# National Harbor



## Kasper1014 (Jan 27, 2013)

We will be staying at National Harbor in July. I was hoping for Old Town Alexandria....but they were book solid for the times I needed. 

National Harbor.....how easy, hard is it to get around without using a personal vehicle? We are interested in memorials, smithsonians, and Mount Vernon. 

Are there family friendly restaurants near by? I'll be traveling with my hubby, 18 son, 15 son and 13 daughter. 

Any other hints/tips I should be aware of? 

Thanks so much!!!


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## lcml11 (Jan 27, 2013)

Kasper1014 said:


> We will be staying at National Harbor in July. I was hoping for Old Town Alexandria....but they were book solid for the times I needed.
> 
> National Harbor.....how easy, hard is it to get around without using a personal vehicle? We are interested in memorials, smithsonians, and Mount Vernon.
> 
> ...



There is a Shuttle Service (small bus) that guests are permitted to use that picks up and drops off across from the parking garage at National Harbor.  Have never used it, but staff indicated it is fairly easy to get downtown, but could be a possable problem coming back late at night if it was full.


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## Rent_Share (Jan 27, 2013)

Cabs are not that expensive in DC


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## ronparise (Jan 27, 2013)

lcml11 said:


> There is a Shuttle Service (small bus) that guests are permitted to use that picks up and drops off across from the parking garage at National Harbor.  Have never used it, but staff indicated it is fairly easy to get downtown, but could be a possable problem coming back late at night if it was full.



You can also take the water taxi across the river and get the metro there

Lots of restaurants in National Harbor, but when I was there a year ago, nothing cheap

The metro stops at the Mall so most of the Smithsonian is easy (the Air and Space Annex and the Zoo are not on the Mall) Tha Capitol is at one end and the Washington Monument at the other end of the Mall. Also on the Mall are the Viet Nam Vets  and WWII memorials.  Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials will test your walking shoes.. Mount Vernon is not in DC Here are some options from the Mount Vernon website

Gray Line Bus Tours from Washington, D. C.

Departs daily, year round from Gray Line Terminal at Union Station in downtown Washington, D.C. at 8:00 a.m. Four hour tour includes a stop at Christ Church and views from the coach of Old Town Alexandria, The Pentagon, and Crystal City, VA. The nine-hour tour includes a stop at Arlington National Cemetery and several monuments and memorials.

No tours July 4th, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.

Adult Fare: $47.50 for four-hour tour, $66.00 for nine-hour tour. Both tours include admission to Mount Vernon
Child Fare (ages 3-11): $24.50 for four-hour tour, $34 for nine-hour tour. Both tours include admission to Mount Vernon

For more information call (202) 289-1995 or visit http://www.grayline.com/

Metro and Bus

Take Metro Rail's Yellow Line Train to Huntington Station in Virginia. Exit at the lower level (Huntington Avenue) of the station to catch a Fairfax Connector bus to Mount Vernon. Board the Fairfax Connector Bus #101 (Fort Hunt Line) at Huntington Station for a 20-minute trip (approximately 7.5 miles) to Mount Vernon's entrance gate.

For more information about Metro bus and subway transportation, call (202) 637-7000 or visit the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) website.

For bus fare information and schedules, call Fairfax Connector at (703) 339-7200 or visit the Fairfax Connector website.


Speaking as a DC native....If it was me and I wanted to do DC,  Id do the Gray line 9 hour tour That looks like a lot of bang for the buck


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## Kasper1014 (Jan 27, 2013)

Thank you so much!!!!!!! I didn't even think of water taxi. 

I'm going to check into the nine hour tour. Worse case, we just drive to Mount Vernon. But I love the idea of using water taxi's and the metro. 

My kids are actually more excited about Washington DC then they were about Disney. Lol.


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## ronparise (Jan 27, 2013)

Kasper1014 said:


> Thank you so much!!!!!!! I didn't even think of water taxi.
> 
> I'm going to check into the nine hour tour. Worse case, we just drive to Mount Vernon. But I love the idea of using water taxi's and the metro.
> 
> My kids are actually more excited about Washington DC then they were about Disney. Lol.



