We will be going through Wash. DC this summer and want to see the sights while we are so close. Is it best to take a tour by one of their shuttle/bus services or should we drive our self and park? Also, is it good to stay in a hotel outside of the city or best to just pay the higher price and stay close?
Thanks! I appreciate any info on this.
2007-05-27 11:02:53 · 11 answers · asked by Tracie M 1 in Travel ➔ United States ➔ Washington, D.C.
Let's put it this way...I try not to leave my house between 4 and 7 pm everyday. Take the metro (subway), if you can. You will love DC. It is a beautiful city. You can stay in Rockville,Bethesda, or Gaithersburg, MD and take the Metro into town. Do take the tram tour, you will get an overview and then you can hit the highlights by yourself. By the way, DC has a very nice, clean, no graffiti subway. No eating/drinking allowed.
2007-05-28 16:41:29 · answer #1 · answered by Cloee Quips 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'd recommend taking the tour busses--- there is not a lot of parking by many of the more popular attractions and museums, and there's a lot of one-way streets. It's not worth the frustration, in my opionion. There's a "Hop On, Hop Off" tour bus service; you buy a day pass or a weekend pass, and you can ride the bus as many times as you want, jumping off to go to your choice of attractions then getting back on to go to the next thing or back to the hotel. These busses take you to Arlington Cemetary and some even go to Mount Vernon, not just the attractions that are right in the city, so it's a great way to see everything with no stress.
I'd recommend staying in the city, at a hotel on/near that bus route, or near the Orange line Metro, as many of the popular attractions are on the Orange line. If you stay outside of the city, you'll spend so much time going back and forth that it won't be worth the few dollars a night you are saving on the hotel. Also if you are flying in, skip the rental car; you can get a zipcar for a few hours near most of the hotels if you want to take a day-trip but you really don't need one the rest of the time.
2007-05-27 11:09:50 · answer #2 · answered by dcgirl 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
just like what everyone else has said:
if you try to drive between attractions--you'll end up paying $10-$20 per time you park.
Take the metro or walk--the metro is convenient to the attractions.
As far as staying in town or out of town--if you can plan ahead well and would not need to return to the hotel all day, then stay out of town and you can metro into the city each morning after breakfast--see the sites and grab lunch and dinner before heading back to the hotel. It would cost under $5 a person to commute in and out of the city via the metro and would take 20-30 minutes each way.
2007-05-27 13:37:31 · answer #3 · answered by RB 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Traffic in DC is terrible all of the time. Parking when you can find it is very expensive. Otherwise there is no safe parking for sightseeing all day.
The best thing to do is to stay at a hotel in Maryland or VA which is near a Metro subway station and take the subway to town. Use this web site to find the map of the Metro and then a hotel near one of its stops. http://www.wmata.com/
2007-05-27 12:40:13 · answer #4 · answered by TINKERTOY ..... the 1 & only 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you can stay outside the city somewhere close to a metro station so you can just drive to the metro station and take the train into the city. you definately do not want to drive yourself there. it sucks and is very confusing if you don't know the area! just look up DC metro and you can find info there. i know the stations will drop you off close to anywhere you want to go in DC. I lived in baltimore and we used to drive to one of the stations and take the train into the city for concerts and stuff. WAY easier than driving the whole way!!!
2007-05-28 05:57:30 · answer #5 · answered by jennifer p 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
DON'T try to drive and park, it's horrible. The best thing to take is the Metro (like a subway) everywhere. It might be easier to stay at a hotel near a suburban Metro station and then commute that way.
2007-05-27 11:06:31 · answer #6 · answered by Violet 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
i hope you have gps the highways make a bowlshape around the dc area and it can get very confusing if you dont know where you goit. you may end up in ohio. traffic during rush hour or bad weather is pure hell but any other nice day it can be beautiful.
2007-05-28 02:57:16 · answer #7 · answered by Bl@ck n Beautiful 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The car traffic in DC is the worst in the USA
2007-05-27 11:14:22 · answer #8 · answered by ? 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i'm going with violet. you can go to twinbrook station (red line) and take a bus to a hotel.
2007-05-28 01:21:45 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
traffic is not that bad during the day during rush hour it can get iffy i would suggest taking the subway or walking.
2007-05-27 11:16:12 · answer #10 · answered by lauren k 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