The best town to stay on holiday, near DC (Washington: renting, hotels)

[Red UK]

Hi
We are visiting the US later in the year from the UK and want to visit Washington. We are flying into Dulles Airport and hiring a car. We do not fancy hitting heavy traffic near Washington so we were thinking of staying 30 min to 1 hour outside of the city in a smaller town.
Can you tell us of a suitable town that is easy to get to, interesting and is on a rail link to Washington ?
After Washington we are heading into Virgininia.

Thank you

[Moth]

We are visiting the US later in the year from the UK and want to visit Washington. We are flying into Dulles Airport and hiring a car. We do not fancy hitting heavy traffic near Washington so we were thinking of staying 30 min to 1 hour outside of the city in a smaller town.

That actually may insure that you hit heavy traffic. Whether you stay in Maryland, Virginia or DC, make sure your accomodations are near a Metro or have a reliable shuttle service to the Metro.

American metro areas are usually characterized by sprawl. Thus traffic can be nightmarish even away from the cities.

[irisheyes13]

Not sure if you saw my response to your first post of this question but you may want to consider staying closer in to the city and not renting a car. I am just not sure of options to get from Dulles to close in hotels though. Perhaps others have some info on that.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/washi...ington-dc.html

[rlchurch]

Don't drive. Stay walking distance from a subway line and use the train. Staying in the suburbs is a rather sterile way to experience DC, but to each his own.

[juniperbleu]

I agree about not driving. It's fine if you have to, but much much more convenient just to use the metro (or at least have the option). If you're insistent on the suburbs, there's a few hotels in Old Town Alexandria. It's got more of a town feel, very historical, and there's a metro station as well. It's not necessarily as "sterile" as other suburban areas. There's also hotels in Pentagon City and Crystal City (also by metro stations). All three are on the blue and yellow line (yellow takes you right into downtown, blue goes up west to Arlington Cemetery, Rosslyn, and then into NW DC near Georgetown and Foggy Bottom).

I general, I'd definitely say be within the metrorail area. Otherwise, you will have to drive, and very likely end up in the traffic. Yes, there's commuter trains (VRE and MARC), but they usually don't run on weekends and Amtrak is (in my experience) overpriced. VRE, MARC, and Amtrak also run less frequently than metro (since they go farther), so it's not as convenient.

[Bluefly]

Perhaps in contrast to European cities, the worst traffic is about 30 minutes beyond the city in the auto-dependent sterile sprawl region where you seek to avoid traffic. Once you're inside the city itself, traffic actually isn't bad at all. But, if you do choose to stay in the city, you won't even need a car so it won't be an issue.

enjoy your visit!

[Red UK]

I did get your original posting. I feel stupid for putting my question in the wrong forum !!! Sorry

[irisheyes13]

Originally Posted by Red UK

I did get your original posting. I feel stupid for putting my question in the wrong forum !!! Sorry

No, please don't feel "stupid", I was not sure if you had seen it. I do echo the recommendations posted here about driving and would suggest you consider a hotel close in. The two I did mention are great places to start your search but I am sure there are many others.

[slim04]

I don't think there is anything wrong with getting a car, especially if you are coming with a family and lots of luggage and will have to eventually return to Dulles. However, if you are spending more than say three days in DC, then maybe hiring a taxi to the city (about $65-80) and renting a car in the city when you are ready to venture out might be more economical.

If you don't want to stay directly in the City, I would stay in Arlington. Two neighborhoods in particular. The first is Crystal City, which is basically a bunch of high rise hotels and office buildings within 1 to 8 blocks of the metro (about 15-20 minutes to the Mall). The other neighborhood is Rossyln, a long walk into Georgetown or 15 minutes to the Mall by metro. Though, most hotels will charge you $15 to $25 per day for parking.

If I was staying in the city, I would try to get a hotel in Dupont Circle, Cleveland Park, Foggy Bottom, Georgetown, or Downtown.