Washington D.C.

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bobbyg2013

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Feb 8, 2015
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I will be staying at the Lake Fairfax Park campground in Reston, VA for a week while sight seeing in D.C. in June. I have been told not to drive into D.C. due to poor parking, but rather use mass transit. How does that system work? Do I purchase a week pass to use on all transit systems so I can get on and off as I desire or do I pay as I go? Any other advise you can give me that will help me navigate so many places to visit in so little time. Thanks.
 
Buy a plastic smartrip Card it will save you money on fares over a paper fare card. Then load as much money on it as you think you will need for the week. Each person will need their own card. You can reload it from your computer or at a Metro kiosk. Good at all metro stops and buses. If you're a senior get a senior card and save on fares.

https://www.wmata.com/fares/smartrip/
 
The DC MetroRail system is a pretty good one. It can take you to within a short walk of just about all of the areas of interest to a tourist. I wouldn't drive into the city unless it was an absolute necessity, as parking can be difficult and expensive. Far better to leave your car at a Park&Ride station. https://www.wmata.com/service/parking/
You can get all of the maps and details at https://www.wmata.com/
MetroRail uses a fare card system. Start by buying a Smartrip card There are vending machines at every station, but you can also buy online and have it sent to you in advance of your trip. https://www.wmata.com/fares/smartrip/ .
There are special passes https://www.wmata.com/fares/farecard-options.cfm#rail that you can add to your Smartrip card.

Navigating D.C. with MetroRail is easy with just a little preparation. We had out kids planning and directing us through our family day trips into the city by age 8. Before you leave home, identify the things you want to see, check their hours online, locate them on a map, and identify the closest Metro stations. Then go!
 
The easiest way to get to the museums and all the monuments you want to see is to take the metro subway to Union Station. Go up to ground level and walk across the street to the bus stop marked Circulator. The Circulator is a bus that does a loop around all the monuments and museums. I cost 1 dollar for two hours if you pay with your metro pass that you bought for the subway.You  can get off and on as much as you like. After two hours you just have to pay another dollar. We got on the bus and went around the whole loop first to see all the sights, and see which museums had line ups ect. We then decided where we wanted to start and went from there. Hope this helps. The first time we were there, we were told to get off the subway farther up and ended walking for miles to get to capital hill area.
 
Niece and I camped at Greenbelt Park for a week last summer. Rode the Metro to the National Mall every day.

I bought two cards and we used them for parking at the station and the ride. They are good for bus rides in town as well.
 

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