How much time do I need in Washington DC

[coastered]

In 2010 I want to do the IntimidaTour.

But because I will be flighing to Washington DC from Amsterdam, I will spend some time in DC before going to Richmond.

 

I really want to visit the National Mall area, to visit the White House and The Capitol. But I also want to see all the monuments (Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial etc) and I want to visit the National Air & Space Museum and National Museum of Natural History.

I don't need to visit the rest of the city.

 

So how much time do you think I will need for this visit??

 

And talking about the National Air & Space Museum, which one is the most interesting museum:

The one located at the National Mall or the one located at Dulles Airport.

I am think about visiting both locations, but do I really need that?

 

And do you think that I really need 1 day for a visit to Six Flags America.

I want to visit the park during the day and in the afternoon/evening I want to drive to the hotel in Richmond.

[okinawaboy11]

And do you think that I really need 1 day for a visit to Six Flags America.

I want to visit the park during the day and in the afternoon/evening I want to drive to the hotel in Richmond.

 

One day at Six Flags America will be fine. In terms of DC. I have lived here for 5 years and still haven' seen all of what DC has to offer.

 

All the museums on the national mall are free as long as they are Smithsonian. If you wanted to visit them all. I would say 2 - 3 days if you're the kind of person that likes to linger and read lots of things. If your more of a look and move on then 1-2. Also, I HIGHLY recommend going to the Spy Museum. It is a little pricey but its well worth the money. They have different packages starting at $25 I think.

 

The Air and Space museum located at Dulles is I thought better than the one on the mall. But both are worth visiting. Although, getting there can be a hassle because the Metro doesn't go all the way out to Dulles so you would need to take a shuttle bus or taxi.

 

If you want to go up in the he Washington monument I believe you have to arrive early in the morning to get tickets because they only give out a limited number of tickets per day.

 

I gotta run to work but I'll help you out some more when I get home.

[HCLcoasters]

I completely agree that you need more then a few days to visit DC. All the parks in the area are 1 day parks so you really don't need to worry about that except for maybe KD.

 

I would visit both of the Air and Space museums because they are two totally different experiences. I prefer the one in Virginia because it includes a space shuttle and the Anola Gay (the plane that dropped the Atomic bomb on one of the cities in WWII)

 

I would advise you to walk from one end of the mall to the other because you'll see a ton of things that you wouldn't see by going to specific sites.

[Capitalize]

I say 3-4 days if all you really want to do is the mall stuff. If you're walking around seeing the monuments/white house/capitol can be a day. The museums (depending on which ones strike your fancy) will be at least a couple days if not more if you want to visit more of them. The Indian museum is neat, if you're into art there's plenty to see in the regard of course.

 

As far as the air and space museums, both are neat and have their own cool exhibits and things to see, so its pretty tough to pick one. The Dulles one has some awesome things to see, though. So its definitely worth the effort to get out there.

 

SFA can be done in a few hours if all you're looking for is the credits and maybe a couple re-rides. A full day may be a bit much. I suggest checking out Old Town Alexandria a bit, nice little area right next to DC with some good food and drink choices and plenty of history.

[JEAPUgrad]

I've lived in the Baltimore/Annapolis/DC region my entire life.

 

As already mentioned, SFA could be done in just a couple of hours if coasters are the only thing you're interested in. I'm not a waterpark guy myself so I rarely go into Hurricane Harbor.

 

King's Dominion is easily a one day park during the week. On the weekends, it's a little busy. I wouldn't say that you would need two days but I've never tried to do it all on a Saturday or Sunday there either.

 

With KD, make a game plan. I'd read trip reports before your trip to see what kind of impact I305 has on the GP as far as lines.

 

Pre-Dominator everyone would run to Volcano and go clockwise around the park. I'd go counter clock wise and hit Volcano just after lunch.

 

Now that Dominator is at KD, that's the first ride everyone runs to. Volcano is a walk on for the first hour of the park's operation now and I think that is the best kept secret for the park! Multiple re-rides as long as you get there early.

 

But I'm not sure what I305 will do to this dynamic and how people move about the park.

 

DC depends on how much you want to accomplish.

