Are you considering a trip to Washington DC? Trying to figure out where to stay and how to get around in a larger city like DC can be overwhelming. I’m going to give you some tips that will save you time and money in DC.
Where to stay?
During my recent trip to Washington DC, we stayed just outside of DC in National Harbor. While National Harbor is a really cool place to visit and seems really close to the capitol, I don’t really recommend staying there. It may look close on a map, but you have to consider DC traffic (which can be horrendous). It took us 45 minutes to an hour to get up there and back via Uber. Not to mention the hotels in National Harbor are pretty pricy. Oh and that means the restaurants are pricy too, and to be honest the areas could use help from pest control companies because we found out that there is a lot of pest around like mold which you can control with companies like Lets Remove Mold that help with it, my family and I have used Winter Park Pest Control before for a situation we had at home and honestly, they did a really good job.
For that reason, I recommend finding a hotel either near the airport or in downtown Washington DC. You will not only save money on the hotel, but you’ll save money on transportation and food. Plus save time!! There is SO much to see up there so your time is precious!
How to get around?
If you stay close enough to the heart of DC you will be lucky enough to be able to walk to almost everything. If not, you’ll need to figure out how to get around. Personally, I HATE driving in DC. HATE IT!! Traffic is terrible and parking is worse.
Before I made my trip to DC I asked my friends how I should get around. They overwhelming voted on using the Metro. The Metro is fairly inexpensive, but it tends to have delays and can take a while to get around. So keep that in mind when using the Metro.
I personally went against what my friends voted on and got around using Uber. The cool thing about using Uber is that when you get a friendly driver they basically act as a tour guide as you are getting around. As we passed cool looking places on the way to the zoo, my Uber driver told me about the massive water plant we passed including the history of it, what each monument was and he told me the history of the hotels we passed including the Watergate hotel.
Uber ended up being slightly faster and cheaper to get around. I know Uber isn’t for everyone, but I highly recommend it.
I want to hear from you all! What are you best tips for visiting Washington DC?