When I first told people about my plans to take a day trip to DC, I received some surprised reactions and was told that it’s not possible to visit it in just one day. That’s technically true: you can’t see EVERYTHING in one day, but that’s true of literally any city. So I booked an Amtrak ticket to DC, and I’m happy to share that it’s definitely possible to have a satisfying visit with limited time- it just requires some preparation. You CANNOT visit DC in a day without planning ahead, and I’m going to share a few tips to help with that.
First of all, determine what all you want to see with your limited time. Which sites interest you the most? You may be more interested in museums or history or politics, and that will greatly determine which sites you want to prioritize on your trip. Then, determine where everything is on a map. Most points of interest in the city are located on the National Mall or are at least nearby. If you’re mainly sticking to the National Mall, like I did, then it’s very easy to learn the layout of the city. The Washington Monument is in the center, with the White House on an offshoot from there. The Capitol and nearby sites are on the east, while the Lincoln Memorial and nearby sites are on the west. Once you get a good understanding of the layout of every site you want to visit, start planning your route.
You can walk everywhere, but the National Mall is much larger than the maps make it look. Walking the full loop is about five miles! There are also some transportation options that are very useful. You could pay for a Hop On Hop Off tour, which isn’t too expensive, or you could go with the DC Circulator, which is my personal recommendation. The Circulator constantly travels from one point to another all around the Mall, and each ride costs only one dollar, regardless of the distance. I ended up walking everywhere because I struggled to figure out the correct timing for the Circulator. A bus comes around typically every 15 minutes, but I kept getting impatient and only rode it once. Either of these transportation options requires advanced planning as the Circulator requires you to have a card purchased ahead of time.
After your route and transportation is planned out, you then need to check entrance requirements. Most places in DC are completely free to visit, but reservations are often needed. I’ll give advice for a few places that need reservations:
Library of Congress: It’s free, but you need to book a reserved timeslot through their website. This can be booked the same day.
Washington Monument elevator to the top: It costs only $1, but you must have a reservation booked through recreation.gov. You have to book it either a month before your visit or the day before at 10:00 AM eastern time. While it is sometimes possible to get same-day tickets, I wouldn’t recommend trying it.
White House: Contact your congressman a couple months ahead of your visit to potentially get a reserved tour.
Holocaust Museum: It’s free, but you will need to book a reservation through their website, which can be done the same day.
For the Smithsonian museums in particular, you should understand that there are actually 21 separate museums that make it up. They are free to visit and don’t require reservations, but they can take up a lot of time. If you’re like me and want to see the Smithsonian museums during your day trip, here’s what I did: I visited both the Natural History and American History museums, but the day before visiting, I looked up maps of each museum that highlight the locations of the most popular exhibits. I then determined which exhibits I wanted to see and knew exactly where to go once I entered the museums. That way I didn’t waste any time once inside and was able to see the parts that interested me the most.
If you’re going to visit the top of the Washington Monument, I’d recommend showing up well before your reserved time. Lines will start forming for each timeslot ahead of your tour, and if you’re toward the end of your line, it could take upwards of an hour before you actually get a chance to go inside. The elevator has a smaller capacity, so only a handful of people enter the building at a time. Then they must each pass through a security check before the next group can enter. Also, when it’s time to head back down the elevator at the end of your visit, try to be next to the doors for the best views of the special tiles that will become visible about halfway down.
One thing I do need to mention about DC is that protests are pretty common, and the whole National Mall could be shut down due to these protests. Every protest in DC is required to have a reservation ahead of time, so you can find the information about your planned date online. I’d recommend checking just to make sure there are no protests that day.
DC is a beautiful city, and there’s a lot to see and do. But don’t be stupid: it’s the capital city, and there is a very high police presence. This is not the type of place where you can ignore rules or sneak into places. The secret service is everywhere, and they are most of the time wearing plain clothes to blend in with locals and tourists. Pictures are fine almost everywhere, but there are a few places where photography is prohibited, so please pay attention to the signs.
As I mentioned above, visiting the city will have you walking A LOT! If you get tired and can’t continue walking, there are bike rentals around the city or the transportation methods I already mentioned. Taxis and rideshare apps like Uber or Lyft operate there as well, but they will be the most expensive options. Walking everywhere will make you thirsty, and one thing I found frustrating about my visit is that there are drinking fountains located everywhere, but none of them worked. I would typically recommend carrying your own water bottles, but several buildings prohibit all beverages. They will be confiscated when passing through security at several of the more popular destinations. I did see drinks in several museum gift shops, and then there are food trucks all over the Mall around lunch time where you could also purchase beverages. Several museums also have food courts on their lower levels.
Overall, I found DC to be a fun destination for a day trip. While I would have preferred to have a little more time to visit a few places I didn’t make it to, I do think that going even for just a day is definitely worth the effort. I saw every major attraction along the National Mall and went inside most of them. But my travel style is not the same as everyone’s, so obviously you should consider your own style to determine whether or not it could work for you. Hope you found this helpful or interesting. Thanks for reading!
Tyler's Travels 