When I was a kid in the 1950's there was a boat that traveled down the Potomac from Washington with stops at Mount Vernon and Marshall Hall amusement park (now closed). My family did the trip at least once every year. We kids got a fist full of tickets to ride the rides and my parents played the slots all day. The boat passed by a sand and gravel mining operation located right on and in the river...That property, Smoot Sand and Gravel is now National Harbor

flash forward to the 1970's  and I used to take my daughter into DC at least one day a month where we would do a different museum or monument each trip..Our favorite was the Hirshhorn museum of Modern Art

Call your congressman to arrange tickets to the White House. You migh also visit his/her office to let him know how you expect him to vote

If you have time, and if you get a car, a day trip to Annapolis is a kick too, You can see the homes of two of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and visit the Naval Academy


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## Rent_Share (Jan 27, 2013)

ronparise said:


> Call your congressman to arrange tickets to the White House. You migh also visit his/her office to let him know how you expect him to vote


 
An aide led tour of the Capitol Building is interestinf two, we were guided in a group of 6, we were four


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## Ron2 (Jan 27, 2013)

Kasper1014 said:


> We will be staying at National Harbor in July. I was hoping for Old Town Alexandria....but they were book solid for the times I needed.
> 
> National Harbor.....how easy, hard is it to get around without using a personal vehicle? We are interested in memorials, smithsonians, and Mount Vernon.
> 
> ...



We were at National Harbor last month and used the free shuttle service each day to get to downtown DC. It had regularly scheduled runs with drop off and pick up at Union Station and the Federal Triangle Metro (Old Post Office). They also make an early morning run to the King Street Metro in Alexandria. The shuttle also serves the full time residents at other National Harbor condos who work in the city so I assume the service will continue. How long it will remain free is a good question. I don’t have the schedule handy but I do recall that they listed more evening runs to and from DC for the summer months than we had in December. As was previously mentioned, there are several restaurants that you can walk to in National Harbor but they are rather high priced. We have dined at several places in National Harbor but prefer to drive across the bridge to Alexandria. If you take Route 1 South there are numerous places to eat at reasonable prices.


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## kanerf (Jan 29, 2013)

Try the Nado's Peri-Peri which is a good grilled chicken place and across the street from the CVS drug store that is in front of the resort.  There is a good pizza place down close to the water.  There is also an Elevation Burger place not too far away.

BTW the water taxi is very expensive as I recall, about $12-$15 per person.


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## Don (Jan 30, 2013)

ronparise said:


> You can also take the water taxi across the river and get the metro there



That makes it sound like the metro is by the ferry dock. You'll have to take the bus to the other end of King St. (past the Alexandria Wyndham) to get the metro.  I was last there a couple of years ago and at that time the bus was free.


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## regatta333 (Jan 30, 2013)

kanerf said:


> Try the Nado's Peri-Peri which is a good grilled chicken place and across the street from the CVS drug store that is in front of the resort.  There is a good pizza place down close to the water.  There is also an Elevation Burger place not too far away.
> 
> BTW the water taxi is very expensive as I recall, about $12-$15 per person.



I visited my daughter, who lives at National Harbor, this past weekend.  We decided to get a take-out order from Peri-Peri.  It took forever to get our order, even though they were not busy.  Other customers were also waiting and annoyed.  Staff was indifferent and the food was mediocre after we finally got it.  My daughter asked for cheese to be melted on her sandwich; they slapped a piece of cold cheese on it instead.  I would not go back.


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## jessyoo (Mar 1, 2013)

I've always had positive experiences with Nando's Peri Peri but I've never been to the National Harbor location. 

My boyfriend raves that Nando's chicken wings taste better than Buffalo wings and I agree.  FWIW regarding chicken wings taste tasting credibility, he's spent 8 years in Buffalo and I've spent 2 here.  

The Chinatown location (possibly all of them) offers a 20% discount off food purchases (not alcohol) to law enforcement and active duty military.


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## mistalong (Mar 2, 2013)

Is the DC are always this packed in July?


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## ronparise (Mar 2, 2013)

mistalong said:


> Is the DC are always this packed in July?



Sure...The wheels of government keep turning all year long, The elected folks might go home in August but the bureaucrats work all year

and there are more tourists in the summer when kids are out of school than in the winter

I hope you didnt try to drive into town....

and heres a tip for the Metro..If you are just going to stand on the escalator, stand on the right, leave the left side as a passing lane for the guys (and gals) in a hurry


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## CruiseGuy (Mar 2, 2013)

DC around the fourth of July is packed!


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## chapjim (Mar 3, 2013)

ronparise said:


> You can also take the water taxi across the river and get the metro there.



