Dreamweaver89

Can anyone please comment on our tentative itinerary and tell me if I have allowed enough time for everything?

Kids 14 and 11, hubby and I will be staying at Embassy Suites Chevy Chase from Sunday, 3/18 to Tuesday 3/21, then moving to Hampton Inn Alexandria Old Town for two nights, leaving on Friday morning. We will rely toally on metro. Have not figured out what we do with our car the day we check out of Embassy Suites Chevy Chase before checking in at Hampton Inn Alexandria. ??? Any suggestions ???

Sunday Day 1
Attend a service at the National Cathedral.
Holocaust Museum hoping for advance tickets.
Tourmobile for all memorials, monuments and Arlington Cemetary.
lunch - ?
dinner - ?

Monday Day 2
Capital Tour 9:30 (Congressman's office)
Library of Congress Tour 2:00 (also arranged)
Union Station and/or Postal Museum
lunch - Dirkson Office $12 buffet ?
dinner - ?

Tuesday Day 3
Old Post Office Tower
National Archives Tour 11:45 (arranged)
Spy Museum
D.C. Visitors Center, Ford Theater, Chinatown
lunch -
dinner - Chinatown ?

Wednesday Day 4
check out Embassy Suites (put our car where?)
Air and Space Museum
Natural History Museum
American History Museum
White House Visitor Center
check in Hampton Inn Alexandria Old Town
lunch - ?
dinner - ?

Thursday Day 5
explore Alexandria
Mt. Vernon maybe
lunch -
dinner -

Friday Day 6
leave for home

Bureau of Printing and Engraving didn't fit anywhere but we want to see it. Not familiar enough with the areas to figure out what recommended restaurants are near where we are touring. Thanks for any help!

K_in_DC

So much to comment on! I'll limit myself to jsut a few things.

As a Senate staffer, I can say skip the Dirksen buffet (day 2). Your Capitol tour will be an hour tops, so you'll have lots of time to kill before the Library of Congress. You can eat much better at Union Station (food court and sit down restaurants). After the Capitol, you might walk to the Botanical Gardens, which are relatively close by, then walk over to Union Station for lunch, then hit the LoC. In my opinion, you can skip the postal museum. After LoC, grab the red line at Union Station (instead of taking the blue line House side), and get off at Dupont Circle. Walk around, do a little shopping and eat at one of the many, many good restaurants there (Chowhound is always good for recs) and then get back on the red line to go back to Chevy Chase.

There are very few Chinese restaurants actually left in Chinatown (this was the subject of a Post article recently), but a fun (but TINY) place the kids might like is Matchbox. Very good, casual food, reasonable prices, but it gets PACKED so go on the early side. I don't see much reason to go the the DC visitors center.

Have fun!

bennnie

Your day 4 seems crammed to me. Each of those museums can easiy suck you in and you'll have been there 4 hours before you know it. Maybe you could spend a morning or afternoon of day 5 at one of the three.

richbutnot

Our kids were the same ages when we went 2 years ago. We took a full day for Arlington Cemetery and the Monuments, but we walked the monuments. Also, you can't do three Smithsonian Museums in one day. Pick one for the morning and one for the afternoon. I would skip Ford's Theater and move one of the museums from Wednesday to Tuesday. You might check out the Supreme Court if you have time between the Capital and Library of Congress tours. Our Capital tour (also arranged through Congressman) was at least 2 hours.

For what it's worth, our families favorites for the week were Arlington Cemetery, the Monuments, Capital tour, Air & Space Museum and the National Archinves.

circa2

Just a couple of ideas -

Considering the age of your children; I think the Postal Museum, Mt. Vernon, and the Bureau of Printing would be most interesting. ((Been to them and thought there were great.))

Postal Museum across the street from Union Station. Doesn't take all that long, but "kid" friendly.

Mt. Vernon is easy to get to via public transportation, and tour is very informative.

Bureau of Printing is a quick tour...40mins.....very good....see money getting printed!!!!.....down the street from Washington Monument.

Any aircraft buffs in you family...the Air and Space Annex at Dulles airport is very good also...but very time consuming ((transportation)).


Walk fast...and you can get it all done!!!!

MikeT

Why are you switiching hotels? My sense is you are going to regret the hassle.

I agree that Day 4 seems really packed and not much fun. I'd take out one or two things. I would also agree that Ford's Theatre is missable

sprin2

I would switch day 4 with day 5. When you check out of the hotel on Wednesday drive to Mount Vernon, there is free parking and it is much easier to drive there than mess with the public transportation. After touring have lunch at the Mount Vernon Inn, very nice and reasonably priced for lunch.

Then drive to Old Town and explore, parking is not too bad in Old Town -- look at the Alexandria Visitors website, there is a good garage under Market Square, or ample street parking. Then you can take the car to the hotel.

missjanna

I agree with the others that Day 4 looks pretty ambitious. Any one of the Smithsonian museums could easily take 3-4 hours without even feeling like it.

I would try to take some of Day 4 into Day 5 if at all possible, but bear in mind, it's really hard to see all that DC has to offer in 5 days!! I had 4 days and I still have a lot left to see!

PS The Holocaust museum should take you about 2-3 hours, if that helps.

As for restaurants, there's this great one on Jefferson Pl. by Ave M & N near NW 17th I think. I'll try to get the name for you.

Dreamweaver89

Thanks for all the help. We will shift around some things. We couldn't decide between Chevy Chase area or Alexandria Old Town. The first 4 nights are free (using Hilton Honors points) but they didn't have availability the next two nights but the Hampton Inn Alexandria did. Thanks for the tip on parking the day we switch hotels.

Stephanie

Just a comment on my part. Why does everyone have an itinary for 3-5 or whatever amt of days? I've lived in D.C. for a combo of 3 yrs and have always enjoyed leisurely enjoying the Smithsonians of American/Natural History then stroll on down to the Archives and then the Old Post Office for some lunch. Then maybe catch the Smithsonian blue line stop up to Air & Space or walk up to the Capitol. My advice is to familiarize yourself of what is in the immediate area you want to explore, then just leisurely enjoy yourself. You are on vacation just enjoy yourself.

I'd recommend that if the Embassy Suites Chevy Chase is close to the subway stop just stay there and cancel reservations for Alex VA. All the subway lines are easily caught because there are hubs in D.C.

Ivan_Drago

Make sure to get tix to Spy Museum in advance, they sell out quickly.

Anonymous

The ES in Chevy Chase is literally on top of the Friendship Heights Metro station.

MikeT

Stephanie, I call it the Bataan Death March school of vacationing. I'm with you in that I plan a couple of things, but don't get annoyed if they fall through. The best vacations I've had invovled stuff I didn't plan for.

OTOH, if I had a group of people, I can understand the need to plan, although that trip does look exhausting and has the potential to create a lot of tension.

Dreamweaver89

I am the original poster. In my defense (I am smiling here, not angry) We want to make the most of our time in D.C. We do go on occassional beach vacations and do absolutely nothing, where the biggest deal of the day is finding our flip flops and deciding where to go for dinner. However, when we are going to a place that has so many wonderful things to experience, we make sure our kids know where we are going, what they can expect to see and educate them so they look forward to it. Otherwise they get there and have no clue where they are or what there is to do and we all stand around and argue about where to go next. Planning just works for us. We are flexible, we adjust as we go, I won't march my family around with a stick or anything Thanks again for all the very good advice. We will probably incorporate most of the suggestions.

Dreamweaver89

How long can I expect our congressional-arranged tours for the Library of Congress and the National Archives to be?