We're going to DC/Virginia in June. Need information about hotels and things to do in DC, Richmond and Williamsburg. There's too much to choose from and too little time in each city. We will probably will be in DC about three days, two days in Richmond and two days in Williamsburg. Hotel suggestions under $75.00 (discounts) would be appreciated. Something with a pool and game room for the 14 year old and a good restaurant within walking distance if not in the hotel. In DC, we'd like a suggestion for a suburban hotel near the Metro and not in an unsafe area. Since we only have a few days in each city, how best to cram the most sightseeing in? Any suggestions? Can we do some things at night or does everything shut down at 5pm? Any suggestions on good, inexpensive restaurants in all three places? Which plantation and civil war battlefield is recommended (there are too many to choose from)? Should we go to Busch Gardens or Old Dominion park? Also, can anyone give me a realistic idea of the driving time from Dulles airport to Richmond? Any hotels, tours or restaurants we should avoid (bad location, food)?

I'm not sure about whether I can recommend hotels in your price range that have those facilities. But I do live in the VA suburbs, and have been to Williamsburg many times as well. ( Plan on about 2.5-3 hours to Richmond from Dulles, except if you run into traffic. Be very careful when you exit 495 South to 95 South as you must get over 3-4 lanes to the left once you enter 95 in order to avoid the exit only lanes.) In the DC area, if you want to be near Metro, you can stay in Vienna at the end of the orange line or drive into Rossyln and walk to Metro or over the bridge into Georgetown. Lots to do in DC these days (& nights). Do be careful about where you are in the city though; there are some unsavory areas. You'll want to see the Smithsonian Museums, the monuments, the Zoo, Capitol, White House (get tickets through your congressman for the dates you need), Mt. Vernon, Union Station, Georgetown, the "Newseum." On the way south, you may want to stop at Potomac Mills, a huge outlet center (though they also have them in Williamsburg). In Williamsburg, I can recommend one of the motels/hotels in the historic area --the Williamsburg Lodge is not too expensive and has great facilities. Best of all you can walk to the attractions of the historic area or grab the shuttle bus. Look into packages that include admission to Colonial Wlmbrg/Busch Gardens/Jamestown Settlement/etc. Try 1 (800) HISTORY. Your admission to Williamsburg will include Carter's Grove Plantation if you buy the inclusive ticket. If you can only do one, I'd recommend Busch Gardens over King's Dominion, though both are worth a visit. Busch Gardens is a bit greener (and maybe you can get a combination deal if you look into it). Have fun.

I live in DC metro area, so will add a few comments,
although previous post gave very good info. First,
NO, you should not go to a theme park in the ltd.
time you're here. Second, for DC hotels, your best
best might be ones in the Arlington suburb--close,
safe, and many good restaurants within walking
distance, and there are several hotels/motels near
the metro stop. I don't know of one in your price
range (which seems a little low for a major US
city; that's about what you pay in a small town in
Ohio at a chain hotel--I know, I'm from there and
go back often),with the amenities you want. As for
DC, I'd concentrate first on the area around the
"mall", where the main tourist sites/museums are.
I'd go to Air & Space, American History, and maybe
Natl Gallery if you like art; Phillips Collection
near Dupont Circle is a very nice small art
museum, also. I'd skip Natural History as it's not
very good (IMO); there are quite a few minor art
museums, but you can't see them all. I think Mt.
Vernon is very interesting to see and gets you out
of the city/museum thing, but you need a car to get
there. Aside from museums, I like the FBI tour and
the White House tour. I'd definitely skip the
monuments, but that's personal taste, obviously.
The only one I find at all interesting is the
Vietnam Memorial. You can waste a lot of time
standing in line just to go to the top of the Wash
Monument, but I don't know what for. You should be
able to get White House tour tickets ahead of time
from your senator/congressperson--check with their
office. The Holocaust Memorial Museum is
very good, but may not be what you're in the mood
for, and may be too intense for some children,
depending on their age. I don't think the museums
are open in the evening, at least not yet (they are
in the summer, though, so check if you're coming then).
The Phillips Collection museum is open Thurs. night.
Depending when you're here, Dumbarton Oaks gardens
in Georgetown is beautiful and a different experience.
I think it's very educational and interesting to
see the Senate in action (visitors can get passes
and watch from a balcony), but that takes a while in
line as I recall, and you may not have time for it.

