAX?

A quick question about the Metro - I purchased three $20 Metro facecards on ebay for $40. There are quite a lot of them for sale there. Since there are four of us, do I need to purchase another card when I get to a Metro station or can the first person in line pass their card to the fourth one without too much trouble. I'm not sure if we will use more than the $60 value. What do you think?

Thanks so much again to all of you!

Doriana

bargains -- Each rider on the metro needs his or her own fare card. Fares are not flat -- they are determined by where you get on and off -- so each person needs to use the fare card at both the originating and exiting stations. I assume little kids ride free, but I doubt that 12 and 15 are young enough for that (but don't know).

Giovanna

We had a wonderful time on our first visit to DC in May 2004. Our days weren't as ambitious as yours, but I think you've made good choices. Don't see how you could possibly add anything else, but we took a boat to Mt. Vernon on a Sunday and it was a terrific experience. I'm sure the girls would enjoy it. Also, sorry to see that you're not going to any plays. We went to both the Kennedy Center and Fords Theatre. Both plays were outstanding.

In any case, I know you will enjoy your trip. DC is a wonderful place to visit.

bardo1

bargains,

Yes, everyone needs their own Metro fare card.

Based on your itinerary, you're not going anywhere where the fare will exceed $1.35 one way.

Children 4 years and younger ride free on Metro.

All the IMAX films are good, IMO. You may want to just choose one that fits your schedule for that day.

gogbgo

I am also traveling to Washington early August with my 2 teens and this itinerary is great! Should I buy the fare cards in advance as the poster did? Also, please direct me to a site to purchase IMAX tickets and tickets for the various exhibits.
Thank you, this site is terrific!

KatieL

Seeing the monuments two days in a row won't be overkill, but if you can fit in the Holocost Museum by elminating the day visit, that would be worthwhile. The Vietnam, however, is better during the day, IMO. The Lincoln is neat too. Since they are around everything you will be doing anyway, you may want to not put them into your day schedule, but just take advantage of the times you are near them to take some pictures.

Also, keep in mind memorial etiquette. I have been to the Vietnam and Korean memorials many times when kids were allowed to run around yelling, despite the presence of older veterans meditating on their past. I'm sure your daughters will be respectful, but I post this for the benefit of others with younger children who may read this in the future. Visits to memorials such as these are great opportunities to teach kids respect and courtesy (even if veterans are not present)!

cilll

Glancing through the replies, you've gotten a lot of great suggestions. Also, check out the Trolley Tours, 202-832-9800, with the drivers who double as tour guides, and be sure not to miss the Egyptian part of The Smithsonian. Chinatown (a stop on the Metro, too) is a must-see. Have a wonderful time; those of us who live in this area grow used to the fabulous spots to visit and are happy when we can think about and talk about them.

Anonymous

There's no need to buy your farecards in advance. You can buy them at any metro station. For most visitors, the 7-day $22 unlimited use (for short rides) farecard is the best buy. Get the full story at www.wmata.com. If you are an expereinced eBayer, you might be able to get a good deal. but of course there are also risks of fraud.

Everyone must have their own farecard because the system is the type where you have to feed your card into the turnstile when exiting as well as when entering because the system is zoned and you will be charged according to where you exit.