Washington DC
 

Looking for recommendations for where to stay for a Washington DC family trip.

Planning a family trip this summer (with teenagers). Prefer to rent a home/townhome/condo. We would prefer a location that is at best a 20 minute drive away from the DC area, so an easy drive for daily tours into DC. And an area that has great choices in restaurants and is safe. We have never been to the area so an added bonus to stay somewhere else to experience that area in addition to touring DC. We usually rent a car. But haven't researched the best way to get around DC for touring.

Thank you!

Karen

Just a quick note right now: The public transit is wonderful -- if you stay near a metro station there would be no reason to rent a car - you really don't want to drive much IN Washington DC unless it is absolutely necessary.

And . . . What is your budget?

I'd do an airbnb or similar IN the district, or in Alexandria, but there are other locations that would work because they are on the metro (Bethesda, for example).

I agree with janisj and sf7307. But maybe there's a reason for your preference to be at least a 20-minute drive from DC? If so, explaining it would, I think, be very helpful.

We lived in D.C. for twenty years. Trust me, you don't want to drive if there isn't a need. I wouldn't say the public transit is wonderful (expensive, terrible weekend schedule, and a fare system designed by someone who spent too much time in the sun); it's more of a "lesser of two evils." :) You really should consider staying in D.C. proper; or close-in areas of Northern Virginia (Alexandria, Arlington).

There are a few Residence Inns in Arlington, VA. I have stayed at the one in Ballston; its very nice. While not apartments, they are perfect for families as you can get separate bedrooms. They all come with decent buffet breakfast included and some with evening cocktail hour included. Easy on Metro to DC.

Thank you everyone for your input!

in response to some questions:

Our budget for accommodations is very flexible. We prefer to rent through VRBO.

Our desire for 20 minutes out is just a ballpark for a manageable drive to and from our place of stay to outings in DC. And a rental car provides flexibility to explore the area.

Karen

Good luck on finding a parking space in DC. In my experience, you'll save a lot of time and headache if you do not drive in.

>>And a rental car provides flexibility to explore the area.<<

You really only need/want a car for possibly Mount Vernon and/or the Udvar-Hazy air museum at IAD. Driving in/out/within DC is not someone does unless they get combat pay.

>>Our desire for 20 minutes out is just a ballpark for a manageable drive to and from our place of stay to outings in DC<<

4 or 5 miles can take 20 minutes or more, and that doesn't include time to get to the various sites in the District. 20 minutes won't get you very far out.

>>I wouldn't say the public transit is wonderful (expensive, terrible weekend schedule, and a fare system designed by someone who spent too much time in the sun)<<

OK -- true enough :) . I just meant 'wonderful' compared to driving in. I've only been to DC 4 times -- had a car once - never again.

"You really only need/want a car for possibly Mount Vernon and/or the Udvar-Hazy air museum at IAD. Driving in/out/within DC is not someone does unless they get combat pay." :toj:

kdjj, once I was within one-half mile of my exit (and 2 miles from home) on the Capital Beltway when a cattle truck tipped, freeing dozens of cows. I had a front-row seat for FOUR HOURS while the matter was managed, and cars were turned around to exit off of an on-ramp. I was also late to the office because of car-b-ques; protests; big cheese motorcades on numerous occasions, and for all sorts of traffic reasons. And I have many more of these stories to share to dissuade you. Really, you don't want to drive in the D.C. area.

True that! Try to find a vrbo or airbnb you like in a neighborhood with shops and restaurants that is also reasonably close to downtown. My kids used to live in Dupont Circle - it was a great location for a stay. Very much where people live their "real lives", but if you're a walker (I am) you can walk to the White House in about half an hour. Other closein neighborhoods that would be good - Adams Morgan, West End (sort of Dupont Circle West), Logan Circle, Capitol Hill. As you get farther away from the mall - Columbia Heights, Woodley Park, Navy Yard. Easiest thing to do is click on wmata.com and look at the metro map.

It appears you have never driven in a big city before or you would not thing staying 20 minutes out and driving into the main center of the city for sightseeing would be "easy". I don't know where you think you are going to park. Of course there are garages but a lot of tourists are cheap and don't want to pay for them even if the costs are pretty reasonable compared to places like NYC. Maybe about $24 a day or something (such as at the Ronald Reagan building, it's large anyway), cheaper on weekends. So it won't be easy.

And what does that 20 minutes mean, 20 minutes to the border of DC, like the river? ok, that depends on time of day. You'd have to stay very close to the bridge to be only 20 minutes out, maybe Arlington if you are lucky (and already near route 50 or something). If you mean 20 minutes from wherever you are into the center of DC and parked, forget it. That isn't even possible being in the center of DC much.

Lots of vacation rentals are illegal in DC. They are considering even changing the rules as we speak, but already many are (any condo or apt might have high probability, units attached to a single family home less likely to be illegal, say the basement or something). I think illegality is less likely in the suburbs.

Public transportation is pretty good in DC, but I agree the fares can be expensive compared to Europe. The system isn't that arcane, just differs by time of day and how far you travel, that's all. Many cities just have flat fares for a ticket, at least within city limits.

Uber and Lyft work really well in DC.

Definitely!

We'll be there over Thanksgiving for a family dinner. For non-Thanksgiving activities, we hope to go downtown for Smithsonian museums and monuments. As we have learned to do, we will either drive to the Metro and park, or take Lyft/Uber to the station, and use public transportation from that point on. We have learned the hard lesson on not thinking that driving into DC - or thinking that we can find a parking space vs. circling for hours while family jump out and visit monuments, is a sane thought.

Thanks for clarifying! And with that, I'll again agree wholeheartedly with everything already said.

Even from some of the most desirable areas to stay in DC (meaning those that will have an array of decent restaurant options, ready access to public transportation, and are safe and pleasant to roam at night), it could at least 20 minutes by public transport to reach things you might want to see (the monuments, museums, etc.), and far, far, FAR longer to manage with a car. AND far more expensive -- parking in DC is, as others have noted, very costly.

And if you stay in some of the more accessible outlying areas, such as Alexandria or Bethesda, you might still end up spending more than 20 minutes just to get out of the urban area and onto an expressway that might be of interest for a day trip -- not to mention a potentially long trip (depending on time of day) to actually get into the city.

If you goal is to visit DC, then I'll join everyone who is saying to stay in DC and forget having a car.

Hope that helps!

Also want to add (or, pile on, perhaps...) that our son lives in D.C. proper. He and his roommate work within a couple of blocks of one another, and have "raced" each other to their offices: one on a bicycle, and one on a Metro bus during rush hour. The bicycle rider wins 9 times out of 10.

Another vote for Uber/Lyft. We were in D.C. in April visiting friends and it was an easy-peasy way to go from A to B in a hurry.

Thank you everyone for great input!

kdjj, I hope you have a great visit to DC! We'll be up there next week for Thanksgiving with some family, and staying a few extra days to visit museums and memorials. We'll be taking the Metro into DC, although we will have a rental car for our time spent with family outside DC.

I apologize if I'm hijacking this thread but It's been helpful reading it. I didn't see the point of starting another one. I've never been to dc and want some help on where to stay. Looking for a nice hotel in a decent area for the easiest way to check out DC. NO car . Good dining . Public transportation. Found a good deal at the ritz Carlton in the pentagon area. Thoughts ? This will be for a Monday - Friday. Thanks