[Pat]

We’re planning a family vacation to Washington DC in late July/early August. This is a very special vacation.

The last time we had a vacation was about 12 years ago because one if our sons had a lot of medical issues and it took all we had to try to stay afloat.

This will be our last vacation as just us because one of our sons is getting married. Obviously, we haven’t traveled much. I want our family to look back at this vacation as the best thing we’ve ever done.

We’ve already booked our hotel and flights (y’all pray for me because I’m TERRIFIED to fly) through Costco Travel.

The hotel cost includes a regular breakfast every morning so we’ll only need to get 2 meals a day plus snacks.

I have a very active 17 yo boy who eats constantly.

lol I’d love all your tips for a great time. Our anticipated budget while we’re there is $2100. Is that enough for 4 people to have fun for 7 days?

TIA

[Maureen]

A lot of this stuff is free to see all the smithsonian’s and all the government buildings. Some you should get reservations ahead of time like a White House tour.

I would try not to eat in Washington cuz all the restaurants are in the big buildings but all the museums have cafeterias and there’s usually something on the menu that’s not very expensive.

You may want to carry a backpack for snacks and I think the drinks are refills allowed so you could get hydrated at the cafeteria.

Places like Arlington where the cemetery and Lee mansion are free. Alexandria has some family type restaurants not in the main downtown but not too far.

The food is going to be the main expense.. there is a bus that you can hop on and off to take you to different things but you may not need it everyday if you start on at the mall seeing one or two museums you may not need to ride it that day.

If you have a refrigerator in your room you could buy bread and mustard and sandwich making for lunch.

If you can get a hotel that has free breakfast and then grab an apple on your way out that would help.

[Kristin]

I live in dc. It is quite expensive. Metro is $13/day unlimited. You can add the app to your phone instead of using a card. There are A lot of fantastic restaurants but rather expensive.

Tgere are quite a few walking food tours that wiĺl give you fun history and food at several places with a guide.

It’s a beautiful place, but definitely s

Feels like a swamp during the summer, lol.

[Rona]

Since most of the stuff is free to do when I went we didn’t spend much at all. We used uber instead of getting a car and I think it worked out great because we didn’t have to figure out parking.

It just dropped us at the entrance of what we wanted to do which was usually close to other things, so once there we would just walk.

One thing to note it’s hot as heck during that time so plan for that. Have fun!

[Brenda]

Use the Metro and walking to get around. There is so much free stuff to do in DC- all the monuments on the mall, the museums, Arlington National Cemetery.

I think even the zoo was free, but I’m not sure. We spent a week in DC and the only thing we paid to see was the Holocaust museum, which I highly recommend, and we did a DC after Dark tour.

You can save money by finding a store and pick up frozen dinners to microwave in your room or make sandwiches.

Pack high protein snacks for the day and take refillable water bottles.

Eat a lot at the hotel breakfast and grab an apple for later. Restaurants were expensive so food will be your biggest expensive.

It’s a lot of walking and it’s hot. So, dress to stay cool. wear comfy walking shoes and take a hat and sunglasses.

Plan to find a restaurant or deli to sit and enjoy lunch in the a/c.

DC is a great place for a family trip.

[Darla]

Food and metro tickets will be your biggest costs. $2,100 would be more than enough for my family of 4 adults.

The Spy Museum has a fee for entry as well but it was worth it for us.

I haven’t been to DC for a few years and I’m sure many of the restaurants have closed. Look for cafe-style places for lunch. We had no problem searching for restaurants on our phones.

You may want o call restaurants early in the day for dinner reservations, some accept them.

You are visiting in the summer so make sure you get to certain museums early as they require a timed entry ticket.

Schedule White House tours through your local representative. They require a background check so you have to submit your personal info before the trip.

The White House Tour is my favorite! If you can’t get tickets check out the visitors center anyway!

If there is a bus tour that allows hop on hop off for the monuments, I would consider that for an extra fee. Not necessary, but could be for weary travelers.

Take bandaids!
Each time I’ve gone, I’ve ended up with blisters! It’s each to walk 10k steps per day in DC.

The U.S. Mint headquarters no longer does tours but there is a coin store that is open to the public.

I tours that DC mint as a child and it was fascinating. I’d still like to get to the Philadelphia mint for a tour someday.

Grab a color-coded metro map if you can now. We always planned our daily adventures based on the routes and we had a game plan before we left home.

Enjoy! I’ve been 3x and I’d go back every year if I could!

[Terrie]

I agree with most of what has been said. Don’t even think about renting a car. What little parking is available is really expensive. You can get just about anywhere you want to go via Metro (subway system) or Uber/Lyft/taxi.

Keep in mind that most of the museums and many attractions do bag searches which means long lines.

Many times if you’re only carrying a wristlet or small crossbody bag, they’ll pull you out of the bag search lines and let you go through the shorter line for those with no bags.

So, carry as little as possible when visiting those places.

For the most popular museums, get there ahead of opening times to minimize the waits.

The heat and humidity in DC in the summer is brutal so be prepared for that.

