Buddyvan

I haven't been to Washington since High School and I am now returning with my 14 year old son and 7 year old daughter. I am not thrilled about taking the Metro. Any suggestions for Hotels where buses or taxi's work well?

Julie304

I'm not sure what your specific concerns are about riding the Metro, but as someone who lives in the DC area and takes it every day (2x) I can tell you that DC's subway system is excellent--generally very clean, safe and convenient. Only concern might be its potential as a terror target, but you'd probably have a better chance of being struck by lightening than being impacted by a subway attack during the course of brief, out-of-town visit.

Any hotel in the downtown area should be no problem in terms of getting a cab. The bus system is pretty complex and I don't generally recommend that tourists attempt negotiating it. If you provide some info on what you're looking spend and what you want to be close to I'm sure folks could provide many, more specific recommendations.

gnrbernstein

The only problem with taxis in DC is that DC has really bad traffic, so getting across town, pretty much any time of day, can take a while. But they are relatively inexpensive (unless it is rush hour and snowing), but you probably aren't coming that late in the year.

I'm with Julie - Metrorail is one of the easiest systems to figure out. The buses can be figured out, but they are also traffic dependent.

There's another thread here about hotels in Washington in Dupont Circle. Lots of location ideas in that one.

gnr

repete

with the exceptions of extreme claustrophobia, you're much better off in DC on Metro. The system works well, day tickets are cheap and -- unlike some of the sewers that pass as subways in other U.S. cities, it's clean and safe.

LN

There are a number of hotels that are right downtown. There's a Marriott right by 13th and Pennsylvania NW and you can walk to the White House, treasury, Commerce, Smithsonians, plus even walk up to the Capitol and the Art museum.

Another you might look at would be the Capitol Hyatt which is on Capitol Hill or the Holiday Inn another Capitol Hill hotel.

The subway service is very good but I'd recommend using it between 9 am and 3 pm until you've gotten used to it. Rush hour traffic can frustrate almost anyone. Cab service is great but a bit harder to get during rush hour.

Come on back with your questions.

carolyn

We visited last fall for the first time in a long time, and you might like to know that tours of the Capitol and going up to the top of the Washington Monument are now by timed ticket. You can't get a ticket ahead of the day you go through, so we spent a lot of time (and energy) walking up and down the Mall to no avail. The moral is to go early to get your tickets.)

kaudrey

Hi Buddyvan,

Since you haven't been here in 20 years, I'm going to echo the comments of the others - the metro is great. I use it all the time. I am female and have no problem taking it late at night to get home by myself etc.

Hotels downtown and in the Dupont Circle area will always have lots of cabs. But they are also near metro stops!

I think we are all curious as to why you wouldn't be "thrilled" with taking the metro. It really is one of the great things about the city - it's reasonable, easy to use, and gets you almost everywhere (well, except Georgetown! )

Karen

jedivader

What is it you plan to do while visiting? Depending where you are in the city, you can walk to most of the attractions and jump on the Metro when needed.

Taxi's charge by zone and can be pretty expensive depending where you are going.

bardo

If you want to avoid taking Metro, then consider a hotel on the NORTH side of the Mall (as close as possible). This will allow you to walk to the attractions and the area also has dining and shopping options. The Willard (expensive), J.W. Marriot (less expensive) and the Hotel Washington (still slightly less than J.W.) are all an easy walk to the sights. Oh, and FWIW they are all close to Metro as well.

Avoid hotels south of the Mall, even if they are a convenient walk to the Nat'l Mall.

gnrbernstein

Hotels south of the mall would include the Lowe's L'Enfant Plaza. Sure it is right at the mall, but that's about it. Without taking Metro anywhere, you'd be taxiing all over the place since that area is deserted after 5:00.

Willard, JW, and Hotel Washington are excellent choices! Don't know why I didn't think of those since I park across from the Willard every day.

gnr

shaz60

We visited recently with 4 children and found the Metro to be clean, very effecient, and inexpensive. Restaurants around the monuments are very hard to find. Buying a day pass for the Metro allowed us to move around the city very well. I think that it would be a pain to take a cab to grab a bite to eat and then find another cab to go somewhere else, etc. I am very familiar with the Boston T system and while it is cheap and safe, the Metro was much better in terms of signage and cleanliness.

atlcity

If the budget allows the Willard is the place.The Hay Adams is also nice but the rooms are smaller.

Michele2

I prefer the metro over a taxi after riding both the last time I was there. Felt metro was quite safe and definitely cheaper. We stayed in Old Town Alexandria (across from metro stop) and had no trouble getting around at all. Only took the taxi as we were running quite late for a Kennedy Center concert and had to get there quickly. Have fun. Washington is a great city to explore. Kids should love it. My classes always do when we take them there on field trips.

birder

You also might want to consider the Tourmobile or the Old Town Trolley or other guided tours like that. The Tourmobile takes you through Arlington Cemetary and down the mall - you can get on and off as much as you want all day. Whenever my mom comes to visit, this is what she does because all the walking is hard for her. We've also done the Old Town Trolley and like the route (it takes you to places like Georgetown and the National Cathedral) but I would not recommend it because they oversell tickets like crazy and then you have to wait 50 minutes or more for a seat on the next trolley. Trolleys will go by but they are all full. This has happened to us both times we did it, both times when we complained they said it was etraordinary circumstances, but I work right next to National Geographic (one of the stops on the tour) and I do see trolleys going by the stop, full, so that people can't get on.

Buddyvan

Thanks for all of your advice. A bit clastrophobic causes me not to want to use the metro if possible. I was thinking of staying in Virginia for two days and then staying in downtown D.C. for three. Has anyone had a good experience with the Washington Plaza Hotel? I can't get the days I want at the Marriott and I am having trouble finding the Capital Hyatt or which Holiday Inn you are referring to.

MikeT

If you aren't going to use Metro, then don't stay in Virginia since it will cost so much to get back. I would suggest staying somewhere in the main taxi zone (which includes all of downtown and most of the most desirable hotels, except from anything north of the Hilton Towers or in G-town, Woodley Park and some of West End).

bardo

The Washington Plaza Hotel is not in the best location (Thomas Circle) IMO. Not unsafe, but also a bit of a hike to the sights and hardly any restaurants close-by (although the hotel restaurant is great).

Here are the two LN was referring to - both great options.

http://www.holidayinnonthehill.com

http://washingtonregency.hyatt.com/property/index.jhtml

E

Mike is exactly right--staying in Virginia will cost you big bucks in taxis back and forth to DC. And if you stay in downtown DC, you can still take the Tourmobile out to, say, Arlington Cemetery, Iwo Jima, etc., and all over DC, of course.
The only way staying in VA makes sense is if you're wanting to concentrate on Old Town Alexandria for those 2 days; if you stay in Old Town, you can just walk all over or take short cab hops if necessary.
I can't help you with hotels that are on good bus routes, but here is the WMATA's website with online bus route maps: http://www.wmata.com/metrobus/maps/m...rvice_maps.cfm
Good luck!