DC Metro underground from National Harbor?

[Leturno]

How is the best way to see the sites of Washington DC front/ when staying at the National Harbor?
The more I look at it it seems the metro is not an option. Is that right?

Scott

 

[frank808]

You can take the free shuttle from national harbor to alexandria metro station. Then ride the metro into into dc or anywhere the metro goes. The problem is the shuttle from alexandria back to national harbor stops in the evening. If you come back to alexandria after the shuttle stops, you have to take a cab back to national harbor. I believe i paid $25 for the 4 of us back to wyndham national harbor but this was 2 years ago.

 

[bendadin]

We just left National Harbor. We stayed at Wyndham courtesy of a very kind, generous TUGger.

We did the Grand Tour through DC Trailways. I bought through Groupon but Wyndham was saying that they would not allow us to board the bus since we did not purchase from them. I spoke to DC Trailways and they said it was fine since Wyndham is a designated stop. Most of us used Groupon (saved us almost $100) and the bus driver did not bat an eye. There is a lot of walking especially at Arlington Cemetery. We walked almost 6 miles on that tour.

However, it took us an hour fifty to get from Wyndham to L'Enfant Plaza where it begins. The traffic was horrific. The blue line is virtually non-existent. And they are just about to close down a couple more stops due to construction. The tour was a bit rough. Fifteen minutes to photo op at a monument is just too tight of a schedule AND they often drop off and pick up at different spots. We did miss the bus and they sent a bus to bring us to the bus. We missed seeing the White House but at least we made it back to the tour.

So the next day the kids wanted to go to the Zoo. The shuttle (out the door to the left and around the corner of the parking garage (across the street) is the pick up location. It was say Chariots for Hire. It picks up at 32 after the hour and brings you to the King Street metro station. The pick up from that metro station is at the top of each hour. Shuttles stop running at either 8 or 8:30pm.

So we took the shuttle to the metro, boarded the yellow line, got off at Gallery Station to pick up the red line, and then we got off at Woodley Park. And then there is a hike to the zoo. We walked 3.5 miles that day. It took us an hour and a half from getting on the shuttle to walking into the zoo. Estimate for Uber is $30-40 each way. The metro was around $4 per person, each way.

We stayed in National Harbor after that. Many shops and restaurants offer a discount with your room key card.

All of this being said, I will tour differently next time. We couldn't do the Segway tour (age 16+) since I brought kids but that looked very fun. And my youngest is 8 so I really couldn't put her on a bicycle but in a few years, that will absolutely be the way that we tour DC. $8 day to rent a bike. There are rental stations everywhere. That is the way to do it.

And I should mention that the Reagan National Airport stop will be closed for a few weeks starting on July 5th.

 

[Big Matt]

The repairs on the metro are ongoing. You should go to their web site for updates.

I wouldn't worry so much about it though. You will need to have a strategy on what to do each day and just deal with the delays assuming your trip is sooner rather than later. Uber is a great option from a metro station to National Harbor if the shuttle isn't available.

Don't drive. You will hate yourself later. DC is very confusing, parking signs are misleading (on purpose), and garage parking is expensive.

The poster who complained about walking 3.5 miles may not be realistic. Not every site is by a metro. Expect a lot of walking in DC. You could easily walk 5-10 miles a day just wandering around the monuments.

 

[bnoble]

Expect a lot of walking in DC.

No kidding. I think we logged more walking miles during the week we spent at OTA (which is right around the corner from a Metro stop) than we typically do at Walt Disney World.

 

[linpat]

I cannot imagine the confusion and tempers as the Metro system is upgraded.

Last summer I was at a conference and was going to go back to the hotel from the Mall so I went to the Smithsonian entrance near the Smithsonian Castle. It was closed for some reason and the signs directed everyone to the Federal Triangle station some blocks away. I finally got to the Federal Triangle Station and it was closed with the directions to go to the Metro Center station. At the Metro Center Station, the lines went out of the station and up on to the sidewalk.

I signaled for a taxi - it was a relief.

 

[taterhed]

Pardon my French, but the Metro Suxxx. That being said; it was killing people (literally) and needed to be fixed. So, hopefully this will start to fix it.


Shuttle to Metro. Cab/Uber to Metro. Water Taxi (don't laugh, it's not that expensive and much faster at times). Bus to ??? Not a ridiculous option. Hop-on-off bus is a great way to move from one point to another without walking 2 miles down the mall. There are multiple companies...buy before you go. Bikes are a great option, but review the info before you go. It's not easy to understand when standing on the street.

Get a good app for your phone (I like citymapper) that will help you find the routes with real time data on trains/buses. It's a lifesaver.

 

[hjtug]

Article on new Metrobus service between National Harbor and VA

Also some discussion of the possibility of a future extension Metro to National Harbor:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/loca...b64b7a-3e36-11e6-84e8-1580c7db5275_story.html

 

[Icc5]

Uber

We were in DC a month ago and used the Metro system which was fine for us and what we did. My brother and his wife were there last week and used Uber for the first time. They say it was the greatest experience and will now use Uber whenever and wherever they can. They said it was so efficient and cheap that unless going a long distance they won't bother with transit systems or car rentals as long as Uber is around.
Bart