DennisA

Hi,
We, family of 4 adults, are planning to visit New York and Washington DC in July for total 10 days. Tentative plan is to spend 7 days in NY and 3 days in WDC. This is our first trip to USA. Would like to receive valuable inputs on places to visit in both cities, any nearby places from both NY and WDC which can be visited as a day trip, approx cost per head on food and any other useful hints. We have already booked tickets for entry/exit through JFK. Thanks in advance.

tomfuller

Since you have already booked your tickets in/out of JFK, why not spend 4 days in NYC and then go to Washington DC for the 3 days. You might want to see something in Philadelphia on the way back to New York.
My suggestion is to have each of the 4 independently make a list of 6 things in each city and then go to the places that are on 2 peoples lists.
Between New York and DC, use the Amtrak Northeast Regional trains (not Acela).
See anything you missed in New York on your return to New York.

sf7307

That's a great idea, and train a really the "only" way to travel between NY and D.C. -- 4 days in NY, 3 in DC , 2 in Philadelphia would make for a terrific and stress-free visit.

PaulRabe

> Would like to receive valuable inputs on places to visit

Unless and until we know what YOU hope to experience while visiting these places, any advice we give would be almost worthless. We can only tell you places that WE would enjoy visiting -- which may (or may not) be places that YOU would enjoy visiting. So what exactly are you looking for: museums? culture? food? history? monuments? ethnic neighborhoods? shopping?

The possibilities are almost endless in all three cities noted so far. But I don't want to list a place that would enthrall ME if it would bore YOU to tears.

I strongly suggest you read through a guidebook, make a list of things you think you might enjoy, and then come back here & ask which places would best meet YOUR desires. Then we could give you some useful advice.

DennisA

Thank you all for the valuable suggestions. Yes, we will add Philadelphila to our itinerary enroute to DC. Hope all these places can be reached by train with luggage. As regards our interests, mainly monuments, museums, other popular areas and of course some shopping. This being our first visit to US, we have no idea at all about these cities.

kja

Another vote for buying a good guidebook or two -- or consult them in your local library. The cost will be nugatory in comparison to the cost of your trip, and you will learn things you don't even realize that you should ask.

Depending on what YOU want to see and experience, I'd give more than 4 days to NYC. And much as I love Philadelphia -- and I do! -- personally, I'd skip it on this trip to make more time for NYC and DC. But that's just me. Only you can decide what makes most sense for YOU.

And yes, you can definitely visit these cities by train and with luggage -- and that's an example of something a good guidebook would cover.

Good luck!

PaulRabe

Monuments, museums, and shopping? That means NYC & Washington. The former has the best museums & shopping.
https://www.ny.com/museums/all.museums.html
My pick of these would be Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Natural History, the Museum of Modern Art, and the American Folk Art Museum.
The latter has the best monuments
https://washington.org/visit-dc/must...-national-mall
& free museums.
https://www.si.edu/museums
Any of these are good.

DennisA

Thanks KJA and PaulRabe. Well noted your suggestions.

Christina

I would not skip time in Philadelphia or other places in order to spend so much time in New York City. I don't know where you are from, but New York city is absolutely huge, of course, and I just would not want to spend a week there, myself. I just get tired of all the noise and filth, traffic and absence of greenery, etc. It is also extremely expensive, mainly for hotels. If you've never been to the US, I am just not sure what your itinerary in NY would be for a week.

Christina

oh, As for day trips from DC, there is Baltimore, which can be visited by train. Other places would require a car, so suspect that won't work for you. Given you don't have that much time in DC, anyway, I wouldn't worry about other places.

DennisA

Thanks Christina for the suggestions. In fact I am planning to spend 5 days in NY, 2 in Philadelphia and 3 in DC. I am arriving from Dubai.

Underhill

Just work out an itinerary that will keep you inside an air-conditioned building during the day. Both cities will be hot and humid.

Macross

Go see a baseball game in DC, Philadelphia or NY.

http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/...x.jsp?c_id=was

Amtrak is the best way to go for your family. Nothing like European trains but all we have..

Every museum in DC is free and the zoo also.

Ellis Island is very interesting.

kja

MOST (not all) museums in DC are free. For example, the excellent Phillips Collection charges an admission fee.

Your count of days does not seem to include transportation. And when planning on your transportation time, remember to add some time on either side (for getting to/from your lodging, checking in/out, packing/unpacking, getting oriented, etc.

DennisA

Thanks all of you for your valuable suggestions. Much appreciated.
How reliable are Amtrak trains? Our return trip is from NY and we need to travel back from DC by train, to catch the flight.

dwdvagamundo

Agree with Christina that seven straight days is about three too many for NYC (and NYC is one of my favorite cities in the world). But your second plan is more doable, Dennis. One day to get over jet lag and three to see things.

Amtrak is pretty dependable and your best option when travelling DC to NYC.

BigRuss

>

True for the zoo.

Not true for the museums. The "national" museums are but the private ones like Spy Museum and Newseum charge a LOT. If this seems similar to London, it is.

kja

Personally, I would not count on taking Amtrak from DC on the day you plan to fly out of New York -- although the trains are good, there are often delays. See if you can switch all of your time in NYC to the END of your trip.

mjknycmjk

I agree with kja. Perhaps arrive in JFK and take the train down to DC on day one. Then work your way back to NYC. I live in NYC and LOVE DC. I think those two cities are a great introduction to the US. I would not try to add day trips - too much. Just take in these cities, and perhaps Philly too, as you mentioned.

obxgirl

Why not fly from DCA to JFK on the day you're leaving?

Amtrak isn't a bargain from DC to NY unless you book well in advance. Otherwise Amtrak prices are in the realm of the cost of airfare. For those whose destination is NYC flying presents the issue of getting from the airport into the city. You want to be at the airport.

Amtrak is reliable but not always punctual. I wouldn't take it from DC to catch a flight out of any NYC metro airport unless I had a half a day's worth of time to kill.