We were planning a trip to the capitol for a long time and finally executed the plan. We traveled for 5 days and 4 nights with our 6 year old son and parents. Many people would say 5 days in the capitol city is too long, but we felt it was short and given couple of more days we would have surely filled it up as well :)
Also people usually combine New York, Niagara and Washington DC trips if travelling from west coast. I would highly discourage that unless you dedicate a weeks time for each place. We visited all the 3 places separately and it was totally worth it. If you have the luxury of taking a vacation for minimum 2 weeks than combining all the spots make sense. Please do not try to squeeze all these beautiful places in less than 2 weeks. Then you would have not enjoyed the beauty of each place.
Day 1:
We took a red eye flight from San Diego and reached the Baltimore Airport by 5 am. We spent an hour there refreshing and getting a cup of coffee to stay awake!
Now there are many options to travel from Baltimore to DC and we chose the MARC train which is the cheapest and fastest of all the options. There are frequent buses from the Airport to the train station. The MARC tickets are $7 per person each way and tickets can be purchased from the kiosk at the station. The train comes every 20 mins and takes 40 mins to the DC union station. If you are travelling with many big suitcases then it might be cumbersome to travel by the train as it might be crowded if you are travelling in the peak hours.
We got off at the Union Station and took an Uber to Residency Inn. This hotel is very close to the National Mall. There was an ongoing promotion in Uber and the ride costed only $6.
Luckily the hotel gave us early check in, so we took a long nap as we all were super exhausted. We left the hotel by 1 and took an Uber to the Library of Congress. There are tours every 30 mins and we took the 1:30 tour. These tours are free and very informative. Totally recommend taking these tours here as they will take us to the key spots. Norm was our guide and he was one of the best! Very humorous and kept all of us engaged for the full time. We were there till 4 pm and the strolled over to the botanical garden but it was closed.
So we just walked by the Reflection pond, Garfield Circle, Peace Monument. The circulator bus is free and continuously stops around the National Mall at various stops. We just took the bus and went around the National Mall and got down in stop 15, which is closest to our hotel. From there it was around 7 mins walk to our hotel.
There is also a Safeway 10 mins walk from the hotel, we took a stroll to get some basic groceries. Our room was equipped with a full kitchen which served to be very useful for our stay.
We found out that all the museums open only by 10 AM and close by 5 pm. Hence we had to plan our days such that we do the museums in the morning and the monuments in the evening.
Day 2:
After breakfast at the hotel, we left around 10 am and walked to the Air and Space Museum. There were free guided tours and we took the 10:30 tour. But the tour was not as interesting as expected so we split from the tour and explored on our own. The museum has a cafe where we had our lunch. We saw the Apollo 11 IMAX movie for $9 per ticket. We spent pretty much the full day and left by 4:30 pm.
We then walked to the Smithsonian Castle and spent an hour there till the closing time 5:30 pm. There are lots of refreshments stall all around the National Mall and street full of food trucks over there. Had some refreshments and then walked to the Washington Monument, spent time till 7 pm and then walked to the World War 2 Memorial. The night lights here were very beautiful and spent time till 8 here. Then went back to the hotel in Uber.
Day 3:
Today we went straight to the Natural History Museum and spent time till around 3 pm. All the museums in DC are free and the artifacts are just remarkable. We can easily spend one day at each museum.
Then we walked to The White House. Unfortunately the visitor center was closed, so we just walked to The White House and took some pictures. The building was under construction. There was lots of security in the front. We spent some time in the park opposite to The White House.
Then we headed to the Lincoln Memorial around 6 pm. The place was majestic in the evening at sunset and with the evening lights.
Day 4:
We had scheduled a tour at the US Capitol at 10 am. This should be booked well in advance. The tour lasted for an hour and 30 mins. And then we took the outdoor grounds tour as well. I would recommend taking the indoor tour for sure, and if you have extra time can do the outdoor tour.
Then we went over to the Supreme Court and had lunch at the cafe there. The food options were much better than the other places. We then took the 2:30 tour in the Supreme Court which was very informative. We had got Gallery passes at the capitol for 3 pm and then went back to the US Capitol for that session. Since our son was not allowed inside the session due to age, I took him to the Botanical Garden. The garden is fun place to wind down a bit and for the kids to explore the different species of plants.
We then took the Circulator for the remainder of the memorials - Jefferson Memorial, MLK, and the Albert Einstein Memorial which is close to the Lincoln Memorial.
Day 5:
Today was our last day at DC and our flight was in the evening from Balitmore, hence we add to leave the city by 3:30 pm to get back to the BWI airport. hence today was a short day.
We started the day at the Bureau of Printing and Engraving and took the first tour there. They took us through the place where the dollar notes are printed and circulated. Our 6 year old was super excited to see this place.
