Need Help Planning Washington DC Trip

[EMHDad]

My 8th grade son is eligible for the 8th grade DC trip in February. We decided not to sign him up. The trip costs over $1700 and My 11th hrade son had his trip cancelled due to covid. So, we decided that for that money I can fly the 3 of us to DC for a boys trip.
We are flying 1/1-1/4.
We will be ready to DC sight see by 1pm on the first. We will be back at Reagam airport by 4pm on the 4th. Help me with itinerary.

We will be stayijg at a hotel in Capitol Hill. We will be walking to most things. Taking public transpo for farther.

What tips do you have?
How long should I give to certain activities?
Any things not worth it?
Anything we MUST do?

Any help is appreciated. Thank you

 

[leebee]

I always like to take the open air night bus tour around any city on our first night. It gives you a "handle" on where things are and the monuments are quite beautiful at night.

I'm a big fan of the Korean Veterans Memorial. If you can go after sunset, you can get a real feel for what it must have been like, traipsing through the swamps in enemy territory.

If your kids can handle it (and I think they are old enough), go to the Holocaust Museum.

All the Smithsonian Museums are grand and free, but remember to not get "museumed-out." A couple of hours in one museum, then take a break, maybe a couple of hours in another. The only ones that I'd try to stay longer in are the ones that you need a timed admission ticket for; not sure if they are still doing that at African American museum, but it was incredible, and I wish we'd been able to stay longer or go back.

The Lincoln and Jefferson memorials are also pretty impressive, especially when you think of not just the person being commemorated, but of all the other speeches and such that were given at these sites.

Also, if you can get out to ARlington National Cemetery, do it. Do the tour, stay for the changing of the guard. It blows me away to think of how many people would sacrifice their lives for our democracy and freedom.

 

[NYCgrrl]

A three day trip is a bit hurried but doable with planning. What are your interests? Cultural, historical, a combination?

 

[Moliphino]

My top advice was not to go in the heat of summer, so you're already good there. I've only been in August and the heat was worse than WDW (we had just come from WDW, so had a direct comparison). It was miserable.

What are your sons most interested in? That could help narrow down what Smithsonian(s) to go to. We did Natural History and American History and they were both great.

 

[Travel60]

What a wonderful trip for your young adults!

Many of the museums are probably not open on Jan 1. So maybe use that afternoon to orient yourself to the mall and visit the monuments. Get a guide book or Google map it to plan a circular route from your hotel.

On the 2nd, the Smithsonians (all free) would be a good option - you need to pick 2-3 you are most interested in. Air and Space and American History are favorites for many but check guide book for what your kids want to see.

The 3rd could be more Smithsonians or The Spy Museum, the Holocaust Museum or others that you pay for. I think you have to get a ticket to visit the capitol but it's been a while and they might not do that anymore.

I second a visit to Arlington Cemetery if you can. You can take the metro blue line. Stay for the ceremony, it is breathtaking.

You could stay 4 weeks in DC and not see everything so figure out what interests you. You can do tours to most things or strike out on your own. The area around the capitol is very walkable and the metro is color coded and pretty easy to figure out. Final advice - it is likely to be very cold so pack heavy coats, hats, gloves, heavy socks. And you can walk miles and miles.

Enjoy!

 

[EMHDad]

A three day trip is a bit hurried but doable with planning. What are your interests? Cultural, historical, a combination?

A bit of both. Basically I am replacing what an 8th grade trip DC trip ia supposed to be.

I am leaning heavily on all the FREE stuff. The Smithsonian museums, the memorials, the capitol tour, fords theatre.

 

[Travel60]

Just wanted to add that your guys are certainly old enough to visit the Holocaust Museum. It is a standard 8th grade field trip at my kid's school. It is very sobering so fit it in between something more active. But especially in today's political environment, it's an important visit.

 

[mjkacmom]

The last time we were there we walked all of the monuments, signed up for a hop on off bus but it was always full so we never used it. Some things like the Washington monument and the holocaust museum need advanced tickets. I remember enjoying the old post office for a little break. We enjoyed the food at the national American Indian museum.

 

[barb969]

Kids like the Bureau of Printing and Engraving. It is a walk thru to watch money being printed.i This will take about an hour depending on crowds. It is near the Holocaust Museum and is free.

 

[Magical2017]

We enjoy the Founding Farmers restaurant. It's delicious farm to table food.

 

[NYCgrrl]

A bit of both. Basically I am replacing what an 8th grade trip DC trip ia supposed to be.

I am leaning heavily on all the FREE stuff. The Smithsonian museums, the memorials, the capitol tour, fords theatre.

Living 4 odd hours away from DC it was an annual trip for us from my boys growing up to and thru our granddaughter’s life. Often we went w/o kids just because we liked it so much.

Okay, Capitol Hill… here is a link that includes points of interest from a middle school perspective and beyond: https://washington.org/visit-dc/things-see-and-do-capitol-hill.
The Smithsonian alone can take a full day and you still won’t see everything!

Consider taking a tour of the House of Reps and or Senate and try to get tickets before you arrive via your elected officials. The White House is on the other side of the Mall but still walkable.

Try to get as early an arrival and late departure as possible and use the bell services for leaving your bags. Stop at the nearby Whole Food for breakfast takeout at a good price. Speaking of food best place to eat on the mall is the Museum of the American Indian and African American Museum.

You will find great weekly what to dos at https://www.washingtonian.com/

Have fun and bring two pairs of good walking shoes; you’ll need them and makes life more comfy if it rains.

