Hi, we have been planning a trip to DC for quite some time and it is finally going to happen .

My husband and I will be traveling with our 4 children (18,16,14,11). We plan to leave Thursday morning and return home Sunday. We are staying in at the Cherry Hill Campground in College Park, MD.
I have a few questions that I hope someone can help me with :
We want to leave the Lehigh Valley (Allentown area) , PA on Thursday morning and drive to Arlington. After Arlington, we plan to go to our campground and get settled in. Google maps says about 3.5hr drive to Arlington. About 30 min to an hour then to the campground.
1) Can someone tell me what would be the best time to leave Thursday morning to avoid traffic?
2) Google maps gives us 3 route options that take us either through Harrisburg, Baltimore , or Phila. Which would be the best route (they are all about the same time)
3) Best time to be out of Arlington by and be heading back to our campground?

4)Once in DC, are there any suggestions for cheap lunches.
5) I have gathering information on the DC circulator. If we take the Metro in from the campground, do you think we should get a DC circulator pass to make it easy to get from place to place. I saw they have a 3 day pass. Thoughts?

Thank you!

Can't really help with 1) and 2).

3) If you don't mind the question, why are you headed to Arlington before you go to your campground in College Park? It's a congested and not straightforward trip across or around the city regardless of the time of day. Expect commuter traffic to start building any time after 2 pm. Can you rearrange your trip to Arlington for another part of your visit?

4) Cheap lunches. In the vicinity of the National Mall, suggest you seek out hot dog carts, food trucks, chain places like Potbelly or Shake Shack, and other one off local places depending on where you are around lunchtime. Air and Space has a McD's I think. Near the White House? Farragut Square is swimming in food trucks. Dupont Circle? Seek out the Well Dressed Burrito or DGS Deli. On Saturday and Sunday, Eastern Market will have some good street food options. Also Tortilla Cafe is cheap and good. 7th Street SE not too far from the US Capitol. We the Pizza is in that area too. Google Cheap Eats for DC and lots of info will come up.

5) The best way to estimate your transportation costs is to plot out your itinerary. If you're focused on the National Mall, you'll mostly be able to walk from point to point if you're logical in your progress.

And, unfortunately, keep in mind that Metro is just beginning their legion Safe Track maintenance & repair program. Doesn't look like that will impact your trip into the city from College Park but it might impact other places you want to go on Metro (with Arlington being the main destination I'm thinking of).

Regardless, get a Metro SmarTrip card for everyone in your family. Available at any Metro station. The cards will work for Metro Rail, Bus and the Circulator Bus.

Fares on the Circulator are a $1 a ride. If you transfer to Circulator from Metro Rail within 2 hours, the ride is 50 cents. If you transfer from Circulator to Circulator within 2 hours (say for example, on and off the Monument route), the ride is free. You have to have a Smartrip card to get the transfer discount

I wouldn't look at buying a 3 day pass until you've sorted out what you want to see. Even without a pass, at a buck a ride and with the transfer discounts, that's fairly inexpensive transportation.

Thanks obxgirl! I have been thinking about your question about Arlington. I think when I was originally looking at the maps, I must have been reading it wrong! Anyway, I was thinking if we left home, saw Arlington and then got to our camp, set up and relaxed for the rest of the day before heading into the city on Friday.
I am concerned now about the travel.

Friday is our capitol tour day.
Saturday is museums.
Sunday we go home but had planned to go into DC first....more museums, memorials. Would it make more sense to drive into DC on Sunday, Park at a garage, take Metro to Arlington? I am trying to figure it all out.

How long do you think it would take to get from Arlington to College Park with traffic? If we left Arlington by say, 1:00?
Thanks for your help....I really appreciate it!

When you say Arlington, do you mean the cemetery?

yes

I don't really understand what you are driving, but I gather you are driving an RV to DC? Then I wouldn't consider driving an RV to Arlington cemetery before you go to Beltsville for the RV camp as you would bypass it to go all the way to Arlington. I don't even know that you could drive an RV to the cemetery, as I'm not sure they accept that in the garage there. I wouldn't do it anyway, though.

There isn't any way in the world you can get from Arlington cemetery to Beltsville in 30 minutes unless there were no cars on the road, I suppose. Which never happens around DC. I'd guess maybe an hour if you aren't in the peak of rush hour. Sometimes you can barely move along I395 going to I295, especially if there is a ball game or something, in late afternoon.

If you plan to visit things in DC proper on Sunday, then I think it does make sense to leave your vehicle in a garage and just take metro to/from the cemetery. You aren't driving an RV around DC, are you? I just thought that park was for RVs but maybe people with just cars go there also. I just can't imagine driving around DC in an RV or where you would park it. I guess if it's a real small one you might be able to, but with 6 people I doubt it. I think most garages have 12 ft height limits.

Have you checked with Cherry Hill campground to see if they provide a shuttle to the nearest Metro stop? There is one in Greenbelt that is fairly close to the camp. Even with the Metro construction, that might be the best plan.