We spent about an hour here and then took an Uber to the White House Visitor Center. This place was very beautiful and informative. We spent around 2 hours here till 12:30.
We then walked to the National Museum of American History. We had lunch at the lower level Cafe (there is another cafe at level 1 which was not that good). We spent time till 3:30 at the museum and then went back to the hotel to get our luggage and then headed to the Union Station. We took the MARC to get back to the BWI airport.
This was one packed trip and we tried to explore the city as much as time permitted!
Also people usually combine New York, Niagara and Washington DC trips if travelling from west coast. I would highly discourage that unless you dedicate a weeks time for each place. We visited all the 3 places separately and it was totally worth it. If you have the luxury of taking a vacation for minimum 2 weeks than combining all the spots make sense. Please do not try to squeeze all these beautiful places in less than 2 weeks. Then you would have not enjoyed the beauty of each place.
Day 1:
We took a red eye flight from San Diego and reached the Baltimore Airport by 5 am. We spent an hour there refreshing and getting a cup of coffee to stay awake!
Now there are many options to travel from Baltimore to DC and we chose the MARC train which is the cheapest and fastest of all the options. There are frequent buses from the Airport to the train station. The MARC tickets are $7 per person each way and tickets can be purchased from the kiosk at the station. The train comes every 20 mins and takes 40 mins to the DC union station. If you are travelling with many big suitcases then it might be cumbersome to travel by the train as it might be crowded if you are travelling in the peak hours.
We got off at the Union Station and took an Uber to Residency Inn. This hotel is very close to the National Mall. There was an ongoing promotion in Uber and the ride costed only $6.
Luckily the hotel gave us early check in, so we took a long nap as we all were super exhausted. We left the hotel by 1 and took an Uber to the Library of Congress. There are tours every 30 mins and we took the 1:30 tour. These tours are free and very informative. Totally recommend taking these tours here as they will take us to the key spots. Norm was our guide and he was one of the best! Very humorous and kept all of us engaged for the full time. We were there till 4 pm and the strolled over to the botanical garden but it was closed.
So we just walked by the Reflection pond, Garfield Circle, Peace Monument. The circulator bus is free and continuously stops around the National Mall at various stops. We just took the bus and went around the National Mall and got down in stop 15, which is closest to our hotel. From there it was around 7 mins walk to our hotel.
There is also a Safeway 10 mins walk from the hotel, we took a stroll to get some basic groceries. Our room was equipped with a full kitchen which served to be very useful for our stay.
We found out that all the museums open only by 10 AM and close by 5 pm. Hence we had to plan our days such that we do the museums in the morning and the monuments in the evening.
Day 2:
After breakfast at the hotel, we left around 10 am and walked to the Air and Space Museum. There were free guided tours and we took the 10:30 tour. But the tour was not as interesting as expected so we split from the tour and explored on our own. The museum has a cafe where we had our lunch. We saw the Apollo 11 IMAX movie for $9 per ticket. We spent pretty much the full day and left by 4:30 pm.
We then walked to the Smithsonian Castle and spent an hour there till the closing time 5:30 pm. There are lots of refreshments stall all around the National Mall and street full of food trucks over there. Had some refreshments and then walked to the Washington Monument, spent time till 7 pm and then walked to the World War 2 Memorial. The night lights here were very beautiful and spent time till 8 here. Then went back to the hotel in Uber.
Today we went straight to the Natural History Museum and spent time till around 3 pm. All the museums in DC are free and the artifacts are just remarkable. We can easily spend one day at each museum.
Then we walked to The White House. Unfortunately the visitor center was closed, so we just walked to The White House and took some pictures. The building was under construction. There was lots of security in the front. We spent some time in the park opposite to The White House.
Then we headed to the Lincoln Memorial around 6 pm. The place was majestic in the evening at sunset and with the evening lights.
We had scheduled a tour at the US Capitol at 10 am. This should be booked well in advance. The tour lasted for an hour and 30 mins. And then we took the outdoor grounds tour as well. I would recommend taking the indoor tour for sure, and if you have extra time can do the outdoor tour.
We then took the Circulator for the remainder of the memorials - Jefferson Memorial, MLK, and the Albert Einstein Memorial which is close to the Lincoln Memorial.
Day 5:
Today was our last day at DC and our flight was in the evening from Balitmore, hence we add to leave the city by 3:30 pm to get back to the BWI airport. hence today was a short day.
We started the day at the Bureau of Printing and Engraving and took the first tour there. They took us through the place where the dollar notes are printed and circulated. Our 6 year old was super excited to see this place.
We spent about an hour here and then took an Uber to the White House Visitor Center. This place was very beautiful and informative. We spent around 2 hours here till 12:30.
I really enjoyed reading your blog. It was very well written and easy to understand. Unlike other blogs that I have read which are actually not very good. Thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteFree Museums In DC