My family and I are going to Washington DC this summer (end of June, beginning of July) and I'm wondering if it is better to get a hotel in the city where it is more expensive but we can more easily walk to places or is it better to stay a little farther out, say near Reagan Airport, and take the Metro? I'm wondering if saving money is worth the extra time traveling back and forth

When you stay at the Harrington hotel it's not expensive and you're within walking distance of all the interesting sites.

And it can be noisy out near the airport.

Definitely stay within the city. Or in Arlington. I am coming in August and staying at the Americana Hotel. Its a barebones hotel but dirt cheap and decent reviews. Its not far from the city either.

We always stay in Alexandria, very nice place in its own right and so quick and easy to get the metro

If you want to stay outside the city I would agree that Alexandria would be a good spot. Old Town Alexandria along King Street has numerous nice restaurants and bars.

The Metro Yellow line stop at King Street connects to multiple other lines in several spots which makes it easy to access most parts of Washington, DC. (The Blue Line stops there also, but doesn't head directly into central DC.)

If staying in DC, we've stayed in the area near the White House at the W and the JW Marriott.

There's also a Holiday Inn right behind the Air&Space Museum on the Mall. It's a very walkable location as far as the mall museums, etc. Don't know about dining. I just used their parking deck (expensive, but I could leave the car all day) the last time I was up doing the museums with the kids.

You can use the Trip Planner feature on the Metro website (www.wmata.com) to help figure out how much extra you will be paying to stay outside of DC.

For example, if you stay in Crystal City (Arlington, VA) and plan to take Metro during "peak of the peak" time in the morning and in the evening to someplace such as the Smithsonian Metro station, you'd be paying $5.00 per person per day for this commute.