Planning a trip to the Washington DC need advice

[Ns1]

if you stay in DC i'd recommend NW DC

I don't mind paying for a cab -> Union Station as long as it's easy.


Here are my options...


Dupont Circle - Embas… 2.0 mi
Dupont Circle - Embassy Row
The White House - Cap… 2.2 mi
Alexandria and Old To… 8.7 mi
Kennedy Center - GW U… 0.7 mi
Georgetown 2.5 mi
South of the Mall 2.7 mi
Crystal City - Reagan… 3.5 mi
New York Ave NE - Nat… 4.5 mi
Arlington 6.2 mi
Takoma Park 7.0 mi
Falls Church - Jeffer… 7.0 mi
National Harbor - Oxo… 8.2 mi
Bethesda - Silver Spr… 11.0 mi
Chantilly - Dulles … 22.2 mi
Tysons Corner 11.0 mi
Landover - Capitol He… 11.0 mi

Springfield 11.2 mi
Temple Hills - Andrew… 11.7 mi

 

[Linflas]

I'm going to be coming into WAS - UNION STATION from NYC - PENN STATION.


What AREA is Union Station in, i.e. what area of Washington should I look for hotels since I wont' be having a car?

the Georgetown area has a few cheap hotels ($100/night, holiday inn) and seems to be close to the "good stuff", 2.5mi or so.

thoughts?

I need to take UNION STATION -> BWI @ 430am the next morning.

Union Station is Capitol Hill, Georgetown has no Metro access so depending on where you stay there you may have a nice hike to the nearest Metro stations.

 

[purbeast0]

"NW DC" just refers to the north western quadrant of DC, no special name really. the sub parts are really the names of the metro stations that run through there, and also georgetown.

If you are just visiting I wouldn't stay in places like springfield or tysons corner or chantlily. bethesda, md is also an option as it's right on the red line of the metro as well. there is also tons of food options around there as well as nightlife. the nightlife isn't quite as "upscale" and crowded as it is in DC, but it is nice as well.

also keep in mind if you ride the metro during rush hour, it WILL be packed. like you will probalby have to stand, especially if you are getting on at points in DC. as someone else said, walk to where the front of the train is. that is always where it's the emptiest. and during rush hour, trains come literally like every 2-3 minutes on the red line. taking it daily to/from work i have my route down to a science so i always get a seat heh.

 

[Ns1]

Union Station is Capitol Hill, Georgetown has no Metro access so depending on where you stay there you may have a nice hike to the nearest Metro stations.

thanks, glad I came here first lol

 

[Ns1]

"NW DC" just refers to the north western quadrant of DC.

If you are just visiting I wouldn't stay in places like springfield or tysons corner or chantlily. bethesda, md is also an option as it's right on the red line of the metro as well. there is also tons of food options around there as well as nightlife. the nightlife isn't quite as "upscale" and crowded as it is in DC, but it is nice as well.

also keep in mind if you ride the metro during rush hour, it WILL be packed. like you will probalby have to stand, especially if you are getting on at points in DC. as someone else said, walk to where the front of the train is. that is always where it's the emptiest. and during rush hour, trains come literally like every 2-3 minutes on the red line. taking it daily to/from work i have my route down to a science so i always get a seat heh.

I literally have....15 hours in DC. 1pm Monday - 4am Tuesday.

 

[lxskllr]

Just hang out. Walk to China town, and have some food, do some shopping... 15 hours is easy to kill.

 

[zzuupp]

I literally have....15 hours in DC. 1pm Monday - 4am Tuesday.

You'll be taking a cab in the morning. Metro doesn't start running until 5 am.

 

[Ns1]

You'll be taking a cab in the morning. Metro doesn't start running until 5 am.

Amtrak does. $11 WAS -> BWI

 

[bobdole369]

Traffic is ungodly - and when we went last year my wife insisted we had a car. Our hotel was way out west out by an airport and we had one anyways as DC was part of a larger roadtrip vacation. The big issue is that you have to put the thing somewhere for most of the day while you walk around. Nowhere are there really parking lots, and only basic parking on weekends around the mall area. (I think I recall there being a 2 hour limit or somehting). Anyhoo it was a weekend and I'm glad we started early cuz by 9:30 am they were alllll packed and nobody was leaving.

 

[Ns1]

Traffic is ungodly - and when we went last year my wife insisted we had a car. Our hotel was way out west out by an airport and we had one anyways as DC was part of a larger roadtrip vacation. The big issue is that you have to put the thing somewhere for most of the day while you walk around. Nowhere are there really parking lots, and only basic parking on weekends around the mall area. (I think I recall there being a 2 hour limit or somehting). Anyhoo it was a weekend and I'm glad we started early cuz by 9:30 am they were alllll packed and nobody was leaving.

our original intent was to rent a car from NY -> DC but we are taking the train for this exact reason.

 

[zzuupp]

Amtrak does. $11 WAS -> BWI

Sorry, I was trying to point out that a cab would be required to get to Union Station. Unless you were planning to stay within walking distance.