Here’s a quick and easy recipe for a great time in our nation’s capital – with a capital "C."
Friends and family to share your experience:
It is amazing to tour a city by yourself. However, it is nice to have someone watching your back, being your Metro Buddy, and taking those insta-worthy photos is a key part of your experience!
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Lodging:
Cheap lodging is hard to come by in DC, but it’s by no means impossible. You should check out sites like Airbnb or HotWire.com to find less expensive lodging.
Tip – if you have one, credit card affiliated with hotels often give rewards with free nights in hotels.
Look into the location of your hotel in proximity to a Metro stop!! It will make your life easier and your feet will hurt less!
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HEY. USE THE METRO:
The Metro is an inexpensive method to get around DC and the surrounding areas. It’s fairly user-friendly. They have maps everywhere.
Apps to download for your trip:
Uber: Uber is a an easy, user-friendly app to allow you to grab a local Uber Driver in whatever area you’re in. In a large, metropolitan city, chances are that there will be riders available whenever you need them.
This app is for when you’re too far from one Metro stop to find walking acceptable. Or you just don’t want to walk or take the Metro.
Use the free ride codes and share your codes with your pals on your trip if you’re downloading it for the first time.
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Google Maps/Apple Maps:
If you don’t know the city that well or you’re just terrible with directions (me), then Google Maps can be your lord and savior. It’ll even provide you with walking routes and transit routes to your destination if you’re in need of directions!!
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Smithsonian Mobile:
There are over 30 museums and attractions apart of the Smithsonian Institution- and guess what: THEY’RE ALL FREE!!!
You could literally spend hours upon hours upon hours walking the halls taking in paintings at the numerous art galleries, pandas at the National Zoo or reading the documents that our nation were founded on!
They also have tutorials on how to make gifs from their library collections just an fyi: find them here!
Map Out your strategy: There is SO much to do in DC. Luckily, there in a concentration of museums, monuments and restaurants centered around the National Mall.
My recommendations would be to conquer your desired indoor activities the entire first day, and the first half of the second day of your trip.
Use your mornings wisely: most of the museums and indoor facilities close around 6:00pm, but the outdoor monuments are available to you as long as you’re outside.
Check out the Washingtonian’s guide to museums here!
With these tips, you will be able to fully enjoy and experience Washington, DC at an affordable cost.
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