Things to do in D.C.? UPDATE: Trip is done; details inside

[Skeever]

As far as Williamsburg/Busch Gardens/Jamestown, each of those places is a day on its own (well, maybe not Jamestown), and with DC traffic you're easily looking at half a day to get here. Very worthwhile trip, but might be a stretch if you only have 5 days and plan on doing DC too.

[El Barto]

Lots of great input.  We will have 5 full days, and parts of 2 others, so a fair amount of time.  I think I am going to make a list, and have everyone pick like their top 5, and then tabulate, try to figure out rough time estimates to "do" them, and then put together an itinerary. 

-What is there to do/see at the cemetery?  I have always heard that it is cool, but I have never heard why and what to do there. 
-Is there a lot to see at the Library of Congress and National Archives?  How long should we figure for those?
-Anyone have any sample itineraries they want to share?
-Any good tour companies for the night tour?  I LOVED the one my wife and I did back in 2015, but have no idea what they were called.  We just kinda stumbled onto them.

The Library of Congress is a five minute deal. At least when I was there it was closed to anybody without an appointment to do research. You can walk around the front area, appreciate some wonderful architecture, but you can only look into the main hall.

[bosk1]

As far as Williamsburg/Busch Gardens/Jamestown, each of those places is a day on its own (well, maybe not Jamestown), and with DC traffic you're easily looking at half a day to get here. Very worthwhile trip, but might be a stretch if you only have 5 days and plan on doing DC too.

It has been a LONG time since I've been to Williamsburg (1991, I think), but I don't remember there being a ton there.  I was thinking a day for both Williamsburg and Jamestown, and then a day for Busch Gardens.  Reasonable?

[pg1067]

-Is there a lot to see at the Library of Congress and National Archives?  How long should we figure for those?

Keep in mind that the National Archives and LOC are two different places.  Check out this link for the Archives:  https://museum.archives.gov/visit.  How long you spend depends on your level of interest in what they have there.

The same is true of the LOC, but it's the largest library in the world, so you could spend as much time there as you want and still not see everything.  Visitor link:  https://www.loc.gov/visit/.

Also, make sure to check which attractions you need reservations for.

[Skeever]

As far as Williamsburg/Busch Gardens/Jamestown, each of those places is a day on its own (well, maybe not Jamestown), and with DC traffic you're easily looking at half a day to get here. Very worthwhile trip, but might be a stretch if you only have 5 days and plan on doing DC too.

It has been a LONG time since I've been to Williamsburg (1991, I think), but I don't remember there being a ton there.  I was thinking a day for both Williamsburg and Jamestown, and then a day for Busch Gardens.  Reasonable?

Yeah now that I think about it, I guess it depends with the kids and how much stuff you want to do. Williamsburg can be a day on its own, depending on how much of what it offers interests you and your family. If you like history, you may find a lot of it very interesting. Then there are sometimes concerts at night in the church or plays on one of the stages. And I guess it depends if you'll be eating there (having a "tavern meal" or something like that). But if you don't really care about any of that, you could also just spend an hour walking the streets and just check off the box.

Jamestown, I think you're right, could easily just half a day and you'd be straining for things to do beyond that. Depends on the pace of travel you prefer with the kids.  I would say a day for Jamestown/Williamsburg (probably in that order) and a day for Busch is good. I would just look at a calendar of events beforehand because you could get to Williamsburg and realize that there was something going on there you really would have liked to check out, only to realize there's not enough time. I actually think Jamestown is a little bit more fun than Williamsburg, though.

I think when we went, we did something like Williamsburg (1 day), followed by Jamestown (half day), and then after lunch near Jamestown hung out on one of the nearby beaches before heading back to Colonial Williamsburg just to walk the streets again after dinner and catch a free organ demonstration that was going on at the church. Then Busch on the last day. But we travel at a pretty leisurely pace.

[Stadler]

The botanical garden is quick but really cool.

I second that.

[bosk1]

Thanks to all who provided suggestions.  Some were incorporated.  Some were not, either because they didn't fit our plans, or couldn't fit into the schedule.  But it was a great trip.  Our basic itinerary was:

Day 1:
Traveled all day and got into Dulles early evening.  Traveled to our hotel in Arlington, walked around a bit, got dinner, and called it a night.  The awesome thing was that there was a metro station in the basement of our hotel, so we could get to downtown VERY easily.

Day 2:
-International Spy Museum
-Took in a lot of sights around the national mall
-Ford's Theater
-"D.C. at Dusk" bus tour (hopped off the bus at various locations)

Day 3:
-Slept in a bit, since the prior day was VERY long, and we weren't fully adjusted yet.
-Took in a couple of Smithsonians and more sights along the national mall.  Made a point to hit the Capitol and Supreme Court.

Day 4:
-Mt. Vernon
-Old Alexandria
-USMC memorial

Day 5:
-After church and a long lunch with an old friend who is working at the Pentagon, we drove to Harper's Ferry, which was not planned in advance, and ended up being an unexpected highlight.

Day 6: 
-Drove to and visited Monticello, and then on to the new hotel in Williamsburg

Day 7:
-Historic Jamestowne
-Colonial Williamsburg

Day 8:
-Busch Gargens, Williamsburg--just wanted the kids to have a chance to blow off some steam before coming home and not have the whole trip feel completely like a week of school.

Great trip.  Great memories.  And lots of great food, including introducing the kids to Ethiopian food, and them loving it so much that we had to go back a second time.  A few pics:

Downtown D.C.:

("Look, is that Spiderman?" became a tired running joke the whole trip every time the Washington Monument was in view)

Capitol view at night:


Mt. Vernon:


Monticello:


Harper's Ferry:


USMC:


...and an ACTUAL Enigma Machine!

(yes, I texted a pic of this to JP!)

[pg1067]

Good stuff!  Glad you enjoyed.

How was the spy museum?  I've wanted to go when I've been there in the past but haven't done it.

[bosk1]

It was cool.  Came away with a new appreciation for the hows and whys of espionage, and what a critical role it has played throughout history.  I would recommend it. 

[Stadler]

Wow, you did a LOT.  That sounds like a great trip!

I too am a fan of the spy museum.   It's amazing seeing the things you read about in Robert Ludlum novels, or see in James Bond movies actually come to life. 

[cramx3]

Awesome pics, glad you had a good time with the family 

[pg1067]

It was cool.  Came away with a new appreciation for the hows and whys of espionage, and what a critical role it has played throughout history.  I would recommend it.