Need help with itinerary and trans. between DC and BWI

Hi,

We are planning a four-day trip at the end of August. The sites we want to see are:

Ford%26#39;s Theatre

Smithsonian

Air %26amp; Space Museum

National Archives

Washington Monument

Vietnam Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

Museum of American History

White House (requested tickets already)

Can anyone comment on the best itinerary for seeing these sites? What are the best/worst times to visit each? I know the White House, Wash. Monument, Vietnam Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and Smithsonian are all near each other, but not sure about the rest. I%26#39;m trying to figure out how to organize the trip so that we group the places that are close to each other and hit them at the most uncrowded times possible. Will we need advance tickets for any of these?

Also, we are staying at the Courtyard Washington Convention Center. We will need to get back and forth to the hotel from BWI. We want to take the Metro. Where do we get the Metro at BWI, and which station do we get off for the Courtyard? Will there be any transfers?

Thanks so much!!!

Need help with itinerary and trans. between DC and BWI

Your hotel is one block from an exit for the Gallery Place metro station. The closest site of interest is Ford%26#39;s theater - don%26#39;t remember the exact address, but I know it%26#39;s within 2-3 blocks from your hotel.

The metro doesn%26#39;t go out to BWI. So what you may want to do catch a shuttle to the airport%26#39;s Amtrak station, and take an Amtrak train into town. Get out at Union Station and transfer to the metro red line. Gallery Place is two stops away. (Note: I think Amtrak will run you about $20 a person to/from the airport. Depending on the number of people in your party, it may be cheaper to just take a cab.)

Alternatively, you can catch the B30 express bus at the airport. It runs every 40 minutes or so between the airport and a green line metro station (Greenbelt, I think it is). Takes about half an hour, and it%26#39;s $2-3 a person. You can then take a metro train directly to Gallery Place (both the red and green lines run through the Gallery Place station).

Need help with itinerary and trans. between DC and BWI

On weekdays, the MARC train, which is cheaper than Amtrak, also is an option. Ground transportation information is available on the BWI airport website (www.bwiairport.com).

This topic comes up frrequently, so if you seach the forum on ';BWI MARC Metro'; you will get detailed information.

One thing to remember is that most of the monuments are open at night and are breathtaking. I know many tourists are reluctant to walk around at night but I assure you. If you go right around 9 or 10 you will not be alone.

Here are my favorite night spots - Lincoln, and Jefferson (these two are really nice) ,Vietnam (which is very solemn anyway but really takes on a presence at night), and the WWII.

The Smithsonian%26#39;s American History Museum is starting to close some of its exhibits in preparation for a major renovation starting in September. Some exhibits closed already are the First Ladies exhibit. On their website they have the list of exhibits that will be closing or have already closed in anticipation of the renovation.

So, if the exhibits you wanted to see are closed, you can cross that one off your list for this visit.

Here is their website with the exhibit info:

鈥i.edu/exhibitions/exhibition.cfm鈥?/a>

We are flying into BWI Aug 25. We got a rental car from enterprise for $21per day. We figure it%26#39;s worth it if you spend 6 or 7 per person to take the shuttle why not spend afew dollars more for car . We will use rental car for transferring to hotel in DC and touring at night and use metro for other days. We got a good rate at Holiday Inn in Chevy Chase, one or two blocks from Friendship stop on the Metro.

I heard that you need to get timed tickets for the Washington monument and Holocaust museum. Get there early 8 am . By 9:00 am they are out.

Have a great trip!

We just got back from a similar trip. Here%26#39;s what we learned.

From BWI to the downtown area, use the WMATA%26#39;s fabulous online Trip Planner to pre-plan your transportation from and back to BWI. wmata.com/tripplanner_d/TripPlanner_Form_Sol鈥?/a> It gives you exact schedules, directions about where to go, and costs. For us two seniors, our fare to our hotel near the Mall was $2.20 (which is half price). Compare that to shuttles and taxis and you%26#39;ll save enough to have a free meal!

We took the TourMobile early one morning (I think it starts at 9:30 a.m.) while it wasn%26#39;t so hot (we were there at the height of the heat wave!). It has open sides instead of windows. You can get off and reboard. The narration was superb from most drivers.

We loved the Franklin Roosevelt Monument (which was a stop on the TourMobile and otherwise hard to access by public transportation). Very moving and beautiful.

The Air and Space Museum opens at 9 a.m this summer, which many tourists don%26#39;t know. So if that%26#39;s on your schedule, go there first. We decided not to wait in line for the Washington Monument but concentrated more on the Smithsonian museums and other sights. The cafeteria in the new Indian museum was THE BEST in terms of food quality. The Arts and Industries building is closed for rennovation. Be sure to use the Circulator to get from one sight to another. www.wmata.com/metrobus/dc_circulator.cfm For $1 each (half for seniors) you can reboard free for the next 2 (sometimes 3) hours and they come every five minutes or so. They cover three major areas of the city. Look at the map online and pick one up after you board to take with you.