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hello i live in texas and will go to new york with my wife and son..
from new york i plan to drive all the way to washington dc to see the white house and other tourist spot.. any advice?
is parking going to be a problem there?
i plan to go back to new york the same day..
thanks,
If you're going to do the tourist thing, you're better off taking Amtrak from Penn Station (NYC) to Union Station in DC. From there you can take metro just about anywhere. Renting a car and paying for parking (expensive) is more of a headache than it's worth. If you rent a car you'll probably get lost and frustrated (trust me on this). Let someone else do the driving----public transportation on the east coast is great, and the kids will get to experience the novelty of the train/subway. Don't worry, it's very safe.
If you're planning on driving to DC and back to NYC in the same day, plan to be on the road for 8+ hours. Sounds like an exhausting day to me - I would probably stay overnight if that's at all possible.
I agree with the previous poster who suggest taking the train down and the Metro around DC. If you drive, you'll be spending waaay too much time in the car, especially if you're here during the week and looking for parking during the day.
As far as touristy things to do...I always take my visitors to Arlington Cemetary - it's one of my favorite places in the city. Obviously the White House, maybe Lincoln Memorial/Reflecting Pool/Korean War Memorial. Depending on how old your son is, you might like to go out on the paddle-boats in the Tidal Basin - Tidal Basin Peddle Boats. If you're seriously going to drive here and then back to NYC in the same day, you won't want to plan too much - there's a lot of walking involved and you're going to wear yourself out.
Day tripping to DC with a car is rough. It's a minimum of 4 hours (slightly speeding and clear traffic) and can easily goto 5 hours each way. On top of that you'll have to deal with DC traffic and parking, which can be confusing on an easy day.
Amtrak can be about 3 hours each way (flying is 1 hour, but you spend more than that getting to airports and security. The Chinatown Bus (google it) can do it in about 4 to 4 1/2 for very cheap, but service is spotty (consider Bolt Bus or some of the other discount carriers).
Even if you lived in DC and took the metro to the sites, walking around taking it all in, seeing this and that, you'd end the day pretty exhausted. To add to that a roundtrip drive is a bit harsh. Quite harsh actually.
Anyway, if your time is limited you'll probably stay on the Mall, between the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial. You'll have plenty to do in that 3 mile long area, with multiple monuments and museums. You really won't need a car for all that.
If you do decide to drive down for the day, I'd park at a metro station like New Carrolton and then metro in. You can get off the Orange line at Smithsonian, Federal Triangle, or Metro Center and be right in the middle of all the museums and monuments. Parking can be a hassle, especially if you're limited in time, and yes, you'll probably get lost. It's not a slight against your navigating skills, DC is just very confusing to tourists and newcomers (and even some residents). My general rule is that unless I know exactly where the road takes me, I stay off any streets with state names and just stick to lettered and numbered streets. I also avoid circles at all costs. If you do drive in, have a GPS navigator and a really good map.
Another vote for the Bolt Bus. Service between DC and NYC is cheaper than the tolls you'd pay to drive, and you can read a book or surf the web (they have wifi) rather than worry about traffic.
There are a number of bus options between DC and NY. This is just another of those options. Vamoose daily bus service between New York NY, Arlington VA & Bethesda MD
If you google DC to NY Bus, you will find them all. I know many folks who go up to NY for the day and are happy with the bus. Just make sure you use one with return reservations so you have seats coming home.
Here is the link to the metro page so for example, you could take the bus to Rosslyn, hop on the metro there and got in to the city in just a few minutes. Theres are maps and trip planers on this site. There used to be a section where they listed the attractions at each stop but I am not seeing it on the link right now.. Sorry.. Metro - Home page
I definitely recommend using Amtrak. FWIW, Amtrak has discounted tickets for kids. If you do use Amtrak, Union Station is about 1/2 mile north of the U.S. Capitol Building. I'd definitely recommend taking a public tour of the Capitol and checking out the very nice (but ridiculously expensive to U.S. taxpayers) visitor's center at the Capitol, which by itself could occupy you for a couple hours.
If Amtrak is too expensive, then BoltBus or Megabus would both be viable alternatives. Both services have their NYC stops near Penn Station in midtown Manhattan, and both services have their DC stops at about the 10th and G Streets area or something like that. That location is about 3 blocks north of the Mall, not too far from the Museum of Natural History (one of the places I'd definitely recommend) and the Museum of American History.
Unless you REALLY want to DC then I'd really recommend skipping it on this trip. I used to have friends and family who'd want to do the same thing, but seriously, I think you're better off saving your money and doing a separate trip. If you do do it, don't drive - take the train. There are cheap buses, too, but Amtrak is nice and fast and you can sit back and relax and not deal with driving or parking. With such limited time you're realistically not going to have time to much besides the White House and the Mall, and maybe the Capitol, anyway. Maybe the White House, the Mall (any of the Smithsonian museums are fun), the various memorials, plus maybe an early dinner in a neighborhood like Dupont Circle. Or, is there any way you could shape your trip so that you could fly into NYC and out of one of DC's airports? At least that way you'd limit your between-city transportation time. If you just want a chance to see another city besides NYC while you're on the east coast you could consider Philadelphia; it's a lot closer (take the train) but is also a nice place and you could check out Independence Hall, the liberty bell, and other Revolutionary War-era American landmarks.
I agree with everything that has been said so far. If you MUST drive then definately park at the Greenbelt or New Carrolton station. It will take about an hour off of your drive and the train puts you right on the mall. I live here and I usually find it easier to use a subway station with a parking lot any time I need to go downtown whether it is for business or pleasure.
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