Hello!
I’m looking for some recommendations from locals in the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington DC areas. Basically I’ll lay our trip out:
My family of 3 (myself, husband and 13 year old son) plan summer trips to hit MLB ballparks. This year we decided on catching the Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles. We are flying into Philadelphia, renting a car, catching the Phillies game then Washington game (I know this is out of order distance wise, it’s just how game tickets worked out), then Baltimore and flying back out of Baltimore. Here are my questions:

-Safe yet CHEAP hotels/areas to stay in in each city, that are fairly easy to get to all the sites in each city from. We are renting a car due to the distance between cities, but we will walk when able in different cities, as long as it is safe to do so.

-Areas in these three cities we should AVOID

-Any tips for traveling to these ballparks/areas in a car

-Anything you believe is a MUST SEE (must eat, must do, etc)in your home town/city. We enjoy history and the outdoors. I have done general research on things to see in each city, but if there is something you would add to my list, please do so! I have attached my lists that I have so far for each city below.

When I say CHEAP hotel I mean cheap! Our goals for these trips are seeing the ballparks and games so we spend more money on our tickets for those. We basically just need a room that we can sleep in as we are out and about during our stay. However, I want to feel safe in the cheap room we are staying in. It’s hard to know safe areas in a place you’ve never been! I know the areas to avoid in Dallas, as we are from North Texas, but I get anxiety trying to figure it out when we travel.

Any and and all recommendations are greatly appreciated!

My List (so far) of things to do in each city:
Washington DC
Smithsonian (near Washington Monument)
National Air and Space museum- free
Lincoln Memorial (@ night)
WW II Memorial (near Lincoln Memorial)
Washington Monument
US Holocaust Memorial Museum (near Washington Monument)
Arlington National Cemetary

Baltimore
Eat blue crab
Fort McHenry National Monument (National Anthem written after battle in 1812 here)
American Visionary Art Museum ($15, $10)
Federal Hill Park
Edgar Allen Poe House and Museum ($5)
Maryland Science Center ($18)

Philadelphia
Eat philly cheesesteak
Liberty Bell Center
Independence Hall
Museum of the American Revolution
Elfreth's Alley
Mutter Museum (Einstein's brain)
Rocky Statue & Rocky Stairs
Longwood Gardens

THANK YOU for any and all help/recommendations!!

Are you spending the night in Philly after the first game and traveling the next day to Washington? It may be easier if not cheaper to just take one of the Northeast Regional trains from Philadelphia to Washington.
You do not want or need a car once you get to Washington. There are many trains per day between New York and Washington DC. They all stop at Philadelphia (30th St. station) and in Baltimore. BWI also has an Amtrak stop for your return trip. Washington Union Station is within walking distance of the Capitol Building (I've done it).

How long are you planning to stay in each city? In the cities of Philadelphia and Washington you may not need a car.

Philadelphia is a walkable city with good public transportation. Depending on the hotel you select, you will do well without a car, except for Longwood Gardens which is located outside the city. At first glance, I'd not rent the car until ready to leave Philadelphia and then drive Longwood Gardens as a stop on the way to DC. Of course, you will not need a car in DC either. Except for Arlington Cemetery and the ball park, all of your destinations are walkable and you can use public transportation for those two.

Hotel rates can be very date-dependent. Conferences, special events, weekday vs. weekend, etc., influence how much the hotels can charge. I like to use travelzoo.com to find discount hotel rates. There are plenty of other sites others may recommend. Perhaps you could research and find some properties that appeal to you and come back and ask for comments?

Next door to the Holocaust Museum is the US Forest Service Information Center. (It's the red brick building that looks out of place among the marble buildings). Your son might enjoy seeing Smokey Bear's desk.
In Baltimore see the National Aquarium and a small submarine next to it. Also available to see is the Constellation (US Navy sailing ship). The Inner Harbor is within easy walking distance of Camden Yards but parking is often difficult to find on game days. There is a Circulator bus that runs a route from the north end of the city.
In Philadelphia you want your cheese steak "wid"

It'll cost you a couple hundred dollars to use Amtrak for your family to travel from Philadelphia to DC to Baltimore if you get their Saver or Value tickets. You'll have to balance that against the cost of renting a car and paying to park it. In DC that will be $25-$65 a night. If you choose the train option, buy your tickets as early as possible to get the best price but read closely the change/refund policies. I'm a long time user of Amtrak as a commuter and recent changes to those rules have become much stricter, practically to the point of being cost prohibitive.

Two hotel suggestions in DC on the cheap, one in the city and one just outside the city:

1. Hotel Harrington. Long time tourist class hotel, used by a lot of tour groups. Great location. It'll cost upwards of $200/night plus parking.

2. Americana Hotel in Crystal City right outside of DC proper. Very short walk to the metro, free breakfast and free parking. Cost per night will be $100-$130 but if you do drive, the free parking is a big bonus.

Those two hotels are routinely inexpensive. You may find better deals at other places (probably not in the $100 range). As noted, you're traveling to some cities whose hotel rates fluctuate. DC is typically cheaper in August when Congress recesses, but that changed yesterday when Mitch McConnell cancelled summer recess. Airbnb might be a good option for you all.

No help here with Philly but google Holiday Inns ("HI") in DC and in Baltimore. Both have hotels relatively close to the fields. The HI in DC had a nearby place to park but you'll need to confirm. DC HI also in walking distance of Smithsonians. You might need a cab or lyft to the field. Also check the cirulator route to the field--it's either free or just a couple of dollars.

If memory serves, the HI in Baltimore is within walking distance of Camden Yards--do check.