If your room has a coffee pot, microwave, and mini fridge make a trip to the grocery store and plan on several easy in-room dinners.

Eating out can be pretty pricey so limit restaurants where you can.

Buy your souvenirs from the street vendors near the major attractions.

You’ll save quite a bit over the museum shops.

[Gina]

I would bring snacks for the trip & I would pack a lunch for you all to eat on the plane unless a meal is provided.

I would investigate free things to do (“free walking tours of DC, the Smithsonian Institutes, etc. & see if they have a free/low cost bus with stops around town for tourists).

Also, sometimes if you ask hotel workers, they can tell you the best places to eat that they’ve been to & usually these places are affordable.

[Marisa]

DC is very hot in July and Aug. I would order water, snacks and have it delivered to your hotel or take along insulated water cups like those Stanley cups and fill it with ice and Water before you leave in the morning. Have a great time.

There is a hop on hop off tram, use it. Most of the museums have Cafe’s.

I remember prices were not to bad and it beats trying to find a restaurant in the middle of the day.

[Laura]

As others have said, the Smithsonian museums and zoo are free. There is a special exhibit in the Holocaust Museum that requires a pre-paid ticket, it was $1.

The metro is not very expensive, but can be a little confusing because it’s by zone and time of day.

Just study it before going, you do need your card to exit as well. If you do other museums like the Spy museum, Bible museum, or Ford’s Theater, look for Groupons.

Also look for Groupons for the Hop on-off to visit the memorials, including Arlington Cemetery.

As far as food, there are a lot of food trucks along the National Mall, and cafes in the museums.

All the museums allow water bottles, except the Capital Building – you will have to leave your water bottle outside there (there is not a secure spot, groups just leave them – plan accordingly).

I highly recommend hopping on the silver line and going to Udvair Hazy, it’s another part of the Air and Space Museum an hour west id DC.

Also, if you’re flying into National, you can take an Uber or taxi from the airport, it’s close in Arlington. But just note, I can’t tell you how many people don’t realize how far Dulles Airport is from DC, especially due to the traffic.

They do have taxis, Ubers can be very expensive from there

[Serena]

I live there too. $2100 is more than enough I think. Food will be your main expense but there’s lots of great places to try that aren’t ultra touristy.

I can give recs if you like.

What neighborhood are you staying in?

[Denise]

I live and work in DC and it is expensive in terms of dining, unless you look for the neighborhood gems. This is a very ethnically diverse area so you can get some amazing authentic food from just about any region of the world.

Look into budget friendly places like Ben’s chilly bowl, instead of dining at an expensive steak house around the Capitol, look for Peruvian chicken or tacos, Thai food and Ethiopian cuisine.

Check out places near Adams Morgan and H street corridor.

I agree Metro pass is the way to get around downtown, and all the Smithsonian museums and National zoo are free.

There is a museum dedicated to just about any interest, American History, Natural History, Air and Space, Postal history, Native American, African American history, National museum of Art, the Portrait Gallery, the Asian Art and African Art museums behind the original Smithsonian complex, the Hershion museum and sculpture garden, the National building museum, the National Holocaust Museum.

Don’t forget to make time to see the monuments, in the hot summer months it is best to do that viewing around sunset and into the evening, the Lincoln, Vietnam memorial, Korean memorial, and WWII memorial are all along the national mall.

Then take a trip closer to the tidal basins d check out the Jefferson Memorial and the FDR and MLK memorial.

Also, there are tours of the Capitol rotunda (need to reserve a time) and check out the National Archives exhibits, if you are into gardens, then the Botanical gardens is amazing, as well as the National Arboretum.

A little trip outside of the district, you can tour Mount Vernon (Washington’s home) or visit Arlington National Cemetery and take a tour.

So many things to do, enjoy your trip!

[Michelle]

Check with your local library- sometimes they have tickets to museums, parks etc that you can “borrow” like a library book.

We used the train and went to the national cemetery and did the tour.

It was very interesting. Make sure you have refillable bottles for water because it is HOT and you do a lot of walking.

Check out the events tab on fb for that area to find some free things going on at the time yoj are going

[Viraj]

I would go to Costco once u get here or local grocery store and get few snacks, water, drinks, fruits and most hotels have micro/fridge, so I would get few microwave food for late night cravings, order pizza one night, ask for plates and napkins, also get few plates, cups napkins, forks/spoobs from breakfast area for the snacks, I also take one those small flexible cooler, I freeze water bottles and put them in the cooler, as it’s hot here during July/august, we all take turns carrying it.

Whole Foods has great selection of pre made food/soup, a lot of walking so make sure to wear good shoes and hop on hop off bus is great to go around.

Have fun!

[Miranda]

Use the metro bus to get around… I would splurge on one tour, but they’re all going to show you the same thing.

Most of the museums are free, so is the zoo. The food trucks are very expensive, and I found the food to just be ok… plus there isn’t really places to sit around them.

If you can find yourself by a grocery store, but a bunch of snack. Bring a backpack to carry around for daily stuff, like snacks.

[Author]

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