# Planning Washington DC visit, tours etc



## flexible (Jul 5, 2014)

I am looking for suggestions regarding tour requests & reservations to Washington DC area attractions such as:


I heard there is a free bus from the National Air & Space Museum on the mall to the companion museum *http://airandspace.si.edu/visit/udvar-hazy-center/* but I can't find reference to it on their website. Was it discontinued?

*White House*. Tour tickets must be arranged our Senator or Congressmen. One of our Senator's webpages says the request must be made 90 days in advance but the other Senator's website stated only 60 days in advance required. Does anyone know the probability of getting tickets?

http://Recreation.gov 
*Washington Monument*

Thanks in advance for any advice for suggestions of other attractions that should be reserved in advance.


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## carl2591 (Jul 5, 2014)

we did a DC tour with tour group of of massanutten resort several years ago. 
they lv from the check in building around 5 am and head into the city.

the stop are many and sorta short.. Arlington was near the front and a long 45 or so min stop. 

all in all it was a good way to see a lot of stuff with a well spoken very knowledgeable guide and a comfortable bus. 

no matter where you go in DC it will be great.


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## Denise L (Jul 5, 2014)

We recently visited the D.C. area and requested White House tour tickets at 6 months out from both senators.  We ended up with two tours on the same day, 2.5 hours apart!  We canceled one and took the other.  It was nice to have a choice.  On the day of our tour, it was 97 degrees with humidity and we waited about 45 minutes outside before our tour time.

We also bought tickets to the Washington Monument online (service fee), and requested tours of the Capitol, Bureau of Printing & Engraving, Library of Congress, Supreme Court, and Kennedy Center.  All of our tour requests were submitted as early as possible.  We ended up with duplicates and then canceled them as needed.

Traveling with two kids (12 and 15), it was difficult to make all of our pre-arranged tours.  In fact, we only ended up seeing the White House and Bureau of Printing and Engraving!  Still, it was nice to have the option to tour the other places if we could have been there on time.  Some may ask that you arrive up to 45 minutes early to check-in.  With the June heat and being on Pacific time, it was hard to make the early morning tours.

I don't recall anything on the Smithsonian Air & Space website about a shuttle to the Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles.  We drove there and it was fabulous!  Loved it all and well worth the drive (we drove from Williamsburg on our last day, so left Williamsburg at 8:00 AM and arrived at the center at 11:00 AM after stopping for Costco gas nearby).  Spent 3 hours there before heading off to return our car and fly home.  We are already talking about going back and how wonderful the "best kept secret" museum was.  Definitely get there anyway you can!


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## pgnewarkboy (Jul 19, 2014)

Be sure to buy smartrip subway cards ..  It is the best way to travel the metro.  You can order them online with automatic fill- so you will never be out of money for a ride.  They may stop taking cash soon.


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## Joe33426 (Jul 19, 2014)

Visited DC earlier this summer and we got tickets to tour the Whitehouse.  Requests can be made 6 months in advance, but not less than 21 days in advance and you don't find out if you've been "approved" until about 2 weeks prior to your visit. 

http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/tours-and-events

The state representative that handled our reservation requests said that the Whitehouse was the most difficult reservation and to plan other tours and if approved for the Whitehouse then to cancel the other reservation(s).  I put the request in right at 6 months.  

We did the Capitol tour, supreme court, bureau of printing and engraving, and Whitehouse and some museums.  

What surprised me most about DC was the sheer size of the buildings and distance between sites.  I forget who said this on TUG, but someone mentioned that maps of the national mall are generally not to scale and give the impression that sites are close.   So, when planning your trip, I suggest not trying to do too much in one day and to pace yourself..... 

P.S. - we went to the National Zoo and it was amazing and FREE....


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## DaveNV (Jul 19, 2014)

Joe33426 said:


> What surprised me most about DC was the sheer size of the buildings and distance between sites.  I forget who said this on TUG, but someone mentioned that maps of the national mall are generally not to scale and give the impression that sites are close.   So, when planning your trip, I suggest not trying to do too much in one day and to pace yourself.....
> 
> P.S. - we went to the National Zoo and it was amazing and FREE....




