NY or DC

[luvdiznee]

Please help me decide. I've been to NYC a few times. Been to NY for a lot of shopping trips. But DD and I want to do the touristy stuff such as Today Show , Statue of Liberty and a show. So this will require us staying overnight so will need to know where is good to stay that is near Times Sq.

Now DC on the other hand, very unfamiliar with. Want to do touristy things as well, but not sure where to start. Even good local eateries would be on our list to go to.

I geuss either would be a learning experience, so maybe we will just pick from a hat.

[NJGIRL]

You will probably get 50/50 answers on this one. My pick would be DC, but it's my favorite "city" to visit. We have been there 4 or 5 times and it never gets old for me. The museums are top notch, the monuments are great and I just love the atmosphere there. Of course if you don't care for history it might not be for you. We had always stayed at the Lowes on L' Enfant Plaza. It is one block from the National Mall/Smithsonian Musuems. I believe Lowes has sold out but the hotel is still very classey. If you decide to go to DC let us know because I could easily come up with enough stuff to keep you busy all week long.

[scootch713]

I took my girls to NYC and they loved it. We stayed about 3 blocks from Times Square in a hotel called The Skyline. Nice clean and cheap(for NYC that is) The American Girl Store was great too!!!

Now that my oldest is 10, we are hoping to do a DC trip mainly as they are learning things in school and I think seeing things will help them understand as they hear it in school.

[SBETigg]

I've stayed at the Intercontinental in Times Square and it was wonderful. It's a walkable distance to Rockefeller Center and the Today Show, too. I've also enjoyed the Westin and my daughter stayed in a Hilton that was closer to Rockefeller Center and very good, too. But if you have done NYC, I would give DC a try. It's really lovely. There's a lot to see.

My first visit to DC was when I was 10, and I thought it was amazing. I loved the Smithsonian and all the monuments, and I found Ford's Theater fascinating. I didn't get to NYC until I was older, and it is my favorite city. I can understand why you're torn.

[biodtl]

I love them both. But one thing that is great about DC is that so much of what there is to do is FREE. You gotta love that.

[DisneyFr33k]

I'm the opposite. I lived 10 miles south of DC fo 10 years, so I am beyond familiar with all it has to offer. On the other hand, I have never been to NYC, but my sister-in-law lives there and has offered to show me around. Can't wait!!

[luvdiznee]

So then maybe I should try to decide based on a good economical budget. Though I'm not sure one is that much cheaper than the other. Either way to get there will most likely be by train. So maybe I will start there.

[NJGIRL]

So then maybe I should try to decide based on a good economical budget. Though I'm not sure one is that much cheaper than the other. Either way to get there will most likely be by train. So maybe I will start there.

As biodtl mentioned DC offeres so many things that are free so your trip there may end up costing you less. The hotels in DC can be very expensive just like NYC but you can find less expensive if you try.

[luvdiznee]

I'm thinking we are going to go with DC. Never having been there, so it will be nice to experience something totally new. So now just need to start the research process of where to stay and getting around. Those are most important to me. Of course need to eat so that will come in handy too. Anyone have any good sites or just suggestions for DC.

[MidnTPK]

I'm thinking we are going to go with DC. Never having been there, so it will be nice to experience something totally new. So now just need to start the research process of where to stay and getting around. Those are most important to me. Of course need to eat so that will come in handy too. Anyone have any good sites or just suggestions for DC.

Number one suggestion: call your Representative and Senator and see if they can get you any tours of special places, like the White House or the Capitol.

Regarding hotels, budget is the first place to start. If you can provide a ballpark, I'd be happy to make suggestions.

[luvdiznee]

Number one suggestion: call your Representative and Senator and see if they can get you any tours of special places, like the White House or the Capitol.

Regarding hotels, budget is the first place to start. If you can provide a ballpark, I'd be happy to make suggestions.

Thank you for that. I know from wanting to do this a couple years ago, getting in for at WH tour was almost impossible, which was kind of why the plans were scrapped then. So this time we are just going to plan to go no matter what. But a WH tour would be great! As well as the Capitol.

Would also be interested in going to the Mall, Smithsonian and the Bureau of Engraving & Printing, just to mention a few. Is this too much for a few days? Would also like to hop the metro and do a couple museums.

So with these in mind, where would be a good place to stay? Something kind of in the center of it all and clean and as reasonable as possible. And we will most likely be taking the train in. One last Q, hopefully as far as restaurants, just what do the locals recomend in this area?

[NJGIRL]

Would also be interested in going to the Mall, Smithsonian and the Bureau of Engraving & Printing, just to mention a few. Is this too much for a few days? Would also like to hop the metro and do a couple museums.

So with these in mind, where would be a good place to stay? Something kind of in the center of it all and clean and as reasonable as possible. And we will most likely be taking the train in. One last Q, hopefully as far as restaurants, just what do the locals recomend in this area?

I mentioned before the Loews in L' Enfant Plaza. It is one block from the Smithsonian "Castle" and their art museums that are right there. Then you walk across the mall and you have the Natural History, American History and Space Museums. The National Archieves are across the street from those. So you don't even need the metro for the Smithsonians listed from this hotel. But if you do need to get onto the metro the hotel has a stop right in it's "basement". You don't need to walk to get to it. I found this hotel to be a great location for us.

