Last summer, we took a trip to DC with our kids who were almost 4 and almost 1 from Massachusetts. While planning our summer, we were trying to plan an affordable and local-ish trip to experience something beyond New England. We landed on a trip to DC because it’s drivable, and not a New England state. So, I submitted Capitol Hill tour requests through Congressman McGovern’s office, we got the tours, so we decided to take the trip.
I was honestly not looking forward to the trip because of the drive and worrying if the kids would do ok with the history/museums. With little kids, there are so many variables and details to plan. But we had such an incredible time. Looking back, I feel so silly for only focusing on the obstacles and not the opportunity to share a city we love with our kids and make memories with them there.
Driving to DC
With our kid’s ages, we decided that driving at night would be the best. So we ate dinner and then hit the road. We stopped as needed and set the expectation that it was going to be a long drive and might not go smoothly. We packed some soft and portable toys to give the kids in the car but for the most part, they slept, thankfully. On the way home, we left around mid-afternoon. We had done some sightseeing in the morning so the kids took a good nap and then stopped for dinner. Without stopping the drive is about 7 hours straight, each way it took us about 10 hours.
Where to Stay
We chose a location near Capitol Hill because we wanted a walkable/safe area and needed a place to park our car. There are many family-friendly Airbnbs, but it came down to parking and easy access to our car. We stayed 2 blocks from the Air and Space Museum and at night we could walk to the monuments before bed. It was great!
Getting Around DC
We did not use public transportation during this trip, mainly because we stayed within walking distance of the highlights. We opted to drive for convenience to go to things over 2 miles away because it gets so hot during the day. In my previous travels to DC, the public transportation is very user-friendly and accessible.
Sightseeing Tips
- Request tours from your Congressperson or Senators! We submitted a Capitol Hill tour request through Jim McGovern’s office, and we had a great tour from his staff. They submitted the request for us to tour the White House. Truly VIP treatment and the kids did great through both tours!
- The Smithsonian Museums are all free, what’s not to love about that? We did American History, Natural History, and Air and Space. I’d say we averaged maybe 2 hours at each museum. We opted to do the museums in the afternoon when it was hottest to get a chance to cool down. There are many art galleries and other museums as well, but these were the best we visited with the kids. We also went to the National Zoo, it is very hilly, but a great zoo. We paid for a parking pass, but this activity is free and accessible via public transportation.
- Monuments: one of my favorite things in DC is just staring at the monuments. The Jefferson Memorial and the Cherry Basin Loop are beautiful and well worth doing. Plan to do this on its day so you can walk the whole loop and see all of the monuments on the loop. My favorite walk is to start at the Capitol and then walk down the mall to Lincoln. With the kids, we did the monuments one at a time, because kids. The Washington Monument does have an elevator to the top, I’ve done that on other trips and the views are amazing! Ticket requests go live ahead of time so check out the National Parks Service website weeks, if not months ahead of your trip.
Overall, taking a trip to DC was a great experience. My son still talks about our trip and has asked when we can go back. DC is so close to New England and with many affordable or free elements make this destination great for families.