I think I was the one who said that.  You'll end up walking much more than you think you will.  It's all good scenery, and everything is fun, but boy, my feet were worn out at the end of every day!

+1 on pacing yourself, and not trying to do too much in a day.  Lke DeniseL said, she was unable to see everything she wanted because timing was hard to match.  We had requested the same tours from our Senator, and I got the five I asked for.  We were in DC for ten days, and built the rest of our trip around the White House tour.  After I knew the date and time for that tour, I was able to plan other things to fit the schedule.

There are lots of threads about visiting DC. This is the trip report I filed last month, when we got back from staying at Old Town Alexandria:  http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=212401&highlight=Washington

Enjoy your trip.  it's an awesome city.  But accept that you will NOT be able to see it all.  There is just too much to pack into one visit.  trust me on this one.  

Dave


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## jackio (Jul 19, 2014)

We are going in September, and we just requested a White House tour from our  Congressman's aide. She put in the request, but said that we would not hear if there is availability until 2 weeks prior to our going.  She did set up a tour of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing for us, and will see that we get a tour of the Capitol. She is not going to set that up until we hear about the White House. The last time we were there, about 10 years ago, we did the Monuments by Moonlight tour.  Since most of the museums close early, it was nice to have something to do in the evening.


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## IreneLF (Jul 20, 2014)

I toured the State Dept when last there. Very impressed by the tour. Loved seeing the beautiful things . Highlight was seeing the room where all the state dinners are held. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalkp


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## KauaiMark (Aug 6, 2014)

*Willliamsburg*



jackio said:


> We are going in September,



Us too! It's our first trip and staying at Williamsburg Plantation middle of Sept. Hoping to squeeze in an additional overnight and spend a couple days touring DC.

Hope the weather holds... 

...Mark


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## jackio (Aug 6, 2014)

KauaiMark said:


> Us too! It's our first trip and staying at Williamsburg Plantation middle of Sept. Hoping to squeeze in an additional overnight and spend a couple days touring DC.
> 
> Hope the weather holds...
> 
> ...Mark



Me too!  Last time I was there (many years ago), it rained hard one day so we bought the trolley tour.  At least we were dry until we chose to get off.

When will you be there?  We will be at Old Town Alexandria 9/24 to 9/28.


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## happybucklander (Aug 8, 2014)

*DC*

We live near DC in northern VA.  Do you know where you'll be staying?  The BY FAR best solution is to get near the Metro, get the SmartTrip card and try to not drive.  Some places you might have to drive to see, but there is plenty to do without driving.  If you do have time to drive and like views from the hills I'd suggest going to Front Royal to drive Skyline Drive to Thorton Gap.  If it's summer stop by Wayside for a Blackberry milk shake.  But I'm a "mountains" kind of guy and a backpacker.  That may not be for you.

In Baltimore, if you go there, if you're patriotic I'd recommend Fort McHenry to see where the flag flew when the Star Spangled Banner was written.

The Udvar Hazy bus seems to not be advertised on the Smithsonian web site any longer, so it looks to be gone.  Perhaps the Silver Line is planned to replace it.  With a free bus to/from Dulles/Udvar Hazy, that would connect the dots to downtown.

Things are spread out even around the Mall so be prepared to walk - a lot.  It's a common complaint for visitors to this place.  The Grey Line used to run an inexpensive on-and-off bus tour around town, but it got taken over by Dctours, I think, and more fixed tours.    To save $$ check out the "DC Circulator" - very cost effective alternative to the tour buses, but you don't get the tour guides that way.

Everyone will want a different experience.  I suggest that you figure out what your "must sees/must dos" are and plan around them.  There will be WAY more here than you can do and see.  Heck, I live here and I've never been to a couple venues here that I hope to see someday.


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## MULTIZ321 (Aug 9, 2014)

flexible said:


> ...I heard there is a free bus from the National Air & Space Museum on the mall to the companion museum *http://airandspace.si.edu/visit/udvar-hazy-center/* but I can't find reference to it on their website. Was it discontinued? ...



