Washington DC in a day and a half? Medieval Times?

[kboyle]

Baltimore is 45 minutes with zero traffic. If you go in the middle of the day or at night it could be 45 minutes. With traffic it has taken us 2-3 hours.

That's really too much in 1.5 days. I would pick 2 museums and that's it.

Also the DE beaches are 2 hours with zero traffic. With traffic it can easily take a lot longer. What day of the week and what times are you talking?

It would make more sense IMO to do Baltimore on the way back from the beach, then DC and then home. Or just Baltimore. There is a lot to do there.

check out of our beach house is noon i think, i was planning on leaving around 7/8am (kids are EARLY risers, even on vacation) and heading to DC, but if we stay till check out and take our time we could head to Baltimore first for the 4:00 show. after the show we could then head to dc for the night and check in and the boys could swim. then do the natural history museum and some monuments and arlington cemetary as soon as we wake up.

Medival Times is about 15 min south of Baltimore. We've been a couple of times with the kids (7 and 4) and we all love it. I think it would be a good option for a 10 yr old birthday!

Arlington Cemetery is amazing, but not a quick visit (can't drive it--must take the tour bus) and not for those that hate walking.

Not knowing what your actual itenerary is, I'd leave the beach, do MT that afternoon, then stay in DC that night, spending the whole next day in DC.

Not familiar w/ the L'Fanant plaza hotel you mentioned, but you can easily metro/walk to the monumental corridor from there.

i was planning on doing the bus tour thru Cemetery, that much i did know lol. i think you have a good plan if we keep it simple that following day. i think...

[westwoodmom04]

Baltimore is 45 minutes with zero traffic. If you go in the middle of the day or at night it could be 45 minutes. With traffic it has taken us 2-3 hours.

That's really too much in 1.5 days. I would pick 2 museums and that's it.

Also the DE beaches are 2 hours with zero traffic. With traffic it can easily take a lot longer. What day of the week and what times are you talking?

It would make more sense IMO to do Baltimore on the way back from the beach, then DC and then home. Or just Baltimore. There is a lot to do there.

I have traveled DC to Baltimore very frequently as DH was in one city and I in the other when we were dating for several years (we still live in Maryland). If there are no cars on the road, it is theoretically possible to go between the two cities in 45 minutes as they are 40 miles apart. I have never done so in hundreds of trips. In reality, this is one of the most traffic laden parts of the country, and even on a weekend, you are unlikely to get from one to other in less than an hour, and up to 2 on a week day morning or late afternoon. I would budget at least 1.25 hour commute between the two.

Similarly, it is virtually impossible to get to dc from the delaware beaches in less than three hours, could easily be four or more.

There is enough to do in Baltimore to easily fill 1.5 days. Near the harbor, there is the science museum (which is awesome) the aquarium, and the children's museum.

[westwoodmom04]

Also, I would think twice about staying at L'Enfant. L'enfant plaza is a giant concrete corridor mostly home to government agencies. It is absolutely deserted after working hours and the metro station has been the location of some gang altercations on weekends. If you want to stay close to downtown, look at metro center (there is a marriott there), foggy bottom, georgetown, dupont circle. If hotels in theses areas are too expensive, look at arlington, or alexandria near the king street metro, or bethesda, all of these areas are very safe and on the metro line.

[westwoodmom04]

check out of our beach house is noon i think, i was planning on leaving around 7/8am (kids are EARLY risers, even on vacation) and heading to DC, but if we stay till check out and take our time we could head to Baltimore first for the 4:00 show. after the show we could then head to dc for the night and check in and the boys could swim. then do the natural history museum and some monuments and arlington cemetary as soon as we wake up.



i was planning on doing the bus tour thru Cemetery, that much i did know lol. i think you have a good plan if we keep it simple that following day. i think...

Expect significant traffic to/from the beach on summer weekends. I would think 3 hours to Baltimore, 4 or more to DC. Maybe 45 minutes to an hour less if you really can leave at 8.

[kboyle]

UGH. i'll have to rethink where we are staying and if we'll stop at Medieval Times then. Dh's cousin stayed at L'Enfant during labor day weekend and said it was fine, but if it's dangerous I really don't want to risk it.

[egoldber]

There have a been few incidents in the last year or so at L'Enfant, but honestly I wouldn't plan my trip around it. But it is true that it is very empty with little in that area other than government agencies. There are also no restaurants close by.

If it were me, I would drive to Baltimore, do something in the Inner Harbor (the Maryland Science Center is very cool) and then Medieval Times for dinner. I would spend the night in Baltimore and then drive to DC in the morning, park close to the Mall and do the sites.

I would expect little traffic between Baltimore and DC on a Sunday morning.

ETA: Another idea for a stop after Baltimore vs. DC is Gettysburg, PA. It's very interesting IMO and 10 is a great age for it.

[westwoodmom04]

Just one more plug for Baltimore, the Orioles stadium is also close to the harbor. It is probably still possible to get decent seats for a summer game if they are in town. Also, you can travel across the harbor by water taxi which kids love.

[egoldber]

Also in Baltimore is Fort McHenry which I have no been to but I am told is interesting.

[westwoodmom04]

Also, regardless of which city you visit, it will be hot in the summer (probably temps in the nineties and high humidity). You'll want to stick to mostly indoor activities during the day, and not too much walking around.

[kboyle]

There have a been few incidents in the last year or so at L'Enfant, but honestly I wouldn't plan my trip around it. But it is true that it is very empty with little in that area other than government agencies. There are also no restaurants close by.

If it were me, I would drive to Baltimore, do something in the Inner Harbor (the Maryland Science Center is very cool) and then Medieval Times for dinner. I would spend the night in Baltimore and then drive to DC in the morning, park close to the Mall and do the sites.

I would expect little traffic between Baltimore and DC on a Sunday morning.

Hmmm ok. Maybe we'll do that and stay in Baltimore vs DC and then just visit Nat'l History museum, a couple pics by the monuments and then Arlington as we head out...