any info or suggestions on potomac boat tours,either dinner or just a tour, looking to do a boat tour on a saturday night in april, family of three. any good shopping suggstions in the dc area. we are staying at the jury hotel in dupont circle.

The boat tours are really not that good. They just go up and down the river in an isolated area. That is just my experience - so others might know better. You might want to check out DC Ducks - a tour that goes on land and the water. Fun for kids and adults alike (so I've heard). Go to Georgetown for shopping. Also, Duport Circle is fun to walk in and out of stores.

boombacca== make reservations at any number of DC restaurants and save the money from the Potomac boat ride's dinner-- just do the doat ride for the ride itself!!

Some good restaurants to try are Red Sage or Kinkaids.

Shopping is good in Georgetown and the Georgetown Mall, and then going up Wisconsin Ave, you hit Bethesda.MD with the Galleria Shopping Center and Cheescake Factory Rest. for lunch...

boombacca1: For boat tours try Shore Shot Cruises - 50 minute narrated boat tours, you'll see various sites of interest including the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, the Washington Monument, and the Capitol. Toll Free: 1-800-240-2324 Address: 31st Street at K Street, NW Washington DC 20007 (There is also some shopping in this area) I would avoid the tourist trap boat tours on Maine Aveune SW altogether. As for shopping, their is great shopping (and restaurants) right outside your hotel: Try Conn Ave between P & S st. Also try 18th st between Florida Ave & Columbia Raod.

For a great flea/craft/food market, go to Eastern Market on Capital Hill. You can have lunch (famous soft-shell crab sandwiches) or breakfast ( fantastic French toast – sorry is it Freedom Toast now?!). Take the metro (blue orange line) to Eastern Market. The market is on 7th, basically across the street from the subway stop. It is an easy 2-3 block walk from here to the Capital, the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court. Very charming neighbourhood of townhouses as well.

The website for the metro is wmata.com/metrorail

Have to agree that the boat tour would not be much fun. However, a really fun thing for the family is to rent canoes on the river in Georgetown and go on your own tour. Can't find a website but the details are:

Thompson Boat Center
Located at: 2900 Virginia Ave. NW, Washington
Telephone: 202-333-4861

Thompson Boat Center offers both boat and bike rentals. They are located along the Potomac River in the Georgetown area. (Basically take Wisconsin Ave to where it runs into the river.)

You can apparently also hire kayaks and take guided kayak tours on the Potomac from a location in Southeast Washington, I have not done this, but take a look at the website www.atlantickayak.com/gangplank

Another fun thing would be to rent bicycles and go along the C&O towpath in Georgetown or through Rock Creek Park. You can also take a canal barge ride through the C&O canal, which is part of a park run by the National Park Service. Go to http://www.nps.gov/choh for information.

If you are looking for activities on a Sat evening, check to see if any of the museums are open and offering events, or if there is a good play at the National Theatre or any neighbourhood fairs, etc. A site to try would be www.dcmdva-arts.org/muffthdc.htm

Boom,
I took my daughter to DC when she was 11 last year in April. We did the night trolley tour of the monuments, which was cool, but she still enjoyed seeing the monuments from the boat. We took a bus to Georgetown, did some shopping in the area around the waterfront, had a nice dinner outside by the river and caught the boat afterwards. It was relaxing and fun.

Definitely avoid the dinner cruises. Bad food, worse entertainment. You're trapped like a bug on those things.

The regular boat tours, however, are great. I've been here for 15 years, and took a boat from Old Town Alexandria to Georgetown last summer when some friends were visiting. I really enjoyed it--just a different way of seeing the city, and pleasant way to get between two points. As others have said, you can pick them up in Georgetown, or Old Town Alexandria (right at the end of King Street).

I've also heard good things about the Duck tours, but dont' know any info on them.

I second Eastern Market. The breakfasts there are definitely worth waiting in line for. And it's a fun place to shop.

Old Town Alexandria's great for wandering and shopping. If you take the Metro, just walk straight down King Street. It's roughly 1.5 miles to the water, and King Street is lined with restaurants and shops. Then you could take a boat tour back to Georgetown.

There's also a boat trip from Old Town Alexandria to Mount Vernon, which was really great. Not only do you get a scenic trip along the river, but easy transportation to a great landmark. Check out the company at www.potomacriverboatco.com.

My family took the DC Duck tour about 4 years ago, and we really enjoyed it. The kids (6 and 9 then) especially enjoyed getting to steer the duck in the middle of the Potomac. It's an oddball enough thing that it really makes an impression on the kids.