marmaduke

We are planning our summer vacation to Williamsburg in July and need some help. We really want to go to Washington DC since we will be in the area and don't really want to drive into the city proper. We've heard many, many horror stories and don't want to experience them.

Are there any bus tours available for those who do not wish to drive into the city? If we have to drive into the city, how about giving us some tips about getting around? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks, marmaduke

TxTravelPro

Why not stay at a hotel in the suburbs and park your car and take the metro into town?

LN

If you're coming to DC where will you be coming from? North, West, South?? Or if you're just interested on heading down to Williamsburg after then plan on staying in Alexandria near the subway or in Franconia/Springfield. Both areas have easy access to the subway and Washington and will keep you car-free for your sightseeing. Washington/s Metro has an internet site (I think it's WMATA.com) but if not you can find it on google.

I would probably recommend Alexandria for dining after sightseeing. Unless you're close to a mall in Franconia/Springfield you won't find convenient restaurants unless they're pointed out. There's many good middle priced hotel/motels in the area.

As to Washington - there's the Gray Line and they do a great tour around the city. I believe you can get on and off all day for one price.

Once you see your way around you can always go back to places you'd like to get a better look at later via subway. I don't know if Congress will be in session (kinda doubt it) but it's great to sit in the visitor's gallery and watch them in action. Your Congressman can also get you tickets for the Capitol tour. You can try for tickets to the White House as they also have an internet site. Whitehouse.gov I believe. You can find many government sites by using the name dot gov.

Have a great visit.

JoyinVirginia

I live between Richmond and Williamsburg, and if I time it right to miss the DC rush hour, I can get from my house to downtown DC in 2 hours exactly. Driving into and around DC proper during the weekend is not bad at all. Parking is the worst part of going to DC, and by taking the metro you will eliminate this part. Driving to and from DC on I-95 has been and will be bad because of construction, also is bad around rush hour, but it is doable if you have 1)one good navigator and 2)alert driver. DC is about a 2-hour 45 minute drive from Williamsburg if you don't run into any traffic. If you don't want to get a hotel in DC and make it a day trip from Williamsburg, you could leave Wmsbg about 7:15 AM and miss the rush hour traffic into DC. Also if you have 3 or more in your family you can use the HOV lanes on I-95 near DC (they run north in am, south in pm). Another idea - Amtrak has started train service from downtown Richmond at the old Main Street Station, would you be interested in a train to DC? If you want to drive and do the metro you could do commuter parking maybe near Crystal City? Ideas from anyone living closer there?

nytraveler

Am I missing something here.? Have been to DC by car numerous times and never had any problems with driving in or out. (Naturally you don't want to do this at rush hour - but I've never seen any city where there isn't traffic if you drive in/out at rush hour. Just come in a little later.) There's very little traffic in the downtown area and the numbering system makes the city easy to navigate. As for parking, just put your car in the hotel garage and walk/take the subway to where you're going. Why stay in the suburbs (which could be anywhere) when you could stay in the center and experience the city itself?

A couple of years ago I was in Washington for a convention and a whole troop of us had dinner not too far from the White House and then walked to the Lincoln memorial afterwards. One of the group, who had lived in Washington for a while, led the group - telling us he was taking us to the most moving place on earth - but keeping the destination a secret. (When you approach it from that direction through the park areas you can't see where you're going until you're quite close.) And he was right - apaproaching that way and in the moonlight you get a whole different perpsective - it somehow brings Lincoln and his whole dreadul situation to life - you not only understand intellectually but really feel his suffering as well as that of the whole country - and realize how close we were to disintegration if had hadn't be there to lead us. I don;t see how can have this kind of experience if you're in a motel in Virginia. And isn't that what travel is really all about?

bardo

Are you planning a day trip or an overnight? As mentioned, driving into the city is not bad if you avoid weekdays between 7am-10am (inbound) and 4pm-7pm (outbound). I would suggest driving into the city and leaving your car at a hotel if you're staying over or an outer suburban subway stop if you're only going for part of a day. Be aware , though, that outer suburban subway stop parking lots can fill up on weekdays. An alternative for a day trip would be to take a commuter train (VRE) from fredricksburg, va (weekdays only).
If at all possible, I would get a hotel in downtown DC and walk/subway everywhere as it is difficult to park at the Mall, meseums, or monuments.

kaudrey

Well, I drive into DC everyday, so I'm used to it. From Williamsburg, you would just take 95N to 395N to the 14th St Bridge, and you'd be in downtown. There are parking garages all over. But, never do it in rush hour! But assuming you don't want to do that:

Stay at a hotel in Alexandria, Virginia, near the King Street Metro. I think there is an Embassy Suites there. You can metro in from there in about 20 minutes, tour around DC, stay overnight, then visit Old Town Alexandria the next day. You could also stay in Crystal City, there are lots of hotels there with easy access to metro.

