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How to Enjoy Family Travel in a One Day Visit to Washington D.C.

March 13, 2017

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Do you think it’s possible for a family with kids under the age of ten to do Washington D.C. in just one day? Our family of five saw more than I expected possible of Washington D.C. in just one day.  I’m sharing my tips on how to enjoy family travel in a one day visit to Washington D.C.

This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link, I will recieve a small commission at no added cost to you. See my Disclaimer for details. Thank you!

I hope my post help you with your visit to D.C.:)

 

View of the White House
The White House

How We Did D.C. in One Day with Young Kids

We saw so much thanks to the fabulous open-air bus line tour.

On this trip our three boys were the ages of three to nine so before we left, we researched how we could do a single day in this city with young kids. We knew it would be a challenge but we were in the area so we wanted to take advantage of seeing some of this great American city. I was amazed at how much we saw in just one day.

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Our Situation

We knew a large amount of walking was not going to be doable with a three-year old and no stroller along to plop him in.

We had just enjoyed a few days at a rented beach house on the OBX, the Outerbanks of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Our flight home was to fly out of D.C. so we scheduled in an extra day to tour the city before our flight.

My husband and I enjoyed sharing this amazing city with our three young kids. Mind-blowing art and architecture surrounded us at every turn.

 

Why the Bus Line?

My husband investigated which line would deliver us to the most places we wanted to visit in D.C. and he chose wisely. The bus line allowed us to hop on and off a bus from designated bus stops along the line. It was the key allowing us to see so much of the city in one day. This enabled us to move about at our own pace as buses ran at regular intervals along a specified route. With young kids this was a total win because in between the sights and monuments they could rest on the bus, plus we didn’t have to drive and park in an unfamiliar busy city.

Our kids enjoyed the simple fun of riding on top of the bus. As top of bus riders, we saw so many amazing statues, monuments, and buildings just from our seats. It was perfect for our family with young kids because even if we opted out of a stop, we were still able to see the sight from our seats atop the bus. The genius of the bus line was that we could visit the monuments we wanted at our own pace with the ability to head back to the bus stop when we were done. I recall our longest wait was fifteen minutes, but usually the our wait was shorter.


Top of the open air tour bus.
View from the open air tour bus. The forecast was for rain, but we had ponchos so we sat up top. It barely rained though so we were lucky.

 

George Washington Monuent
Washington Monument
Outside the Thomas Jefferson Memorial
Outside the Thomas Jefferson Memorial
Thomas Jefferson Memorial
Thomas Jefferson Memorial

The Giant Gorgeous Monuments and Buildings

The stone monuments and statues were gorgeous. Truly amazing art to behold in person. The kids didn’t always appreciate what the monuments stood for, but they were awesome to gaze upon even without understanding the full meaning. We visited the Washington Monument, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, and the White House. We walked to the White House and passed by the beautiful Department of the Treasury building. Our short stroll brought us past the many gorgeous manicured gardens stacked in a neat row.

The kids’ favorite stop along the bus line was The Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum. The kids were fascinated by it so we spent several hours meandering through. They had so much fun seeing all the different types of aircraft, planes, and displays. The astronaut displays were the most exciting to my kids as were the giant spacecraft. As a mom, I loved the hands-on components to some of the displays at the museum because they sparked kid interaction. We took advantage of the convenient food court and had lunch at the museum too.

 

Smithsonian Institution Naritional Air and Space Museum in Washington D. C.

Airplane display in the National Air and Space Museum
Airplane display in the National Air and Space Museum

Inside the National Air and Space Museum


Space Vehicle

More Monuments and Novel D.C. Sights

We stopped at the Abraham Lincoln Memorial which was more massive than I had expected and certainly awe-inspiring to gaze up at.

