Disabled veteran looking for info on getting family of 4 from Omaha to DC for July 27 +- 3 days to august 10 +- 3 days. You helped us soooo much here when I took my young teens to Hawaii. WE stay home a lot and we try to travel every 2 years , saving and saving so that they can see the world...a.t least the US..... PLEASE HELP! we have found tix around 200 and Priceline will not go less than that either..... I know someone has got to know where that once in a lifetime awesome deal is! please help!

Have you checked the fares flying into Baltimore?

Deals are gonna be few and far between this summer due to fuel prices. $200 sounds very good.

Hi

How about Southwest Air? They fly from Omaha into BWI, which is right next to DC.

As to hotels you might check with the Holiday Inn downtown DC or Red Roof which is next to Chinatown (but still in a good area). Red Roof also runs specials on their internet site. Give it a try. If you stay outside of DC you'll spend more time coming into the city by subway. In the city, you won't need a car - just the subway.

We just booked our room in DC for September and the best deal seems to be Hotel Harrington close to the Mall and White house.If you look it up on Tripadvisor the comments are mainly favourable.It's the best deal in town. Greetings from Belgium.Paul

wow thanks so much for the qucik replies..... I did a few searches into BWI IAD and DCA.... they all look the same. I think I should prob go ahead and Book today or tomorrow.... I also forgot to mention we can stay with family and I could prob stay at a base somewhere with military guest housing. I was thinking about renting a car though b/c that way we could be on our own for a few days, and we are sharing a timeshare for a week on the beach... I sooo hope this will turn out for my girls!

One more thing, I have noticed some washington hotels offer a discount for government workers. I am wondering if the discount applies to veterans? You may want to ask when you call to book. Just a thought.

Choice Hotels (Quality Inn, Comfort Inn, Sleep Inn, Mainstay Sutes, Clarion) offer the government rate to retired US military w/ ID card.

Andrews AFB close to Branch Ave (Green Line) ... maybe base has shuttle? Not sure what bases are large enough to support transient facilities such as Lodge, etc.

If you are a vet would you consider using the HI/AYH Hostel for your family? Barracks was good enough for we veterans; our families should get to enjoy the same fine lodging Uncle Sam gave us, sharing with strangers!!

HI would love more info about Hostel....do not know about it, never used it. It will actually be me ( female) and my 2 daughters, their grandma will only be flying to help me and staying with separate families there....

Have you thought about flying out of Kansas City? You're only a couple hours away from MCI and tickets are $173 (Southwest to BWI) for the dates you mentioned.

For $200, there's really no reason to fly anything other than OMA-xxx-DCA. Forget Southwest, forget BWI, forget MCI. Why even bother?

And Midwest even fly this route non-stop, for around $230, which may not be worth it.

For the DC hostel:
http://www.hiwashingtondc.org/

For Hosteling International (formerly American Youth Hostels):
http://www.hiayh.org/

Starting at $20 per BED with rooms of 1,2,4 and 6 beds per room. Includes continental breakfast. Often these places have information desks, discounts, etc., not too unlike a USO facility. I've stayed at NYC & Boston facilities, but only have stepped into the DC hostel to check it out.

Flying from KC in order to use Southwest is not a bad idea. Using public transportation, DC is only $6 away from DC, per person, and SW has some great rates at times.

$200 is very good for DC. I'd book it.

Omaha to MCI is about 180 miles each way. Say the OP's car average 30 MPG on the highway, that's still 12 gallons of gas or $36. So, half the $80 they save is gone.

Add the additional few dollars for BWI-Washington transit, compared to DCA, the saving is even less.

Not to mention the amount of extra time spent on the road.

I don't understand why and how that's a good idea.

Northwest has connecting flights to Washington National (DCA) for $153 airfare, or $190 all in. for your dates. The Southwest fare from Omaha is almost twice as high.

When you do your search at sites like travelocity or the airlines, use WAS as the destination. That will find results for IAD, BWI, and DCA at the same time.

You might try looking at some packages that combine airfare and hotel. That is not high tourist season in DC - it will likely be quite hot and humid - so you may find some deals. Check the usual Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, etc., and take a look at www.travelzoo.com, maybe even see if the airlines have any vacation packages. Not my favorite place to plan a vacation, but sometimes they have some deals.

THNAK YOU ALL for all the help. I have booked the flight and we are traveling. I DO have family in Virginia and the trip to MCI was not worth it, we live 5 hours from MCI, and 3 from Oma...THANKS ALLL!!!!!!