We usually tackle 2 museums per day (of course not looking at everything). There are so many and you don't want to get "museumed out" so I suggest you pick maybe four to do on this trip and leave the rest until another time.
Places like the National Arcieves (IMO) take less than an hour to do so you can combined that with other stops. While we are in DC we take the "tourmobile" (this specific company lets you on and off the trooley all day long as many times as you want). We will take that for two days during our trip. One day we use the tourmobile to stop at all of the monuments. The trolley comes around every 15 mins so you don't have to wait to long. The second day we use the trolley we go to Arlington (this IMO is a "must" stop instead of the White House). Arlington will take at least a couple of hours just to skim the place. When we are done at Arlington we get back on the trolley and make stops at Fords Theater, the White House, Capitol and whatever we have time left for.

There is so much to do in DC that even a week is not long enough. My advice to you is to get a good tour book that goes into detail on what each"attraction" offers and get together with your family to decide what interests everyone. I have used "the Unoffical Guide to DC" and they break down everthing very nicely. It's broken down in sections of DC, then each section gives you want is located there and a good description of the attraction and then gives a rating of interest according to age bracket.

One thing to remember is DC is deceiving. Everything is close to the next thing but after going from place to you will find there is alot of walking (much more than you do in Disney).

[NJGIRL]

One thing I forgot. The Lowes sold out and the hotel is now called L'Enfant Plaza Hotel. We have stayed there since the change and the only difference I found is the name change. It is a very nice hotel.

[MidnTPK]

Would also be interested in going to the Mall, Smithsonian and the Bureau of Engraving & Printing, just to mention a few. Is this too much for a few days? Would also like to hop the metro and do a couple museums.

So with these in mind, where would be a good place to stay? Something kind of in the center of it all and clean and as reasonable as possible. And we will most likely be taking the train in. One last Q, hopefully as far as restaurants, just what do the locals recomend in this area?

Center-of-it-all and reasonable are kind of hard to do. The places in the center are nicer and more expensive. The L'Enfant is a good compromise, but is kind of isolated from places to eat.

Getting on the metro to see museums isn't really necessary... all the major museums are along the mall and are close to each other and you wouldn't take the metro from one to another.

The hotels that I'd recommend that are closest to the things you mentioned are the JW Marriot, The W, and The Willard. On Capitol Hill, I'd recommend the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill, or the Hotel George.

Moving out a bit further, I'd recommend the Grand Hyatt, Courtyard-DC Convention Center, and The Mandarin Oriental (which is one of the nicest places in the city but somewhat isolated).

Other recommendation that are not downtown but I'll personally recommend: Washington Hilton, Omni Shoreham & Marriot Wardman Park (near the zoo in a residential part of the city and on the metro), Bethesda Hyatt, Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City, Key Bridge Marriot, and the Georgetown Inn.

In writing this, I realized that I don't know much about budget places in DC...I have been to many hotels for business meetings or social events...but not to many place-to-sleep places. But I'd be happy to offer options on neighborhoods if these are outside of your budget. I've lived in DC since 1997, so I know my way around.

Dining suggestions would be better when you've narrowed down a touring plan and where you are staying.

[TheVBs]

If you choose DC, I would love to hear about your trip! This is a destination we're interested in too.

Can anyone tell me how far it is from Colonial National Park, and if it's reasonable to try to do both the park and DC? And if so, how many days would you suggest for the park?

Thanks!

[NJGIRL]

Center-of-it-all and reasonable are kind of hard to do. The places in the center are nicer and more expensive. The L'Enfant is a good compromise, but is kind of isolated from places to eat.

I agree with you on this. While IMO it was a great location for all of our sight seeing (we walked to all of the Smithsonians), we did not see alot of restaurants in the area. But that wasn't a problem for us because the main draw was the sightseeing. We did eat at alot of museum cafeterias for lunch, The Hard Rock and the food court at the "Old Post Office". For dinner we ate in the mall that was located in the "basement" of the hotel. There were a couple of decent deli's, a really good Chinese Restaurant and a couple of pizza places. It was what it was nothing great but not bad either. I can't say we ate anywhere out of this world but that's not what we went there for. For dinner the hotel suggested that we take a cab to some of the nicer places but to tell you the truth we were so tired everyday after all that walking and standing that we just wanted a quick dinner and to relax in the room for the night. What I did like about the hotel was that it was a 4 star hotel in a good location that was only about $220 per night. Some of the other hotels we priced were up to $350 per night.

[TheVBs]

I checked online last night and the L'Enfant is offering a $129 special! However, playing around with the dates, the lowest I could manage to get was $168. Not as good, but still a fantastic rate!

[luvdiznee]

The hotels that I'd recommend that are closest to the things you mentioned are the JW Marriot, The W, and The Willard. On Capitol Hill, I'd recommend the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill, or the Hotel George.



Dining suggestions would be better when you've narrowed down a touring plan and where you are staying.

L'Enfant was the Hotel that we were actually checking out last year, when planning this. I did check it out this year, the rates were decent. But I am willing to check the other hotels listed above as well.

Yes, must get a hotel before can think about food.

[NJGIRL]

I checked online last night and the L'Enfant is offering a $129 special! However, playing around with the dates, the lowest I could manage to get was $168. Not as good, but still a fantastic rate!

That's a great rate! The one draw back I forgot to mention was this hotel's pool is on the roof. It is not indoors so if you aren't going during the summer and you want to swim this will be a problem.

[TheVBs]

That's a great rate! The one draw back I forgot to mention was this hotel's pool is on the roof. It is not indoors so if you aren't going during the summer and you want to swim this will be a problem.

I know! It's making me feel the pressure of deciding between DC and the Badlands. I'm worried that good rate won't be available long.

And thanks for the info on the pool! It would definitely be a summer trip, so hopefully we'll be fine with that.