Day trip from Washington, DC to Charlottesville, VA
 

Hello,

I'm going to be in DC from April 13-18 and was thinking of doing a day trip to Charlottesville and Monticello. I know this will take a huge chunk of the day just getting there and spending time at Monticello. What I'm wanting to know is what would be some other worthwhile stops along the way, and what might I have time for.I was thinking perhaps Fredericksburg or Manassas, as I am interested in Civil War history, or maybe Montpelier to visit James Madison's home. I just wasn't sure if it's feasible to fit any of these sites in to a day along with Monticello. Also, any ideas on some great food or breweries in or on the way to Charlottesville that anyone would recommend? I appreciate any ideas. Thanks.

The drive looks like close to 3 hours each way mid-week (only slightly shorter on weekends). According to comments on TripAdvisor and elsewhere, the average amount of time spent at Monticello ranges from 3-5 hours. That's more than a day trip to me, and I probably wouldn't want to make any stops or detours along the way.

If you haven't been to Mt. Vernon, you might want to think about going there instead. We spent about 5 hours there, and it's much closer to D.C. You could drive, but you could also take a Potomac cruise.

I've been to most those places but not done that drive from DC (others will have better local advice) and I'd assume a lot would depend on traffic on I-95 . . . But just to give you an idea - I managed Monticello, Montpelier and Petersburg as a day trip from Williamsburg which would be about the same time needed to drive DC > Monticello > Montpelier > Manassas > DC. A long day -- about 5 hours of car time. I had plenty of time at Monticello and Montpelier and could have had more time at Petersburg but I simply pooped out :) and only spent about an hour there, unfortunately (my next trip I plan on half a day or more)

I figured it would be about five hours of car time from and back to Washington. And unless I did go to Fredericksburg, there would be little, if any, time spent on I-95. I'm prepared for a long day, picking up the car at Reagan International airport in Arlington at 7AM and returning late evening. I like that idea of Monticello > Montpelier > Manassas. But I also would not want to cram the day too full and short-change the experience at each place.

If you're picking up your car from Reagan at 7 am, I-95 isn't necessarily a bad choice as you're leaving the DC metro area during incoming rush. The other options have you traversing through DC metro area during rush hour to get out of town. DC traffic isn't only about into the city destinations. It's a cluster of satellite snarls and you may encounter more than one getting out of the metro area at that time of day.

I personally would not do Fredericksburg and Monticello in one day, even a long one. The combination of Monticello and Montpelier sounds like a good plan. If you have time and energy to see the Manassas Battlefield after that, you can take a combo of Routes 15 & 29 to get there (avoiding I-95). If you pass on Manassas, you can also take a combo of Routes 15, 29 and I-66 to get back to Reagan. Manassas can be done on another day from DC depending on your access to a car. The battlefield would be a good day pairing with the Udvar Hazy Air & Space museum.

I'd do Manassas another time, traffic back into northern Virginia suburbs can be terrible. I was going to stop off one time and visit our office in Chantilly, when I called them, they told me it would take over 2 hours from where I was. Maybe visit the grounds of the University of Virginia instead, they are beautiful, don't miss the Rotunda building which was designed by Jefferson.

What day of the week are you planning to do this? Makes a HUGE difference traffic-wise and I'm surprised nobody has asked you this already.

This is a reasonable day trip (I work in Cville, my mom lives in Nova--I have daytripped up there to go into DC for an event or museum and it is a long day but it's fine).

I use Route 29 to go between these destinations and I can't say there are any amazing restaurants or breweries along the way. If you make a little time to enjoy Cville there are a LOT of options for local breweries, distilleries, and excellent food. I second the recommendation of touring UVA as it also has a link to Jefferson and is historically interesting.

You could be in town late morning, tour Monticello, go into Cville for lunch, and then go either to Montpelier or UVA grounds for an afternoon tour and then head back to DC. Have fun.

I like shlegals idea. Returning to DC at night, after the evening rush hour would mean a lot less traffic. So have dinner out somewhere along the way too. I would also avoid 95 and go the back country roads down to Charlottesville. There will be lots of fanfare in town this week with the UVA mens basketball winning the national championship. Shlegal is there a parade in town planned? I would avoid that day if there is one next week. I would think most likely on the weekend rather than during the week.

>>>> I would also avoid 95 and go the back country roads down to Charlottesville.<<<<

This is where Dukey's question is a relevant one. The "back country roads" don't happen until you leave Metro DC and depending on the route, they will be clogged on a weekday. On a weekend, they will almost certainly be a better choice than I-95 b/c of through traffic coming from north of DC.

Google maps or whatever GPS or navigation system you use will be your friend. Whatever day you choose, you should check for the fastest route when you leave the airport with your car.

>>>>Shlegal is there a parade in town planned? <<<<

The email I got said there was something yesterday and something planned for Saturday the 13th.