ghymn

Hi there,

I mapped out my itinerary.

So please help me if there's serious misunderstanding for example like distance and traffic so on.

1st day: as soon as fly in Dulles, pick up the car and head to Philadelphia premium outlet area to check into a hotel

2nd day: Philadelphia outlet shopping, Prussia mall shopping(seems like a wonderful mall to check) and IKEA shopping

3rd day: Philadelphia tour(short one like checking out Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Love sign, Rocky steps for a half day) and drive to Newport, RI and check into a hotel

4th & 5th day: Tour Newport area like Cliff walks, Mansions, Castle hill lighthouse, Williams Park Zoo, Brown university, Ocean Drive and Brenton Point state park(We won't be spending too much time in each place except a half day or a full day around Cliff walks and surrounding area)

6th day: Drive to NY and check out a few places

7th, 8th & 9th day: Tour NY

10th day: Drive to DC and stop by at famous blue crab shack and see some places in DC

11th & 12th day: Tour DC

13th day: Fly out

Does this plan seem OK? Or is it too much with 2 little kids to accomplish?
And I think if I'm driving to the next destination at nighttime, I can save the next half day but maybe more tiresome for sure. What's your suggestion? And if I'm heading to the next destination next morning, my family tend to deviate from our course to stop by at our family's interesting spots like shopping malls, supermarkets and so on which means wasting precious time. So...
I'd rather drive at nighttime if traffic allows and to make the most of our trip.
But, like I said, if there's a nice scenic route between DC and Newport, RI, I would drive in the daytime to appreciate that like changing leaves.

About accommodation, I was thinking about staying a little further out than staying in Manhattan and DC because it's so expensive and parking issue(extra parking charge even though I'm not planning driving in those two cities) like in Bethesda or Alexandria as someone recommended in DC and take the metro. Any suggested neighborhood in NY area? Or I'm thinking about airbnb.

Please enlighten me if I'm still to ambitious with my trip plan.

Thank you. = ]

Camporico

Drop off your rental car as soon as you get to D.C. The cost of the rental for 3/4 days + the cost of parking it at the hotel for 3 nights will far outweigh the cost of a taxi to Dulles for your return flight. (It would make more sense to stay in Arlington or Alexandria rather than Bethesda as you will be flying out of Dulles.) A taxi from either Arlington or Alexandria will cost around $70.

ghymn

My rental car has been paid in full already through priceline.com and it's non refundable.

And I'm trying to find accommodations in DC and NY area in the suburbs not too far from city centers and where I can take the metro or any public transportation. I know now that I need to leave my car at the hotel in those megalopolises.

gail

This is the best plan you have developed! I think you will enjoy the trip much more by just seeing these places.

There is a Residence Inn (Marriott chain) in Arlington, VA (the one listed as Ballston) that I have stayed at many times. It is new in the last year. For $140/night on your dates you get a completely separate bedroom plus living room with sofa bed for the kids, kitchen and full-sized refrigerator. There is a swimming pool and room comes with free hot breakfast. It is walking distance to the Metro (about 1/4 mile). You must pay to Park but on a weekend if you are lucky you can find legal street parking - be careful, much of it has time limits or is residence only, but you can sometimes find street parking if you look

Look in Arlington or possibly Alexandria for hotels like this one - you might find one closer to the Metro or less expensive; I am recommending this one since I have stayed there.

New York City is much more difficult to find an outlying hotel on good public transit that makes sense. I would do a search here on NYC hotels.

Regarding Newport. You seem to be combining Providence and Newport - not a big problem since they are about an hour drive apart. You could stay in either place.

nytraveler

Staying in the suburbs of NYC is a REALLY bad idea. What seems to be "suburbs" can tae an hour or more to get to the city via a combination of bus, subway, cab or whatever. Much better to get a hotel in the center of Manhattan and put the car in a garage.

With 2 little kids you don;t want to add 2 hours or more of traveling a day to your sightseeing time. If you are in Manhattan you can just hop the subway to get anyplace and easily get back to the hotel if the kids are bushed and you need to give them a rest in the hotel before continuing.

Also remember you are traveling with 2 little kids and sightseeing can't be too intense - and you need to allow them time to be just ids and run around. If I were you I would stay in a hotel on the upper west side so you have easy access to Central Park and the playgrounds. Also that area has a ton of moderate/inexpensive restaurants of every possible ethnicity - many of which are child friendly - esp if you eat dinner earlier. Be aware that more upscale restaurants may not be prepared for small kids - don;t assume they will have high chairs or booster seats unless you call in advance to check.

Look at the Beacon (has suites with kitchenettes good for breakfast and snacks for kids if you call them).

Sassafrass

Not sure which of your threads you are reading, but hope this one.
Two bits of advice:

You have a big bunch of shopping planned for your first days. You will not want to leave anything in the car when you are sight seeing or the car is parked at a hotel, etc. so will not be able to stop and sight see with anything in the car and will have to lug all the extra stuff into hotel rooms every night. Consider saving the big shopping day and putting it in on the way back down to DC from NYC.

If I understood correctly, you are coming from Korea, so even a non-stop flight is close to 14 hours. If you have any stops at all, it drags out to 18-20 hours. That is a very long time for two little kids to be mostly sitting. You are arriving late in the afternoon and by time you get through passport control, pick up luggage and the car, you will be in the middle of traffic hour in DC.

You are anxious to get on the road, but I urge you to reconsider that plan. I suggest you pick up the car and head for a nearby hotel so the kids can play and runaround, you can have a nice dinner and get a really decent night's sleep. Get up super early, before traffic hour, and head out.

ElendilPickle

For DC, the Americana Hotel has free parking and is close to the Crystal City Metro stop. They also have a free shuttle that can take you to the Metro. www.americanahotel.com

Lee Ann

Sassafrass

Ttt, just to make sure the OP is catching all the recs. Too bad there are so many threads for him to keep up with.