OK, the elections are over now and we can all quit bashing the nation’s capital as a cesspool of do-nothings. Simply put, the Washington, D.C. area is chock-a-block with neat stuff to do if you travel there with kids.
To get started, there are a pile of good links put together on the Frommer’s guide to DC.
Recently, I have been impressed with a relatively new blog called The DC Traveler, written by Jon Rochetti. There are many good ideas throughout his blog, but here are the specifically family-friendly posts.
This is a marvelous place to visit, with plenty of efficient transportation options and many hotels with cheap rates, especially on weekends when they need to fill rooms and the government/business travelers are gone. As long as you can hop a Metro subway or bus from your hotel, you can skip the car.
Thanks for your blog, Jon!
Update 22 December 2006: Budget Travel Online has a list of great DC hotel deals tied to an upcoming 6-month festival celebrating Shakespeare. There are also links for side trip ideas, like Virginia’s Northern Neck and the Shenandoah Valley.
Update 28 December 2006: A very nice New York Times overview of what Washington offers during the holiday season, including the National Christmas Tree (and fewer crowds.)
Update 9 March 2007: Looks like CNN Travel is predicting some amazing cherry blossom viewing this spring.
Update 5 April 2007: Here are some great ideas from Smarter Travel about taking kids on their first visit to DC.
Technorati tags: travel, family travel, Washington DC