Washington, D.C.: Suggestions for disabled visitor
 

We will be visiting Washington, D.C. in mid-July. My wife has difficulty walking and uses a wheelchair in areas where long walks would be required. So we will have to get around using our car and expect to overnight in the suburbs. My questions:
1. Since we will use Priceline, I'm wondering which of the zones would be preferable. In Virginia, the choices appear to be: Arlington, Tysons Corner, Alexandria, Reston. In Maryland, Silver Spring, Bethesda, Rockville. I know little about any of these, but need guidance on which would be an attractive area that's close enough for visits into the city.
2. Our visit will be three days. Please suggest stops that have good wheelchair access or others where a drive by might be appropriate. In all cases, we will need to park our car so that is an important consideration.
3. Any other suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Is there a particular reason you are not looking in DC? Is it because of the cost of parking at the hotel?

Crystal City would be the best choice in VA, I think.

Dupont Circle and White House/Downtown in DC would be best if you decide to stay in DC.

This is a tough one since you want to drive. Is there a reason you don't want to use the wheelchair on Metro?

I think you are making this as complicated as you possibly can.

If I was traveling with someone in wheelchair, I'd (a) stay in the city near a Metro station and (b) take the Metro instead of trying to park. A handicap tag isn't going to be much help near many of the tourist areas. Staying in the suburbs is going to be much more of a hassle.

I couldn't agree more with MikeT. Parking the car is going to significantly complicate things. It will be much easier to travel via metro.

I agree with the others except to add that taxis are your friend. Metro, while wheelchair accessible and convenient for the ablebodied, still does not get very close to the major monuments; the Mall museums are pretty well served, but there can still be five or more blocks from station to museum door.
Stay as close to the center of things as possible and do not take your car out of the garage until you are leaving town.

Perhaps consider a nighttime (especially in July!) monuments tour with any of the major tour buses and a daytime ride on the opentop bus (wear hats) for other areas of the city. If Arlington Cemetery is of interest, definitely use the Tourmobile there.

With Priceline, White House and Convention Center are good areas to try, but also look at the hotel sites because they may be competitive.

I'm going to DC by train and staying at capital hill suites. May question is besides walking to the Holocaust Museum which is at the far end of the mall, how can I get there. I know I could get a taxi. Is there a trolley you can hop on and off of our a local bus line that runs around the mall? I like to walk but don't want to wear myself out the first hour there and have to walk to the hotel from the train first. Thanks for any help you can give me or actually my husband and myself and another couple who aren't bit walkers.

heyjude are you the same person who did the OP or are you jumping on someonw else's thread? look up the circulator on DC.

Having done further research, I agree that the Metro is the way to go. Given the high cost of parking in DC and what we expect will be a relatively unambitious agenda of places to visit, we plan to stay in the Virginia suburbs. Crystal City, though apparently close in, still has hefty parking charges. Our list of sights and restaurants, in DC and outside, includes several that are easily accessible by car.

heyjude2919,

Capitol Hill Suites is one block from the Capitol South MEtro station (blue/orange lines). I would hop on a train and get off at the Smithsonian stop.

While on the Mall there is a bus that loops the MAll. The Circulator - take the "Smithsonian/Nat'l Gallery of Art loop bus". It's $1 for an all-day pass (but you need to get your ticket from a MACHINE at one of the Circulator bus stops prior to boarding to use it as an all day pass- if you pay on the bus, then it's $1 per ride).

http://www.dccirculator.com/index.html

Check travelzoo for offers including parking. We stayed at a Sheraton that included parking in Arlington for very cheap two years ago, and they will certainly have a similar offer again. The hotel shuttle took us to the train and restaurant area upon request.

I also used the car at night to tour the city. Handicap parking was everywhere on the street free.There are spaces in front of all the museums for that, so I would try to check all this out first, as it was very convenient to have the car in town for awhile, assuming you have a handicap sticker.

The Art Museum had free handicap parking right at the doors.

Go drive around the city after hours, as parking frees up and you can get very close to the Capitol for the Marine band concerts, and also in Arlington Cemetery they give you a special pass so you can drive your mobility challenged right up to the monuments and changing of the guard. You go in to register with the handicap sticker and they give you a map and everything.

We parked not too far from the Memorials and as I didn't mind dropping people off, and being a bit of a guide or parking further away, it all worked out very well. But I had a third person to assist.

Also take a look at Hotwire. On www.betterbidding.com they have a hotwire section where you can basically almost be sure of which hotel you will buy. (no bidding).

I would be worried at Priceline, myself, because you may still get a hotel that charges for parking, and then what can you do? You wouldn't be the first one.