Ron:  Yes, you CAN take the water taxi.  Round trip fare is $16 for adults, $10 for children 2-11 years old.  One way fare is just half the R/T price.  This puts it in the category of an amusement, something to do for the novelty or the view, etc., rather than a regular means of transportation.


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## ronparise (Mar 3, 2013)

robcrusoe said:


> DC is an overgrown small town with lots of traffic, but it's easy to drive in except for long morning and evening rush hours.



What you say may have been true 50 years ago, when I learned to drive drunk from Georgetown back home to the Md suburbs. But not lately....I left DC 17 years ago, Even then the beltway and all the major arteries into town were in rush hour mode 20 hours a day. I worked in Chevy Chase near the Metro station at Wisconson and Western and I refused to drive to meet a client in town...If they weren't near another Metro stop, they had to come to me

Unless you are a native, and even if you are, the best advice is to park your car and take the Metro into town


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## ronparise (Mar 3, 2013)

chapjim said:


> Ron:  Yes, you CAN take the water taxi.  Round trip fare is $16 for adults, $10 for children 2-11 years old.  One way fare is just half the R/T price.  This puts it in the category of an amusement, something to do for the novelty or the view, etc., rather than a regular means of transportation.



Exactly..... amusement

You dont stay at National Harbor unless you brought a pocket full of money for amusement

Chances are if you are staying at National Harbor, that's why you came to DC in the first place...amusement and a little education...Ive never understood why people will spend big bucks to see fake stuff in Orlando, when they can see the real deal in DC

Remember, when you get into town you dont have to spend a cent except on food...All the museums, and galleries  of the Smithsonian are free, and that includes the zoo. All the Monuments and  the Capitol and the Treasury (watch them print your money) etc etc are free too

I know its expensive, but I still think the water taxi is an option to get into town...and as a bonus you get to run through the effluent from the Blue Plains Sewage Treatment Plant..370 million gallons a day of the treated sewage including  presidential poop from White House


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## chapjim (Mar 3, 2013)

ronparise said:


> Exactly..... amusement
> 
> You dont stay at National Harbor unless you brought a pocket full of money for amusement
> 
> ...



I thought the WH itself emitted 370 million gallons of sewage.


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## Cheryl20772 (Mar 3, 2013)

ronparise said:


> Unless you are a native, and even if you are, the best advice is to park your car and take the Metro into town



I completely agree. We live about 10 miles from the DC line. Hubby drove in there every work day until he finally retired and he's never driven back in there again since. I changed doctors; so I didn't have to drive in/or take Metro anymore. If I do go in, I always try to park at a Metro station and ride in. There are wicked speeding cameras all over the place in there. They charge $170 if you go 7 MPH over the speed limit. The streets are always under construction and full of holes. There are jaywalkers and jams everywhere. It's not tourist-driver-friendly at all.


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## richjester (Mar 4, 2013)

*Mount vernon tour*

There is a wonderful Mount Vernon water taxi service.  It leaves from the pier very near National Harbor and travels down the river to Mount Vernon.  The cost includes admission at the site.  My family really enjoyed it.

We don't find DC to crowded in the summer, except around July 4th.


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## kanerf (Mar 7, 2013)

When checking into National Harbor, stop by the parking desk, even if you don't have a car and pick up the restaurant brochure that gives you a map of the restuarants at National Harbor and a list of them that give 10-20% discounts to Wyndham guests by showing your key.  Avoid signing up for the update if you can as it is rather high pressure and very long at National Harbor.  They only do it during the day, so just tell them you don't want to waste a day of touring.


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## Miss Marty (Mar 30, 2013)

*Wyndham Vacation Resorts at National Harbor in Maryland*

Wyndham Vacation Resorts at National Harbor
250 Mariner Passage National Harbor MD 20745

Helpful Hints: 

Effective April 1, 2013 Pre-paid self parking is available at the St. George Parking Garage located adjacent to the resort for $13 per day; hourly rates are also available.

The resort offers complimentary shuttle service to Washington, D.C. Shuttle has limited capacity and its schedule is subject to change without notice.

All 42 Presidential units, which include both standard Presidential and Presidential Reserve units, have a washer/dryer. None of the remaining units have washers/dryers.

A bellhop service will be provided upon arrival to assist guests unloading their vehicle(s). Due to the limited size of the driveway, guests will be required to park the vehicle prior to check in.

A grocery delivery service is available at the property (nominal fee), please contact the resort for more information.

Nearest grocery store is 4 miles away

For additonal information call resort - Phone: 301-265-4200


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