An optional relatively close side trip: the National Zoo. Easy to get to via the Metro and/ or bus.

Hope you enjoy yourselves!

PS in all the time we’ve been only ONCE did we pay for an exhibit. Gosh my pocketbook soo loves DC

the Ford Theatre is still within walking distance (closer to the WH side) and although I’ve never been inside they do have tours that I’m pretty sure you’ll have to pay for. From the outside its easy to consider what the street looked like post Civil War.

 

[focusondisney]

Definitely check which things need advance tickets. The FBI building & White House definitely do & need 3-4 weeks lead time. The Capital, National Archives (Constitution) & Holocaust Museum take reservations but you can go without them, just have to wait longer to get in. For the Capital, the tour is pretty limited unless you get it thru your Congressman or Senator.

We stay at the Embassy Suites in Alexandria Va. It’s right across the street from the Metro station. Not bad cost wise & breakfast is included. You can get a 3 day Metro card with unlimited rides so you don’t have to worry what each trip is costing. Reagan airport is just a few stops away, no changing lines needed.

The Washington Monument is impressive even if you don’t go up in it. You can walk from the Lincoln Monument to Arlington Cemetery, it’s a little over a mile over the Arlington Bridge. There’s also a Metro station right outside the cemetery. You could are the metro there to start your day & then walk over to the Lincoln, Vietnam & Korean Monuments. The MLK monument is very impressive as well. Deciding on museums & monuments really depends on your sons’ interests.

Even if you don’t take the Capital tour, the cafeteria there is great. It’s in the Visitor Center so you can get there after going thru security. They have a huge variety of foods, from full hot meals to pizza. Everything was really good too. Also, everything is further apart than you think when you’re walking around. The walking probably not an issue for teens, but just plan for time to get from place to place.

Google for the various websites, Smithsonian, Capital & Archives etc. Metro has a helpful app for planning trips & ordering cards ahead of time, as does Arlington.

 

[EllieJedi]

The Smithsonian museums will be open on New Years Day but some of the busier museums like Air and Space do require free timed reservations so plan your itinerary. I would echo what others have said about Arlington and the Holocaust museum.

If you are including the Holocaust museum as part of your museum day, I would put it towards the end of the day. The experience can be moving and you may want a break afterwards.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I'd take a look at the museums & monuments that interest you most. Most of the museums are neat & very informational but not particularly interactive, more looking at the exhibits & artifacts & reading about them. There is quite a lot to see & you will not be able to see everything - I'd start a short list of must sees and go from there. Even within one museum you will need to form an idea of where you want to spend your time.

Once you're on the National Mall, you can pretty much walk to most of the museums and monuments, or hop on the bus if you are heading a bit further. Might want to minimize outdoor time in Jan, or intersperse it with inside/warm up time.

The National Zoo is also free (it's a Smithsonian) and really worthwhile - not sure if it's in the realm of activities you're looking for. It's accessible from the metro rail. It's a lot of walking & you could easily spend a full day if you are interested in seeing everything, or you can be more selective. Last time I went, someone on the Metro suggested getting off at the stop just past the zoo, instead of the one that is labelled "zoo" - it's about the same distance but it's all downhill from the 2nd stop. Then continue to walk downhill to the other stop afterwards, and ride the crazy-long escalator down into the metro station.

 

[hertamaniac]

I second the zoo and taking the tube/rail (which is excellent in D.C.). I've done the Holocaust Museum, and it can be overwhelming, but I think that's part of its charter.

The Vietnam Memorial, though simplistic, is also a place I visited and well worth the time.

 

[focusondisney]

Last time I went, someone on the Metro suggested getting off at the stop just past the zoo, instead of the one that is labelled "zoo" - it's about the same distance but it's all downhill from the 2nd stop.

We used the stop past the zoo as well. It’s about a 15 minute walk to the zoo. Honestly tho, with only 3 days, I wouldn’t take teen boys to a zoo. There is so much more that can only be seen in DC. The only reason we even went in September was to see the giant pandas & they’re gone now.

 

[Kennywood]

The subway is absolutely the best way to get around.

Just remember one, important things - buildings and monuments are deceptively farther away than they appear. You'll think you can get there in 5-10 minutes, but it would more likely be 20-30 minutes. That's a lot of unplanned, tiring walking.

 

[CynBeth]

I would skip the Air and Space Museum on the Mall they are remodeling and when we were there in the summer a lot of areas were closed. There is a branch of it near Dulles Airport that is so much better it has a space shuttle, tower you can see planes land and take off and hear the communication, IMAX, and models of all sorts of planes and other vehicles among other things. Also, the National Zoo no longer has the pandas I would skip it. If you have time we really like the Spy Museum. Another tip the Museum of the American Indian is something different to see and has one of the best food courts. We also really like the Museum of American History. For the Washington Monument you need to have a timed ticket you have to go online I believe the day before at 10 am.

 

[disykat]

We did the same thing when our kids were teens. I thought "we could take the family for that price" so we did. We combined it with several days in New York City. We enjoyed walking over to the Albert Einstein statue and have some great pictures of the boys there.

 

[EACarlson]

I was in DC for a work conference in August so I was very time limited. I did the Museum of the American Indian, a nighttime monuments tour from Viator and the National Archives. Didn't wait for anything and would recommend all of them. If I would have had more time, the Spy Museum was also very high on my list as was Arlington but I just ran out of time.
If at all possible I would fly into National (DCA) rather than Dulles (IAD) or Baltimore-Washington (BWI). I was able to see the Pentagon and Arlington while on approach.