Washington DC in August. So many questions..

[MomtoNico]

Where to stay? What to See? We probably have a week. But I want to stop in nyc for 2 or 3 days. I have two boys 9 and 13. I am overwhelmed and do not where to start.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I’d google plus check out Pinterest for “DC with tweens and teens”. You’ll get a lot of good sample itineraries. Also look around on here. Several posters have gone on good trips. We go so often that we always do a pretty minimalist approach vs a need to see everything. I just realized the other day that the kids haven’t been to Arlington National Cemetery, which I’ll fix this fall.

My favorite from recent visits is the Capital. We went on a dead November day and waited a bit for walk up tickets. I doubt you’ll have that luck so reserve soon. Work with your kids on the itinerary. As I predicted, neither of mine were interested in Air and Space on the Mall. We went for dh and liked some stuff but it wasn’t the hit it us for many others. American History is our fave. Natural History’s dinosaur section just reopened after being closed a long time. Bet it’ll be crowded so hit it at opening!

Cascades Cafe in the art museum (forgetting official name) is our favorite place to eat in the museums. Rasika is my favorite fancy meal out.

The new Wharf area might be good to stay. There’s a Hyatt House (or Place- very similar) that caught my eye. The rooms will be bigger than normal plus better than usual free breakfast. Most of the Wharf hotels have shuttles to the Mall or you can just do Lyft or Uber. Dupont Circle or Penn’s Quarter are the other areas I’d look.

Travel light and check rules on what you can bring into venues.

We love using the Metro. I believe the Circulator buses are free at the moment so look into that (I’d much rather walk or Metro but August’s weather is miserable...).


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[TwinFoxes]

DC is a great place to visit. So many things to do, and most are free. Unfortunately, DC swelters in August. You are going to be hot, so just prepare yourself.

Here are some fun things. You should research them and figure out what suits your family.


Natural History Museum (Dinosaurs, Hope Diamond, butterfly pavilion)
National American History Museum (Original "Star Spangled Banner" flag, Superheroes exhibit, a ton of other exhibits)
National Museum of African American History (have to get tix in advance, but free)
National Air and Space Museum (Planes! Space! Imax!)
Spy Museum (not free)
National Zoo
Arlington National Cemetery
Night time monuments tour
Capitol Tour (Try to get tickets soon!)
National Archives (See original Constitution and Emancipation Proclamation)
Bureau of Engraving (money!!! This is a surprisingly fun tour).

Further out are Mt. Vernon, National Cryptologic Museum (I haven't been, but have heard it's great) and the Udvar-Hazy National Air and Space Museum.

As for where to stay, a lot of people on the boards like Arlington. It's a fairly quick metro ride into the District. BUT, metro sucks these days.

[mom2binsd]

I can't stress enough how much better the monuments are at night, especially Lincoln, Korean War (bonus if it has rained and the soldiers are wet, it was amazing).

If you aren't used to humidity, do a lot of indoor activities.

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[mom_hanna]

I just spent a week in DC for work. We stayed in Rosslyn, VA which was perfect. Hyatt Arlington - it's about two miles from the hotel across the Memorial Bridge to the Mall. 1/2 mile to Iwo Jima, a mile to Arlington. There are lots of restaurants around, a Target one block away, a Safeway 2 blocks away. Three blocks to the DC Circulator, which is free and we rode into Georgetown multiple times. 1 block from the Metro, which was great - really easy and quick to get around and we had no problems with it. We took it to the National Mall for all the museums and to Arlington, as well as to and from DCA.

DC is HOT and HUMID. As in, it was 95+ every day and super humid. So just be prepared. They were doing all the NASA moon landing celebrations so the Air and Space Museum, while really interesting, was really really crowded. Loved the National Gallery and sculpture garden. I prefer the monuments during the daylight. I went to most of them really early in the morning, before there were tourists out and when the temps were decent (70s). At 10pm most nights it was still in the high 80s. Most of the night tours start at 7pm, and it's not dark til around 9pm.

Loved the Natural History Museum and American History museum also. We went to the National Zoo just to see the giant Pandas. The Holocaust Museum and African American Museum require time tickets. They're free, but you have to have a time slot.

Be prepared for the heat!

[sdjeppa]

Lots of great ideas already, and there is so much to do there, but one I haven’t seen mentioned yet is the FBI experience tour in the FBI building. It was my then 13 year olds favorite tour, and I enjoyed it too. You have to arrange it through your congress representative’s office. They can arrange quite a few tours for you, it’s a good place to start.

I also agree with the monuments at night-Highly recommend, and lots of tours available if you want that.

[westwoodmom04]

August is a weird month in dc. Congress is not in session, so much of official Washington in hiatus.. At the same time, there are a ton of tourists. And it is super hot and humid. Just be prepared for crowds, and try to arrive at attractions first thing in the morning or late afternoon.

[westwoodmom04]

I’d google plus check out Pinterest for “DC with tweens and teens”. You’ll get a lot of good sample itineraries. Also look around on here. Several posters have gone on good trips. We go so often that we always do a pretty minimalist approach vs a need to see everything. I just realized the other day that the kids haven’t been to Arlington National Cemetery, which I’ll fix this fall.

My favorite from recent visits is the Capital. We went on a dead November day and waited a bit for walk up tickets. I doubt you’ll have that luck so reserve soon. Work with your kids on the itinerary. As I predicted, neither of mine were interested in Air and Space on the Mall. We went for dh and liked some stuff but it wasn’t the hit it us for many others. American History is our fave. Natural History’s dinosaur section just reopened after being closed a long time. Bet it’ll be crowded so hit it at opening!

Cascades Cafe in the art museum (forgetting official name) is our favorite place to eat in the museums. Rasika is my favorite fancy meal out.

The new Wharf area might be good to stay. There’s a Hyatt House (or Place- very similar) that caught my eye. The rooms will be bigger than normal plus better than usual free breakfast. Most of the Wharf hotels have shuttles to the Mall or you can just do Lyft or Uber. Dupont Circle or Penn’s Quarter are the other areas I’d look.

Travel light and check rules on what you can bring into venues.

We love using the Metro. I believe the Circulator buses are free at the moment so look into that (I’d much rather walk or Metro but August’s weather is miserable...).


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The new Wharf area is very cool and if you can get a good hotel deal, at least as convenient as Arlington and not as suburban.