At the end of my October Boston/Philadelphia trip, I will be adding one night in the DC/Virginia area. I will be leaving Philadelphia Sunday morning and traveling to DC. I would like to see Mt. Vernon that Sunday, and then drive to Monticello early Monday morning. I have a flight on Monday from Dulles back home to Nashville at 7:30.

What is the best way to arrange this transportation? I'd like to take the train from Philly to DC (Union Station), and then rent a car there to drive to Mt. Vernon for the afternoon. I will then drive to wherever I will stay that night. Monday morning I will drive to Monticello, spend the day there, and then return the car to Dulles and fly home.

Does this sound reasonable? I'm figuring a 2.5 hour drive to and from Monticello. Where would you recommend staying? If I stayed near DC, I could take a night trip down to the monuments and wander around. If I stayed in Charlottesville it would save me some driving the next morning. I'd like to take advantage of Sunday evening to do something (not just dinner, something historical), but I don't know what there would be to do in Charlottesville or near Mt. Vernon on a Sunday evening.

Thank you for any suggestions!

I'm a huge DC booster, but in this particular scenario it makes much more sense to stay in Charlottesville Sunday night. Save DC for its own trip.

There is plenty to see and do there (besides Monticello) to keep you busy for a few days. There is only residential neighborhoods in the Mt. vernon area - stay in Mt. Vernon also makes no sense if you are planning to see Charlottesville with your one day.

Here is a listing of Charlottesville hotels, attractions, restaurants, etc. from that other websight (I couldn't find one on Fodor's):

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/charlottesville/

I have a question that could change your plans: will you have to pay significantly more to rent at Union Sta or to return the car at Dulles?

I know that most of the big agencies don't care which airport (IAD, DCA, BWI) you return a car to when you rent from the others, but what about when you don't even rent from an airport location?

You might find a trip to Reagan/ National Airport worthwhile and not too costly, or even stop at BWI instead of continuing to WAS on the Amtrak.

I don't know the answers, only offer the questions.

Thanks for the help!

Bardo, DC is one of my favorite places to visit. I am there regularly, but haven't ventured out of the city. Thanks for the Charlottesville recommendation. I checked the link and saw that Montpelier is pretty close to Monticello. I had forgotten that! I think I may visit that on my way back up to Dulles after Monticello. Does anyone know if it is reasonable to fit both places in one day and still make it to Dulles by 6:00? If I add Montpelier, my trip will take me to the homes of the first four Presidents. What a week!

Rb, good questions. I'm a member of Hertz and can pick up a car at Union Station and return to Dulles without significant drop off fees. I don't know about other rental companies. I was worried about that before I checked. Also, my flight from Dulles to Nashville is only $69 on Independence Air!

Is an hour and a half enough time to check a bag and clear security in Dulles?

You can fit a visit to both places into one day and still make it to Dulles by 6 pm. Check the website, but I'm pretty sure that Monticello opens at 8 am through the fall.

Charlottesville should be beautiful that time of year.

1.5 hours should be enough time to check and bag go through Dulles security.

To just address the Monticello piece. Charlottesville & Monticello are (argueably) the nicest college campus and historic town in the US.IF it's not a home, football game weekend, I would suggest that you focus there.Try to find a reasonable car price in Philly and forget Amtrak - the ride is bearable if the 1-way car rental allows.

I have to say I would be cautious if you are going to Monticello in the morning and then flying out of Dulles? Traffic is HORRIBLE! Monday mornings are bad, doesn't matter where you are. Traveling to Dulles from the C'ville area, and given how busy Dulles can be (I leave 10 minutes from the airport and travel 4xmonth for work), you are risking missing your flight.

Fortunately, as she has mentioned twice now, Katie will will driving from Charlottesville to Dulles in the afternoon - against traffic.

My job covers the entire virginia area, including C'ville, I have had bad traffic experiences coming from C'ville back home, to the Dulles area.

Just my opinion....

But Bardo, what would people in the DC area have to complain about if we couldn't complain about traffic.

I agree with Bardo, you will be fine getting to Dulles. Just don't cut it too close.

KatieL, I think your plan is doable, altho I am with Cwojo99 on the traffic aspect: I travel a lot for business and fun, and live in the areas you're discussing, and traffic problems can arise in the oddest spots, and with no expected pattern. Is the 6pm time the flight, or is the flight at 7:30?
1 1/2 hrs at Dulles is probably okay - are you including drop time for the rental car in that time slot?
Concur totally: train down Sunday, pick up rental car, head to Mt Vernon, tour, then head to C'ville area.
Be aware, too - hopefully a Monday morning at Monticello is pretty empty, but they can get lines and wait times. Haven't been for a while, but I recall you park, then take a bus, then wait for your time to go into the house, then bus back. Rather than try to fit Montpelier, I'd say savor the time at Jefferson's, then a nice lunch in charlottesville (such a delightful small town) and then just head to Dulles. (You'll be going south on 95 - again: traffic delays are the rule.)
Just keep in mind that each of these interesting & historical spots are not worth running thru in 25 minutes. each takes several hours to really appreciate.
Have a great trip!

Jo Ann (et al),

I agree that you shouldn't rush through these locations. My primary purpose in Charlottesville is Monticello. I will only do Montpelier if I have time left over.

I do need to plan plenty of time to get back to Dulles. My flight leaves at 7:30. I was including car return in the 1 1/2 hour, but I guess I should add 15 minutes for that.

My plan after reading the advice on this post is: spend the night in Charlottesville. Arrive at Monticello at 8:00 AM. Spend approximately 5 hours there. I'd like to see Jefferson's grave, but it looks far from the house. Do you know if it is included on any tour or if I can drive/walk there myself?

I will leave around 1:00 and stop by Montpelier on my way to Dulles. Their website looks like the house can be done in a couple hours, as it is under renovation. If I leave there by 4:00, that gives me 2 1/4 hours to get back to Dulles. I think this is reasonable.

I'll probably eat on my way to Montpelier. I usually don't spend any time on lunches while traveling...plenty of time for nice lunches here at home! I do like relaxing dinners…after all museums, parks, etc. are closed for the day. That’s just my personal travel preference! I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it to others.

Thanks for your suggestions!

"If I leave there by 4:00, that gives me 2 1/4 hours to get back to Dulles."

KatieL, I think this is cutting the trip to the airport too close. The journey from Montpelier to Dulles is about 2 hours (2.5 hours from Monticello). Once past Warrenton, the potential for rush hour delays on US-29, I-66 and VA-28 will skyrocket. And you need to allow time to turn in the rental and shuttle to the airport. If it were me I'd be leaving the Cville area no later than 3 pm to be at the airport by 6:30.

That said, I still think you can see both Monticello and Montpelier at a very relaxed pace. Monticello is extremely unlikely to have a line of people at 8 am on an October Monday. The gravesite is not included on any of the guided tours but if you skip the shuttle bus and walk back to the parking lot, you'll pass the cemetery.

I visited Montpelier about 18 months ago and there was a huge renovation of the mansion going on. It was scheduled to continue for a number of years. Consequently there's limited access to the house but you do get some one of a kind views at the restoration progress. Some of the more interesting things have been moved to the visitor's center. The grounds are lovely. In all, I think you could see plenty in 2 hours.