For Philly, I have stayed at The Alexander Hotel for a reasonable rate even with parking ($24/day). I am not sure exactly where it is in relationship to the ballpark but it is in the middle of all the other sites you want to see with the exception of Longwood Gardens(I am not familiar with that). You may also want to see the Eastern Penitentiary.

I have been to all of the cities mentioned and use public transportation to get around. I travel solo and have felt safe in all the areas that you are going.

In DC, there is a Metro station just outside Arlington Cemetery or it is walkable depending on where you are going or coming from . The entrance is just a few blocks behind the Lincoln Memorial.

The areas to avoid in DC are pretty obvious as in most cities, they are ones in the suburbs or certain edges of the city, they are never (at least never that I've seen) in the center where the major tourist attractions or businesses are. For a tourist to DC, you wouldn't have a dangerous neighborhood around the White House, Smithsonian museums, supreme court, etc. here isn't any reason as a tourist you would be in them except if you try to stay out of the center in the cheapest hotel you can find, either out of the district border to the Maryland side at the east, or roughly avoid anything with a NE address would do it in the city. If you want really cheap, I guess you could look at a hotel around NoMa as they are cheaper due to location and not too bad an area if you are careful, I guess. Don't stay in any area not really close to metro, either.

That does not mean come back and say, how about if I stay in the real cheap hotel in Ivy City or on NY Ave NE, etc.

I'd just use a booking tool to narrow it down by price, it's a lot easier that way. It really depends on your dates, so who can say. It really depends what you are expecting and how realistic that price is for DC. You should be able to get something for $150 a night or less, but again, it depends on your dates. The Days Inn on COnncecticut Ave near Van Ness metro is frequently as cheap as the Harrington, or cheaper. It's a nice neighborhood and by a metro, perfectly safe. The Harrington would be more central, though. The Washington Plaza hotel is usually one of the cheapest, and that's a safe area, it's just not that convenient a location nor near a metro stop.

Much of NE section of DC is a don't-stay zone. I'd trend toward Foggy Bottom or across the river b/c there's no Metro train in Georgetown. Driving in DC can be a bear.

For DC, you can easily pick a hotel somewhere in Arlington/Alexandria on the Yellow Line and be at the Mall in a matter of minutes. But "CHEAP" is in the eye of the bill-payer, so telling you about a $130/night hotel might not mean much if you have some (and it would be daft) expectation to find a decent room for 3 at $69/night.

Hopefully for your sake the Orioles will be playing someone decent because you should see at least one major league team in each game . . . Don't stay anywhere featured in The Wire (best show in TV history).

As a resident of the Philly area for the last 19 years, I can't emphasize enough that a car is not only unnecessary for the city, it's actually a nuisance. At a cost of $30 a day for the entire family, you can ride all of Septa's buses, subways, trolleys, and regional rails
SEPTA | One-Day Individual & Family Independence Pass
This will allow you to stay almost anywhere you want in the Philly area, ride into Center City, and then get to all significant tourist sites quickly & effortlessly. Believe me, you will NOT be able to even park in Philly for much less than $30 a day -- the savings in time & Maalox are only a bonus!

As others have noted, you will need a car to visit Longwood Gardens -- just rent for one day and you'll be fine.

> Any tips for traveling to these ballparks/areas in a car

Ride the Broad Street Subway Line (aka the "Orange Line")
SEPTA | Broad Street Line Map
south to the last stop, which is AT&T. Follow the sea of red to Citizens Bank Park.
If you'll be riding regional rail to your lodging, check on the last train out to your stop. Ball games can legally go till past 1:30am, so you may have to leave early!

>>>For DC, you can easily pick a hotel somewhere in Arlington/Alexandria on the Yellow Line and be at the Mall in a matter of minutes.

DH and I were back in DC on home leave in late April/early May and were thrilled to not have to drive; we rented an apartment about a five-minute walk from the Foggy Bottom Metro and it worked perfectly for our visit. We also spent several weeks last month online helping DS find an affordable apartment (new grad with concomitant salary) and so I'll also add that pretty much any address in DC that ends with "N.E." isn't a great place to stay regardless of what trendy nickname the neighborhood might have, or how close it is to a Metro station.

Though I am sure you are prepared for baseball stadium food prices...$47 for five hot dogs and one box of Nachos was what we paid in late April. The beers, about $8 each, if I recall.

In DC we were lucky enough to secure tickets for National Museum of African American History and Culture. Tickets are free, but you have to reserve online in advance. If interested, see which day you want to go and when that day becomes available online. I was online right when tickets became available and got the last timed entry of the day. I believe tour groups scoop them up, so they can be hard to come by. Very, very worthwhile experience.

>>>> We also spent several weeks last month online helping DS find an affordable apartment (new grad with concomitant salary) and so I'll also add that pretty much any address in DC that ends with "N.E." isn't a great place to stay regardless of what trendy nickname the neighborhood might have, or how close it is to a Metro station.

Hotels in SW will be closer to the Stadium in D.C. I just googled the SW Holiday Inn and it isn't as inexpensive as I thought. Here's another nearby:

https://dcnationalmall.place.hyatt.c...otel/home.html

You'll need to find out about parking. Again, I hope others can confirm or clarify, but I think it makes more sense to be in walking distance of the Mall and easy transport to the Stadium.

I agree with PaulRabe re: the ease of use of public transportation in Philly. Include Univ City in your search for hotels. They may be cheaper with parking cheaper too. You can then take the Market St subway line and transfer to the Broad St line or drive if you really want to. The city tourist sites are also easy to get to via the subway. If you go in the summer, on street parking can be found but you’ll have to search for free parking blocks which can be difficult to find if you don’t know the neighborhood.