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  • Tours

  • Feb15

    White House Reopening for Tours in March

    Posted in: Current Events, Top Attractions, Tours, Uncategorized, White House | No Comments

    The White House

    The First Lady’s office announced today that the White House will reopen for tours on Tuesday, March 7th. Click here for the complete press release with information about tour times.

    As has been the practice in the past, requests for tickets to tour the White House should be submitted through your Member of Congress or Senator. Don’t know who that is? Click here and enter your zip code to find your Member of Congress and click here to find your Senator.

    Keep in mind requests may be made up to three months in advance and should be made no less than 21 days in advance.

  • Jan14

    Spring Break in Washington

    Posted in: Festivals, Sports, Spring Activities, Spring Break, Top Attractions, Tours, Travel Tips, White House | No Comments

    It may be cold and dreary outside, but Spring Break is only a few short months away. If you’re planning a trip to Washington, DC with your family we have lots of tips and suggestions. Check back in with us often as you plan your trip or sign up for our updates and we’ll keep you posted on all the best activities for you and your family.

    Washington DC Tidal Basin Jefferson Memorial

    Cherry Blossom Festival

    The dates for the 2014 Cherry Blossom Festival have been announced, March 20 – April 13. The peak of the cherry blossoms (and the crowds) is too early to predict at the moment, but we’ll let you know when the dates have been announced. Check the festival website for more information as family friendly activities will be announced over the next several weeks.

     

    Gooo Nats!

    The Washington Nationals, Washington’s baseball team, will be back in action in March. Click here for their March and April schedule. The 2014 Kids Club activities have not been announced yet, but we’ll keep you updated with a list of games with special activities for the kids, like running the bases after the game.

    Best View in Town

    The Washington Monument is scheduled to reopen in the Spring of 2014. We are all keeping our fingers crossed it will be repaired and open to the public in time for Spring Break. We’ll let you know as soon as a date is announced and you can also click here for the Washington Monument website where you can find the latest news.

    Pandas National Zoo

    Panda Mania

    The National Zoo’s newest panda, Bao Bao, will make her public debut in January so be sure to put the zoo at the top of your list to see this little bundle in person. Click here for more information on daily events at the zoo and a list of upcoming special events, like a zoo camp out!

    White House Easter Egg Roll

    Easter at the White House

    The White House Easter Egg Roll will be held on Monday, April 21, 2014. Tickets are free and may be obtained through an online lottery system. The date the lottery will begin has not been announced yet, but we’ll keep you up to date on any announcements as they are made. Click here for more information.

    U.S. Capitol

    Skip the Lines

    The White House is also open again for tours. As you can imagine this is a popular attraction so get your request in early. Your member of congress can help you with tickets requests for the White House and other popular attractions around town. Contact them early for help with your tickets and avoid the lines. Click here for more information.

    Spring is a fun and exciting time to be in DC whether you are visiting or you live here. Over the next several months we’ll be passing along lots of great information highlighting activities to take advantage of with your kids. If you have a question or if there is something you would like to know more about, please leave us a comment. We love feedback!

  • Nov05

    White House Tours are Back

    Posted in: Current Events, Top Attractions, Tours, Uncategorized | No Comments

    The White House

    Just in time for the holidays, the White House has resumed public tours. Be sure to contact your member of congress ASAP if you have family coming to town for the holidays as I am sure there will be a big backlog of tour requests. Click here for more information on the Kids Will Travel website on how to request a tour.

  • Aug24

    Quack Quack

    Posted in: Restaurants, Top Attractions, Tours | 1 Comment

    I love to be a tourist in my own town and that’s just what I was today. We joined some friends and headed downtown for a tour of Washington, DC with the DC Ducks.

    The DC Ducks is a unique tour of DC in a converted WWII DUKW amphibious vehicle, which means after you take a drive past the major sites you’ll splash down into the Potomac River for a unique view of the city from the water. You may have seen similar tours in Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore or Seattle.

    You can buy your tickets for the tours online (at a discount), but you are not able to choose a specific tour time. The vehicles leave from Union Station and are filled on a first come first serve basis. It is best to arrive early in the morning (9:00 am) to get your name on the list. If you don’t make the first car/boat at 10:00 am you can choose a later tour and come back. Union Station is near the Capitol and the National Mall so you will find you have plenty of options to fill your time if you end up on a later tour. We arrived at 9:30 am and were able to get on the first tour, but it is August – not the height of the tourist season.

    We were with kids ranging in age from six to eight. It was a slow start (literally) as we were driving through DC traffic and the kids were a bit antsy and hot, but Captain Kent, our tour guide, kept it light and funny and the kids listened and asked questions. The tour is light on heavy history and heavy on fun facts.

    Once we splashed down into the Potomac and headed out onto the water the kids got more into it, especially as the they were allowed to drive the boat. How cool is that!

    And we watched as the planes landing at National airport flew right over us, cool and loud.

    But it was about to get louder! Once we got back on dry land Captain Kent passed out the Quackers and we quacked our way back to Union Station,

    Past the Jefferson Memorial

    And the Air and Space Museum

    And the Captiol.

    After singing/quacking happy birthday to Captain Kent, it was his 49th birthday, we disembarked and I asked the kids what they thought. They gave it a thumbs up and we happily quacked our way back home.

    Quick Facts:

    • Visit the DC Ducks website for complete information.
    • The tour is 90 minutes long and departs from Union Station. This is not a hop on/hop off tour, but the driver will stop after you exit the water for a bathroom break.
    • There is a metro stop and parking at Union Station. The DC Ducks ticket desk is just in front of you as you enter the main entrance of Union Station.
    • Tours run every 30 minutes from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, 7 days a week from mid-March through October. Tour buses do not run on Memorial Day, the 4th of July or the day of the Marine Corp Marathon.
    • Tickets may be bought in advance on the DC Ducks website for a discount or you may purchase tickets at Union Station. Tickets are $39.00 for adults and $29.00 for children under 12.
    • You can take food and water on the tour. It is advised to leave your strollers behind the ticket desk in Union Station.
    • There are lots of food options both in and around Union Station. Click here for some ideas.
    • And a final tip, for the best pictures sit on the right hand side.

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