Finding a good deal at www.travelzoo.com that gives free parking may be your best deal. Our rooms were $69 two years ago, and I think they had a deal for $79 last year.

Thanks for the tip about Arlington Cemetery. That's probably going to be our first stop.

After reviewing the various options, we'll take a shot at the Crystal City area, which seems to be close enough in to be worthwhile. Although there's usually a daily parking charge of about $20, we need two rooms. Recent Priceline wins have been in the area of $55-70/night for the Sheraton, Marriotts, and Hyatt. All but the Hyatt are close enough to the Metro; if it's the Hyatt, we'll have to use the shuttle. Altogether, these deals are quite a bit cheaper than what's available on Travelzoo.

Our schedule for three days is not particularly ambitious. It includes Arlington Cemetery, the Air & Space Museum, the Capitol, the Library of Congress, and the Holocaust Museum. We'll get around on the Metro and perhaps make additional stops around the Mall if time permits.

We expect to take lunches near the sights we'll be visiting. Dinners will be by car either outside the city or to places in the city where parking will not be an issue.

Do not be afraid to take your car into D.C. if you have a handicap sticker. I think you will be pleasantly SURPRISED at the availibility of parking for YOU there near monuments and museums.

The most expensive parking was at the Kennedy Center for a play. We left a little later than I wanted and all the street parking for BLOCKS was taken, a few spaces by others with same intentions just a car or two in front of me. Very frustrating.

I could not have dealt with my Mom on any pubic transportation, so the few times I had to pay for parking outweighed the efforts of transport, plus those fees round trip.

The buses would be quite good as if you are seniors it is practically free.

We got a pair of rooms thru Priceline at the Hyatt Regency in Crystal City for $50 each per night (staying for two nights). Even with $20 or so per night for parking, it's still a good deal. The Hyatt has a shuttle to the metro. We'll have two and a half days in town and plan to see at least: Arlington Cemetery, the Capitol, the Holocaust Museum, the Air & Space Museum, and the Library of Congress. We've contacted our Congressman for whatever assistance he can provide and are awaiting his response. We may also work in the Tourmobile and nighttime visits to the Lincoln Memorial and similar.

If you want to do a monuments tour, contact onboardtours.com. Let them know you need a wheelchair lift and they will give you the bus that has the lift. The company uses 32 passenger vans for the tours.

If you want to go with an alternative company, make sure you tell them you need the lift for the wheelchair.

Washington, DC, has cuts in all the streets for wheelchairs, but the distances can be a problem even for the able bodied. Of course, all the museums are accessible. Metro (the subway) is famous for having elevators out of service, so I would watch where you go if you use Metro at all and get accurate information on elevator outages before starting out.

Thanks for the advice about the wheelchair lift. My dad can walk a little, but not sure how hard it is to climb into one of these buses. I assume it's pretty simple to have him just stay in the wheelchair on these buses?
Also- to the people going 3 days--- can you give me some ideas for handicapped accessible restaurants? I like the idea of bringing lunch also. We are hoping to use our handicapped parking sticker or dropping off since there are 2 plus my dad.
Have a wonderful time. We are going in May and doing a very similar trip. Our congressman will give us a tour of the Capitol. Good Luck.

Buses are certainly wheelchair accessible, and your dad does not have to get out of his wheelchair to board the bus.

From wmata.com (a very useful site if you haven't been yet):

All buses in the Metro fleet are accessible, with the ability to kneel or lower; all have either low floor ramps or lifts. Major stops, landmarks, and intersections are either announced by an automated stop announcement system or the bus operator. All buses feature two wheelchair securement areas and priority seating for senior citizens and people with disabilities near the front of the bus.

Just to add to what lincasanova said, as an example there is no parking at the WWII memorial except for handicapped parking.

I don't have special information about handicapped accessible restaurants. Our plan is to eat wherever food is available near our daytime visits. In the evening, we'll drive to our selected restaurants. As long as there are no more than a few steps, we'll be fine. We don't expect to use the wheelchair for that since my wife can walk short distances and climb a few stairs.

The National Gallery has wheelchairs available at the main entrance, and the courtyard café there is nice for lunch.

And there is a section of free handicap parking at the DOOR there. You drive up onto the "sidewalk" drop off area and several spaces are reserved with a VERY discreet tiny sign that says "handicap parking". Couldn't be easier.

I think you will find that you will be able to park most places, and when you can't, a meter or two turn up a block away. I had no problems whatsoever except at the Kennedy center one night.

Of course, it WAS August! Good luck.