 

There are many bus / trolley tours that will take you to all the major monuments, historical sites, etc. I would highly recommend hitting the FDR and the Korean monuments at night. I think both of these monuments have so much more ambiance at night than they do in the day light.

 

I'm not a big Smithsonian guy myself. I haven't done Air and Space (DC) for several years. I didn't know there was one out at Dulles either!

 

The American History Museum just wrapped up a three year renovation last year and it's a really nice museum. Seeing that you are coming for overseas, not sure how much interest you'd have in this. There is quite a bit of pop culture at AHM.

 

Old Town is a great side trip.

 

I'd also recommend hitting Historic Annapolis which is just 15 miles east of SFA. Historic Annapolis is home to the United States Naval Academy and is the capital of the State of Maryland. The Maryland State Capitol Building is the oldest state house still in legislative use. Atop the building is a beautiful black and white dome. Historic Annapolis also has cobblestone streets, many terrific seafood restaurants, and a thriving scene for local music.

 

Baltimore is a 45 minute train trip to the north. Lots of history there too and there is the famed Inner Harbor.

 

If you have any other questions that you'd like answered about the area and what not, feel free to hit me up on email at bnmlover@yahoo.com .

[jray21]

I loved both Air and Space Museums and always visit both. The one at the airport holds all the planes that are too big to fit in the city, like the SR-71 Blackbird. I also thought the spy museum was really good, but my favorite museum, and also the saddest, is the Holocaust museum. It is very interesting and really makes you think.

[CoasterNERD502]

A few places not mentioned:

The National Harbor is only a couple minutes outside of DC. Its very nice and one of the restaurants (Cadillac Ranch) has a mechanical bull. They have a bunch of other restaurants and shops as well.

Chinatown/Gallery Place is fun, but very crowded. Chinese food here is awesome! And Gallery Place is a movie theater and a very very nice bowling alley.

Pentagon City has a very nice shopping mall, if shopping is your kind of thing.

The National Zoo is fun and relaxing. Plus its FREE!!

 

Theres a lot more to do. You never run out of things in DC! You just need to know how to ride the metro (train) and you can do all of those things I listed. I recommend buying an All Day Pass on the metro. Its only $7 I think.

 

With the monuments you listed, all of them are in the same area. Jefferson is a bit of a walk out of the way but I think its worth it. Traveling to the Jefferson by paddleboat is an option. I've never done it but it looks fun

 

Hope I was of any help

 

 

[coastered]

Thanks for all the answers, all the great things to see and to do in and around Washington DC.

I really want o do everything, but I don't have unlimited time.

[alilstronger]

Six Flags America is in my opnion not a one day park. I go a lot during the week days in the summer. I usually get there when they open and have the entire water park and all of the dry side finished in a few hours.

 

There is soooo much to do in DC. I only live about 45 min away so I love going down there to the museums, art galleries, national mall to walk around, and things of that nature. I would give DC just 2 days on its own.

[Capitalize]

Personally I would avoid chinatown/gallery place as a tourist unless you were going to Verizon Center for an event. The stores and restaurants there are all mostly pretty generic and can be found in other places, and as was mentioned its kind of out of the way and crowded. I think you're time is best spent elsewhere personally, especially in a big city like DC where there's a lot to see.

 

If you want to see some night life, look up Adams Morgan and Georgetown and some of the clubs and bars down there. That would be an awesome way to spend one evening in town.

 

Sometimes I take it for granted that I live and work around here and get to see this stuff regularly, but when I talk to people about visiting here I remember just how cool that is.

[alanjonesbath]

We went to the area a couple of years back. We only had 2 days available in DC, and while longer would have been nicer, we were able to fit quite a bit in to those two days in the city. We made it out to Arlington cemetary and had a good look around there, walked all the way up and down the mall area, saw all the big monuments, White House and Capitol (I don't think you are able to go in them if you're not a US resident), visited the Air & Space musuem on the mall, the National Archives, etc. We didn't have that long to spend at each place, but I think we got a pretty good taste of the city in those two days.

 

We also went to SFA and KD while in the area. SFA definately doesn't need more than a day unless it's during peak season. We went at the start of June, and everything except Ride of Steel was a walk-on or near enough. We were sat down having lunch by 2pm, did a few more re-rides after that, then left.