Lincoln Memorial Washington D. C.
Lincoln Memorial

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was another stop we included in our tour. We walked along the white names on the shiny black wall and told the kids about the lost lives and how the monument was created to honor those people. The number of names on the walls was astonishing. This is a hard topic to address with kids but we wanted to include this super important monument in our D.C. visit. My kids’ grandpa is a Vietnam Veteran so this monument has special meaning for our family. We are so thankful to have him with us today as so many lost others their lives.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Vietnam Veterans Memorial

The tour bus drove through the Arlington Cemetery, another difficult place to explain to young kids. But a place to honor those lost nonetheless. Staring at rows of many white stones was daunting and jarring as we drove by so casual and swift. It felt unfair to slip easily by so many graves as I sat with calm breathing; my son’s sippy cup clutched in my hand. Though we didn’t walk it, I honored them all in my heart.

Our bus also drove past the Pentagon, though there were regulations about visiting so we simply drove past swift and viewed it afar from the nearby highway. Our visit happened after the 911 attack so we understood the regulations regarding the victimized building. The repaired area was obvious due to the different brick color, lagging about as if an everyday scar. That which it is not.

Tiny Prints - Black Friday Sale

The Subway

Our boys wanted to see a Subway. They were intrigued by the idea of a subway system under a city. We live in the Midwest so seeing a real subway system was new to them.

Even though we didn’t ride the subway, we trekked down without a token, and asked the subway attendant if we could just go down to the tunnels to show our boys what it looked like on the tracks. He allowed us, but did escort us to take a quick sneak peak of the trains. Our kids loved seeing the trains, the people, the deep roaring tunnels. They had never seen such a sight before as trains and people zoomed around beneath the city streets they had just walked on.

A City of Diversity

The many different cultures and variety of people and tourists present in the city created a great experience for our kids. They soaked up words from people from different countries speaking many languages. They saw many different types of culture and ways of dressing that were very different from our home. Coming from the Midwest spending even just a day in this city was a great lesson in diversity for our kids; a priceless aspect of the day trip to D.C.

A Good Day

Washington D.C. is a beautiful city with the amazing architecture, statues, fountains, and gorgeous landscapes. It was a good day and we were back to our hotel room by dinner. We were impressed with our accomplishments in the grand city in just one day as a family of five with young kids. It was a perfect addition to our east coast trip. A stop worth planning into family vacation plans.

Interested in more fun family travel destinations? Check out my blog post family travel reviews for Bearizona in Arizona, 5 Fun Family Travel Adventures in Arizona You’ll Love, and San Diego Zoo Safari Park for family travel fun.

First Amendment on a building
The First Amendment engraved on a building

Statue in Washington D. C.

How to Enjoy Family Travel in a One Day Visit to Washington D.C. Do you think it’s possible for a family with kids under the age of ten to do Washington D.C. in just one day? Our family of five saw more than I expected possible of Washington D.C. in just one day. I'm sharing my tips on how to enjoy family travel in a one day visit to Washington D.C.

A different version of this post was originally published on Red Tricycle “Family of Five Does Washinton D.C. in One Day” http://redtri.com/family-of-five-does-washington-d-c-in-one-day/slide/1

 

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4 Comments
Filed Under: Family, Travel Tagged: family travel

Comments

  1. Dara says

    March 16, 2017 at 9:44 am

    There is so much to see in D.C.! We walked like 7 miles trying to do everything!

    Reply
    • Julie Hoag says

      March 16, 2017 at 11:45 pm

      I bet! I can just imagine! I love how there is so much to do there so we can go back as a family when my kids are older and see things we didn’t see the last time. Thanks!!

      Reply
  2. Ashley | Spit Up and Sit Ups says

    March 16, 2017 at 12:20 pm

    The bus is a great way to see a lot in such a short amount of time!

    Reply
    • Julie Hoag says

      March 16, 2017 at 11:46 pm

      Yes, that is exactly what we found! I was so relieved we chose the bus, young kids have a hard time walking all day! Thank you!

      Reply

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Hello & Welcome! I’m Julie. I’m a wife and a mom to 3 boys. I’m sharing Ideas for Recipes, Family Lifestyle, Travel, DIY & Pets:) I’m SO happy you are here! Leave me a comment, I’d love to hear from you. I’m also a YA Author of the novel “Hungry Hearts” published in 2020 with Swoon Romance/Month9Books and Georgia McBride. “Out of Control” releases in 2021.

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