I wouldn't do a bus tour.

I am assuming you would stay overnight. It's a little far for a day trip. But, if you do a day trip, you could drive to one of the southern most metro stops, as someone suggested -such as Franconia/Springfield, and metro in from there. That ride would be about 35 minutes.

Karen

marmaduke

I have to be more clear.

We are going to Williamsburg for six nights. We already have a motel in Williamsburg. We really don't want to stay in DC, too.

What we are looking for is a good, solid day in DC. I have looked on the Internet and noticed the Metro's closest station to us is the one at Franconia-Springfield. That's the one we would probably use. But we are novices at Metro systems, coming from a town of 12,000 in the Midwest.

The only experience we've had with a Metro system turned out to be a NIGHTMARE in Paris. We are a little apprehensive, to say the least. It was nowhere near as easy to navigate as people posted on here.

We want to visit the biggies (White House, Washington Memorial, Smithsonian, etc.)as much as possible in one day via the Metro from the station aforementioned. Give me some tips, please. It can only be one day. We don't have any other choice.

Thanks

TxTravelPro

I am in DC right now (Ritz Pentagon City) and before I ran off to a meeting I gave my elderly Dad a quick metro lesson and sent him on his way.
The metro is DC has to be the easiest in the world to navigate.
It will make you fall in love with public transportation!
Don't worry. It takes 10 minutes to become a pro on the DC Metro system!

Anonymous

The drive from Williamsburg to Washington is at least 3 hours.

The White House is open only to pre-arranged tours for groups of 10.

The Washington Monument (not Memorial) is accessed wtih timed tickets that are given out beginning at 8 AM at a booth near the monument, but which can also be booked online.

The Smithsonian Institution runs about two dozen museums, plus the zoo, etc., so you'll have to choose which.

Almost all the museums and monuments are clustered around the Mall, so even if you do use hte Metro, you'd only be using a couple of stations, It's new and set up very logically. The main thing to know is that you put your little ticket in the turnstyle when entering AND leaving a station, since you're charged an exact amount depending on the distance traveled. Taxis are very reasonable, too.

kaudrey

Anonymous is right on about the specific monuments and historical sites you mentioned.

If you are doing this on a weekday, it would be almost impossible to miss rush hour. If you leave Williamsburg anywhere between 5am and 7am, you hit rush hour in DC and it will take longer than 3 hours (traffic starts WAY before the Franconia/Springfield metro station, believe me). Traffic is still pretty bad through 10am in DC.

Returning, if you want to avoid traffic, you have to leave the city after 7pm. So, you'd get back to Williamsburg after 10pm

A weekend would be better, but still figure 6 hours of transportation for one day.

So, say you get there between 10am and 11am. You spend 8 or 10 hours in Washington, added to probably 7 hours of transportation.

I assume you are with family. How old are your kids? Does this sound like a pleasant day to you?

I live in Alexandria and work in DC. I love it here. I'm just not sure a day trip from Williamburg is the best way to go about it. You say "we will be in the area". Williamsburg is not "in the area" of DC to me.

Just some thoughts.

kaudrey

Not to be all negative, the metro is very easy. From F/S, you'd take the Blue line to Farragut West, and you'd be a few blocks from the White House and Washington Monument, and a nice walk to the Lincoln, Jefferson, and Vietnam memorials, etc.

