• Welcome to OGBoards 10.0, keep in mind that we will be making LOTS of changes to smooth out the experience here and make it as close as possible functionally to the old software, but feel free to drop suggestions or requests in the Tech Support subforum!

Washington, DC Deacs

DeacsNDayton

DeacsNDayton

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 6, 2012
Messages
637
Reaction score
268
Location
Dayton, OH
I'm bringing my family to DC for a few days at the end of the month for spring break. We are staying out near Dulles airport in Herndon. We want to go downtown for each of the 3 days we are there. I have looked at the metro rail map. It looks like we could drive as far as the Grosvenor-Strathmore station and park there and ride into town. I also heard that we could drive down to Arlington and catch a trolley or some sort of bus from there. I guess my question is what is the best way to get to the different landmarks. I've injured my knee and foot so walking will be a challenge but I don't need a scooter just yet! Any advice is greatly appreciated!!!!
 
I would think that the west falls church stop would be the closest metro stop to Herndon. It's on the orange line, which would take you right to the mall.

Also, since you are staying out there, you should absolutely see the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum. It's fantastic.
 
A leg injury is going to make walking to all the sites awful. I wouldn't usually recommend it, but you might want to look into buying a ticket for that hop-on-hop-off buses.
 
First, avoid the metro during morning and evening rush hours, M-F.

Second, on the weekends, make sure you check the WMATA website for scheduled maintenance/work, because they are closing many of the lines and/or single tracking so it will be painfully, painfully slow.

Finally, if there is any way to spread this information to other like-minded tourists in the DC area via osmosis or other delivery mechanism, please do so.
 
Rechecked the metro map and the orange line does make more sense. We have a capitol tour scheduled for 10:30 on Thursday of that week. I suppose we may encounter some rush hour that day. Otherwise, I'll take your advice to avoid r.h. on the other mornings. I looked into segway tours but we have 2 8-year olds and they aren't allowed. What are the hop-on-off-busses called? I may look to buy tickets ahead of time if possible.
 
TwentyONE said:
First, avoid the metro during morning and evening rush hours, M-F.

Second, on the weekends, make sure you check the WMATA website for scheduled maintenance/work, because they are closing many of the lines and/or single tracking so it will be painfully, painfully slow.

Finally, if there is any way to spread this information to other like-minded tourists in the DC area via osmosis or other delivery mechanism, please do so.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up. We'll be coming in on Saturday as well. I will also do my best to spread the word!!
 
the one thing rush hour has going for it is you won't have to wait long for a train. it might be a packed train, but still not much wait. if you go closer to the time of your tour (get off at Capitol South maybe around 10), you should avoid most crowds since by that time Metro is officially off their rush hour schedule.
 
i'm just up rte 28 in sterling (about 15 minutes) from dulles.

agree completely about the udvary hazy museum. it's free entry of course but you do pay 15 to park. they have one of the space shuttles there. cool stuff. my 3.5 yo daughter even loves it.

be careful about with metro parking. it can be tough finding parking during the week at the first metro stop or two (vienna, dun loring). you might get lucky or you might circle the lot for awhile. it may be worth driving a little further to one of the other stops.
 
I was wondering about that smartcard. It seems similar to the breeze card MARTA uses in Atlanta. BTW, thanks everyone for your input. I'm not familiar with the area and your advice is greatly appreciated!!
 
Orange Line is what you want. Any of the stops between Farragut West and the Smithsonian will get you fairly close to all the downtown monuments, museums, and the White House. Capitol South is the right stop for the Capitol, Library of Congress, Supreme Court.

If you can't walk, you'll have a hell of a time getting around. The Mall, and the distances b/w tourist sites in general, are a lot bigger on foot than they appear on any map.

If you're driving to a metro stop and parking there, keep in mind that the lots fill up early with commuters. It's been a while since I lived in DC, but you can't count on being able to get a parking space at a metro stop if you arrive mid-morning.

You can also metro easily to Arlington Cemetery.
 
DeacsNDayton said:
I was wondering about that smartcard. It seems similar to the breeze card MARTA uses in Atlanta. BTW, thanks everyone for your input. I'm not familiar with the area and your advice is greatly appreciated!!
Click to expand...

well it's different from the Breeze card in that it's not required like on MARTA, you can use paper farecards with Metro (that debit from however much you load onto one). but I think there's now a surcharge of $1 per ride on one, so depending on how much riding you're doing, it might be worth it to get a SmarTrip card for $5 and it'll last you when you next come back.
 
FYI, some stations require SmarTrip cards to park, while others allow credit/debit cards. Not sure which category West Falls Church falls into, so you may want to check the Metro website in advance if you're debating between paper farecards and SmarTrip cards (or deciding how much you want to load onto your SmarTrip card).
 
fairly certain w. falls church is smarttrip parking only.
 
F the metro. Drive downtown and pay $18 to park - it will cost you close to that to take four people on the metro.
 
Rolfe said:
F the metro. Drive downtown and pay $18 to park - it will cost you close to that to take four people on the metro.
Click to expand...

This is probably the right way to go if walking is an issue. Weekend traffic especially isn't all that bad getting in and out - and Sunday you can park almost anywhere for free.

http://washingtondc.bestparking.com/

Use that site to pick a parking lot ahead of time. If it's a weekday you'll want to go in early and stay late to avoid traffic (like 7am in, 7pm out).
 
DCDeac said:
This is probably the right way to go if walking is an issue. Weekend traffic especially isn't all that bad getting in and out - and Sunday you can park almost anywhere for free.

http://washingtondc.bestparking.com/

Use that site to pick a parking lot ahead of time. If it's a weekday you'll want to go in early and stay late to avoid traffic (like 7am in, 7pm out).
Click to expand...

Just a warning, unless you get there early, weekend street parking is horrendous around the mall during tourist season. Especially since the visit coincides with both spring break and peak cherry blossom season.

You're saving money (presumably) by staying out in bumblef. Pony up the $15 a day to park in a garage.
 
DistrictDeacon said:
Just a warning, unless you get there early, weekend street parking is horrendous around the mall during tourist season. Especially since the visit coincides with both spring break and peak cherry blossom season.

You're saving money (presumably) by staying out in bumblef. Pony up the $15 a day to park in a garage.
Click to expand...

Rooms close to the mall were not only a little expensive but mostly filled. Actually makes sense to drive on closer to town. Already in the car, gonna pay the same to park and ride. That bestparking.com site is pretty cool. I'm comparing parking on that with stops on the hop on hop off bus. Maybe I can coordinate those close together.

Again, thank you all for your advice. I just want to make this a fun trip for my family and with you help, it will happen!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top