Wash DC and across into Canada June 2013
 

Our trip to Europe 2 years ago was a wonderful time in part due to help from Fodorites. This summer, we are thinking to take my 10 and 23 yo daughters and bf (of the 23 year old) to DC, to see all of the wonderful museums and monuments. We will probably take 2 weeks and possibly (depending on how expensive) would like to combine the east coast trip with a trip to Eastern Canada. After DC, we would probably mostly be looking for more of the nature experience in Canada, but not strictly.

Any tips on weather, travel, where to stay, etc. would be hugely appreciated. We usually like to rent an apartment (VRBO, etc.) and don't mind traveling into DC on the metro.

Well, I'll tackle the obvious first: DC summers are brutally humid and very hot, too. That doesn't deter millions of tourists, of course, but it's something to keep in mind. I would try to stay in the city if I were you, because the weather will make it desirable to take a break before dinner, say, and be able to walk to restaurants afterwards or return to the National Mall for an evening walk rather than commute to the suburbs. That said, there are suburbs, like Old Town Alexandria, that offer a walkable urban area, too. Dupont Circle and Penn Quarter in DC are my favorite neighborhoods to recommend to visitors, but I am not familiar with VRBO offerings in those areas.

Contact your congressman and the White House now if you'd like tours; you can tour the Capitol without a reservation, but your congressman can arrange a more detailed tour. The White House can only be seen with a reservation, and they can be hard to come by, especially in the summer.

Thanks, I just sent email to request the WH tour today. I am worried about the heat, not sure just how bad it might be in mid-June. As far as staying outside the city, we probably just want something with easy access to the metro to get into the city.

Is there a reason you want to stay outside the city?

Another tip about the heat: remember that all the Smithsonian museums are free admission, and most are clustered along the national Mall. Use them to take air conditioning breaks! You can plan your viewing of the monuments for early morning or after dark, at least after dusk, if you find the heat to be a lot to handle. Mid-June should be OK, it gets much muggier and hotter later in the summer.

Hi NewbE, Good tips. We will plan accordingly for the heat. We like to stay in apartments which are usually cheaper outside the city to have the comforts of home including a kitchen where we usually make about a third of our meals. That usually ends up saving us quite a bit and we don't like eating out at every meal anyways.

That makes perfect sense. But do please look inside the city as well to compare prices. Apartments near a Metro stop, even if they are in VA or MD, may not be much cheaper. I would not want to take a bus to a Metro stop, that's just a lot of commuting on top of touristing. Good luck!

Something else to consider in your planning is the time of the annual Smithsonian Folk Life Festival, which draws many, many people to the area (and, consequently, into the air-conditioned museums when they get hot). DC can be manageable in the hot and steamy months; it just takes a good strategy.

NewbE makes a good point about the apartment location. If possible, try to find an apartment that is very close to a Metro station and not too far out from the Mall. A long, hot and crowded Metro ride back to your apartment is a depressing way to end the day.

We stayed last spring in (I think) a Residence Inn within a block or two of the GWU/Foggy Bottom Metro station. We had a single "suite" (bedroom, bath, living room, big kitchen) and it was just around the corner from a massive Whole Foods. It was like an apartment building.

Hi Ackislander, good tip, we will check out the Residence Inn. Most RIs we have stayed in have been good except the one across from Disneyland which had paper thin walls and was adjacent to the highways.
Fourfortravel, I looked up the Folk Life Festival and we will for sure be long gone before it starts June 27. Exactly the type of info we are hoping to get though. Thanks.

I would look for a place in Alexandria with an indoor pool like this one. http://www.shsalexandria.com/?utm_so...ogle_places_ms
When you are ready to head for Canada, you might want to go on Amtrak to New York and then get on the Maple Leaf to Toronto.
This would be the time to see Niagara Falls if you have never been there.

Hi Tom, I guess the pool does make sense after the hot days and I will definitely check into Zlexandria. I had not thought about the train for some reason, but that also sounds like a good idea. I wonder though, if it will be as good as the trains in Europe.

Not as good as trains in Europe but Amtrak will get you there without flying or driving a rental car into Canada.
My first Amtrak train trip was from WAS to NYP starting at 3AM in October 2001. After a short layover in Penn Station I got on the Maple Leaf. I didn't get to Toronto until 7:30PM because someone on the train was smuggling drugs.