Carol, you have two excellent responses above, so I'll try not to reinvent the wheel with this post. For a hotel/motel room in your $75.00 price range, you'll have to trade convenience for dollars, much of which you'll lose in Metro fares (figure an average of $1.75 per person in each direction for each trip you make in or out of the city). There's a cluster of chain (HoJo, Days Inn, Red Roof Inn) near the junction of the beltway and U.S. 1 in Alexandria. This is seven miles outside of DC and roughly a mile from either the Huntington or King Street metro stations; two miles from Old Town Alexandria. All three should have the amenities you seek and be within that price range. Most of the museums on the Mall close at 5:30, but the "street scene" remains lively in areas like Georgetown and Old Town until well into the evening. Cheap eats: Old Glory on M St. in Georgetown (barbecue). See Zagats for other suggestions. In Richmond, don't miss the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The Tiffany glass and lamps and Faberge eggs are show stoppers. There's also a small, but very well curated Museum of the Confederacy downtown. This is no redneck enterprise but, rather, a serious effort to explore the human side of the Civil War. I went the first time with minimal expectations and was bowled over by the quality of what I saw. You asked about plantations: one of the prettiest stretches of highway in America is Va. Rte. 5 between Richmond and Williamsburg. It hugs the north shore of the James River, and the plantations are every few miles. The best of these is Shirley, near Charles City. It dates to 1735, escaped the Civil War intact (it was a hospital) and has excellent guides and lots of outbuildings. Moreover, it has been in one family for 11 generations and shows it. Also, see the grounds at Westover, just east of Shirley Plantation. Skip the more "famous" ones, especially Berkeley, which draws all the tour buses and moves you through a not-very-interesting house, assembly line fashion, in about 20 minutes. If you must go to a theme park, I'd avoid Kings Dominion, which seems to be in the newpapers a lot for altercations among its patrons. Finally, the driving time from Dulles to Richmond is two hours (100 miles) from the junction of the beltway and the I-95 interchange in Springfield. The problem is getting to that interchange from Dulles, which can be 30 minutes in mid-day or the evening, but an hour or more during rush hour. I hope some of this helps. Feel free to e-mail me with additional questions.

I live in this area, also, but I can add only a few tidbits to the wonderful information you have already received. First, don't even think of driving south on I-95 to Richmond between 3 and 6 PM. Traffic is the literal snails pace (week-ends excepted). And do take the opportunity to view the monuments at night, even if just a drive by. As opposed to the Washington Monument, think about ariel views of the city from the Old Post Office Pavilion. (Someone help me out here. Is it the Post Office Pavilion or Union Station? I can never remember.)

I don't live in DC, so I can't add much to the good information you've already got. But when we were there last summer, we took our 15 and 13 years olds to a new museum called the Newseum, about the history of broadcasting. It has a lot of hands on broadcasting type things to do and both kids loved it. I can't remember the metro stop, but we walked across the Key bridge from Georgetown and it's right there on the Virginia side. This museum has been open less than two years, I think, but it's very popular. Also, the kids loved the FBI tour, but tickets are hard to come by and the lines will be vey long in summer. Fords Theater was also a big hit. The park service people who work there do a great job with retelling the whole story of the Lincoln assassination. I don't remember if any of the previous postings mentioned this, but one of my favorite art galleries is the Phillips (I think that's the name) in an old house kind of near Dupont Circle. Quite a few gems in a small accessible setting. And I second the recommendation on Dumbarton Oaks.

I support the info that you've been given about what to see and do in Richmond. Another place that you might want to go, especially with your teenager, is the Science Museum of Virginia on Broad Street -- lots of fun hands-on stuff, a great planetarium and omnimax theatre. If you want to cover historical sights, the capitol was designed by Thomas Jefferson and St. John's Church is where Patrick Henry gave his "give me liberty or give me death" speech. They reinact the speech periodically on weekends. The Virginia House and Agecroft are two wonderful old manor homes that were brought over from England brick-by-brick. The homes and their gardens are worth a tour. Have fun!

My husband and I are planning a trip to DC in early June. We've never been, so I can't help you much with city info; however, I know what you're talking about as far as the hotel expense goes, especially at this time of year. Since I finally found some reasonable accomodations, I will be happy to share what I learned during my very extensive search for a hotel near the metro at my husband's "highest offer" of $70. First, based on many cancellations after consultation with maps and 'net friends, DO NOT try to stay in DC for your price at this time of year if you don't know the hotel, and this even includes some smaller chains you have heard of before. It probably means the area is not very safe. If you think you have done it, you can call Washington D.C. Accomodations at 1-800-554-2220. They may not have anything in your price range, but they will try it and tell you if you are in an unsafe area. The visitors' bureau was helpful about this as well. At present, we are set to stay at a 5-Sunburst Days Inn in Springfield, VA which is (supposed to be) 1 mile of safe walking to the Metro station, 1/2 mile from a shopping mall, and has a shuttle to the Metro as well for $61 on the weekend and $65 through the week. I used multiple internet travel services to rate rooms and find discounts, then called the hotel directly and mentioned the discounts and got them by phone. I have found some very cheap, not-so-safe stuff and some stuff that might fit into your price range. Also, don't forget the 13%25 hotel tax if you stay in DC itself; that adds up almost as fast as Metro fare, especially if you buy the $5 all-day Metro pass. I would be happy to give you many other "cheapskate" details by email if you have questions, but I don't think I will bore the rest of these folks with it. Good Luck. Deana