The main Smithonsian buildings would be close enough to walk to as well, assuming you like to get some exercise on vacation.

bardo

marmaduke,
you said you'll be in Williamsburg for six days so hopefully you can plan to go to DC on a Saturday or Sunday. Don't try this on a weekday. On weekends, the parking lot at Francona-Springfeild should have plenty of available spaces. Even so, you should probably plan to to leave REALLY early so that you arrive on the Mall by 10 am. Yes, it will be an exhausting day but it is certainly doable. Here's the website for Metro - it should answer any questions about the system:
http://www.wmata.com/

rb_travelerxATyahoo

I would hate to spend 3 hours (+/- a bit) driving for a "day trip". I often find motels in the Fredericksburg area at very reasonable rates, so if you went on a weekday, I'd stay in that area (even if I did pay for a room in Williamsburg too) then take the VRE train to DC & back in a day. On a weekend, I'd still stay in the DC area the night before - maybe around Alexandria - stayed at the RedRoof on US1 just south of Huntington Ave (and I-495/US1 interchange) last November, and drove (could have walked) to the Huntington Ave Metro stop. Also there's a Holiday Inn on Eisenhower next door to a Eisenhower Metro stop. I prefer a ENTIRE day in DC when I visit. Also, parking is free weekends. There is one tour company -- a name something like "Around Town", that I think has pickups at New Carrollton station, but then you've driven quarter way around the beltway.

obxgirl

I live in Williamsburg, a transplant from the DC area and I regularly commute to DC for business day trips. Others have said you should do this as an overnight and I agree with them. But you've said you only have one day for the trip, so here's how I'd proceed:

Definitely don't attempt this trip Mon to Fri. DC rush hour will exhaust your temper and limit your touring time. Sunday is the optimal day. Summer Saturdays are the primary day for beach house turnovers so the first third of your trip (Wmbg to Richmond) may be very congested. Sunday should be fine. I'd leave in the 7 am time frame or earlier if you all can handle it. It'll be three hours from Wmbg to DC (with no traffic burps). Traffic in the city will be light so I'd head downtown per kaudrey's directions and park at Union Station. Plenty of places for late breakfast or lunch there. It's a no brainer Metro ride (promise!) to the Mall where the (main) Smithsonian, Capitol and Wash Monument are located. You'll have time to do some of the Smithsonian greatest hits, a walk by of the White House and some of the other monuments. Save some time and energy if you want to climb to the top of the Wash Monument! Museums etc close at 5 pm (I think) so you could grab some dinner and head back or leave DC and stop for food on the way back to Wmbg.

This is a very long day but doable if the traffic and weather gods are with you and you all are pretty even tempered.

If you can rearrange your schedule, and I hope you can, to accommodate an overnight in DC, all of the above posters have given you excellent advice. You can't go wrong with any of the suggestions.

marmaduke

Thanks for all of the replies. This helps out a lot.

There will be three of us-- me, my wife and our 16-year-old daughter.

Any other replies will be helpful, too.

Thanks again.

JoyinVirginia

Marmaduke, email me at [email protected] for some local info. The two hours I have taken to get to downtown DC from my front door have been on a weekday. You can do a day trip just fine. Virginia Dept of Transportation has great website with construction info posted: virginiadot.org

emd

I live in Springfield, VA. You can stay close to the metro and the hotels have shuttles to the metro (COurtyard Hotel does). If you want to do the day trip route, you can park at the metro- don't worry about parking. AS some have said, the parkign lot at the metro gets full early but there is overflow parking at Soringfield Mall, a 5 min. walk to the metro (you can see the metro from the mall, park close to Macy's in the back of the mall on the side facing metro stop). Don't worry about navigating the metro- this isn't France, the metro attendants and other riders will help you. I think you can do this in a day from the metro stop.

emd

Also, once you get into DC on the metro you can pick up the tourbus (I am blanking on the name) where you can get off and on at all the big tourist sites (arlington cemetary, smithsomian museuma, memorials, etc). I think it is Tourmobile and they have a website. VEry convenient, pay one price and get off and on all day, they go by every 15 min. or so. You just have to figure out where to catch it- I think you can get on at any of the stops and pay when you get on, ride all day. Truthfully, you won't get to do that much in one day- the museums are all around the "Mall" area in D.C. but they are so good you'll be hard pressed to do more than one or two in a day (esp. Air and Space, or the Natl. Museum of American History, my favorite, w/Archy Bunker's chair, Judy Garland's ruby slippers, great science area hands-on lab for kids, all the first ladies inaugural gowns, etc.
p.s. I meant SPRINGFIELD MALL in my prior message.