I couldn't find any info about a free bus connecting the two museums. 

However, I did find this quote on one of their websites:There is no direct Metro service to the Udvar-Hazy Center. You may take a combination of MetroRail and/or MetroBus to reach Dulles International Airport or Dulles Town Center where you can transfer to a Virginia Regional Transit bus going directly to the facility.

I hope to visit there someday myself.

Have a great trip.


Richard


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## hjtug (Aug 15, 2014)

MULTIZ321 said:


> I couldn't find any info about a free bus connecting the two museums.
> 
> However, I did find this quote on one of their websites:There is no direct Metro service to the Udvar-Hazy Center. You may take a combination of MetroRail and/or MetroBus to reach Dulles International Airport or Dulles Town Center where you can transfer to a Virginia Regional Transit bus going directly to the facility.
> 
> Richard



Todays Washington Post mentions what seems to be a somewhat improved method to get from DC to the Udvar-Hazy Center:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/going...0dddf2-1f31-11e4-ae54-0cfe1f974f8a_story.html


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## KauaiMark (Sep 29, 2014)

*Cheap vacation*



jackio said:


> Me too!  Last time I was there (many years ago), it rained hard one day so we bought the trolley tour.  At least we were dry until we chose to get off.
> 
> When will you be there?  We will be at Old Town Alexandria 9/24 to 9/28.



We just got back from our trip 9/19 - 9/26. 

Picked up our rental car at the airport. Drove to Williamsburg Plantation on an II deal. Spent two days in DC staying with a nice couple not far from the Capitol Mall via AirBnB overnight

We did lots of walking in DC as the traffic is 

I totaled just our travel/lodging costs from Calif for our 8 day/7 night vacation  (Air fare, car rental, lodging, parking) came in at just under $200/nite....total!  I'm loving II and AirBnb for travel 

(Food, gifts and other incidentals not included)

Traveling "off season" paid off this year!

...Mark


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## jackio (Sep 29, 2014)

KauaiMark said:


> We just got back from our trip 9/19 - 9/26.
> 
> Picked up our rental car at the airport. Drove to Williamsburg Plantation on an II deal. Spent two days in DC staying with a nice couple not far from the Capitol Mall via AirBnB overnight
> 
> ...



That's a great value. Glad you had a nice time.

We had a great time, Wed 9/24 to Sun 9/28.  We stayed at Wyndham Old Town Alexandria.  What a nice resort - the people could not have been nicer.  The location is wonderful right near the metro station.
We did a lot of walking and packed our days with attractions. We toured the Bureau of Printing and Engraving, the Capitol and the White House, thanks to our congressman's office.  We toured the National Archives and Arlington Cemetery.  We took a ferry from Alexandria to National Harbor in MD and had a great dinner there.  We saw a Nationals baseball game.  They played my hometown Mets.  We had 4 seats in the 10th row above the Mets dugout.  All 4 tickets cost less than one in the same area at Citifield. We saw a play at the Kennedy Center.

Can't wait to go back!


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## derb (Sep 30, 2014)

*Best museum ...period*

My wife and I visited the Museum of American History.  Its part of the  Smithsonian Museums and was by far the most interesting museum I have ever been through....took five hours to tour with everything from Conestoga wagon to a half dozen steam locomotives to a full size scene of an accident on the then new pa turnpike complete with state troopers and 6 or 7 cars.  Its had to believe but I rate it several notches  above the terrific air and space museum.
It located across the street from the federal triangle stop on the metro.


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## KauaiMark (Sep 30, 2014)

*Old Glory...*



derb said:


> My wife and I visited the Museum of American History.  Its part of the  Smithsonian Museums and was by far the most interesting museum I have ever been through....took five hours to tour with everything from Conestoga wagon to a half dozen steam locomotives to a full size scene of an accident on the then new pa turnpike complete with state troopers and 6 or 7 cars.  Its had to believe but I rate it several notches  above the terrific air and space museum.
> It located across the street from the federal triangle stop on the metro.



The most impressive exhibit at Museum of American History was seeing the flag, Old Glory. It's sheer size and history is awe inspiring.


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