Washington D C

[Scott F]

My wife and I are taking a trip to visit Washington DC in a couple of weeks. My plan is to drive from our home near Chicago and stay in a DC suburb. We want to use the Metrorail to get around once we're in town but I need to know where a good, safe place to leave my car where I board the Metrorail. It would be nice to walk to the station from our hotel, but I need some suggestions on what area to look into. I know there are some less than secure neighborhoods in the DC area and would like to avoid those areas if we can. Anybody got some suggestions?

[flyfisher]

I am not real familiar with the areas that are safe or not but i have left my vehicle in the metro parking lot over a weekend before and had no issues.  You also might want to look into flights from Chicago to DC as i would bet they are probably pretty comparable or even cheaper than what you would pay to drive not to mention a whole lot less time.

[Scott F]

I can drive from Chicago to Washington and back for $125 in gas. That's about the same as I'll pay just for transportation to the airport and back home. If I park my car near (not at) the airport instead of getting a limo to the airport, it will cost $70 and cost me an extra hour in additional time. Airfare for me and my wife is over $600, car rental for a week, $250. It will only take about 5 hours longer for me to drive than to fly.  I can give up 5 hours of my trip each way to save $900. That will pay for my hotel stay for a week and i won't have to deal with the aggravation of having to deal with the airlines, airports and cramped airplanes.  Thanks, but I'll drive.

[BrianinMD]

This will hopefully help. http://hotelsneardcmetro.com/

[flyfisher]

I can drive from Chicago to Washington and back for $125 in gas. That's about the same as I'll pay just for transportation to the airport and back home. If I park my car near (not at) the airport instead of getting a limo to the airport, it will cost $70 and cost me an extra hour in additional time. Airfare for me and my wife is over $600, car rental for a week, $250. It will only take about 5 hours longer for me to drive than to fly.  I can give up 5 hours of my trip each way to save $900. That will pay for my hotel stay for a week and i won't have to deal with the aggravation of having to deal with the airlines, airports and cramped airplanes.  Thanks, but I'll drive.

gotcha, i saw flights for around 200 round trip but i know those things change quickly,  I was also under the impression that you did not want a vehicle and were going solely with metro transportation.

 

Have fun and drive safe and enjoy the DC traffic, it is some of if not the worst in the country but being familiar with Chicago traffic, I am sure you will be fine lol

[Choporoz]

Scott, if you PM me with details about where you're staying and what you want to see, I'll be more than happy to flood you with recommendations.  My wife is a photographer who is all over the city alone a few times a week and I can only recall one time in five years that she was uncomfortable.  (And, I think that she may have pushed it that time for chance at a few shots.)  I can think of no 'touristy' destination that you should be worried about....aside from normal precautions that any prudent person would take in a big city.  No question there are some neighborhoods that you might consider avoiding at night, but I honestly feel as safe here as I ever did in Chicago, New York, Milwaukee.....etc.

[Scott F]

Scott, if you PM me with details about where you're staying and what you want to see, I'll be more than happy to flood you with recommendations.  My wife is a photographer who is all over the city alone a few times a week and I can only recall one time in five years that she was uncomfortable.  (And, I think that she may have pushed it that time for chance at a few shots.)  I can think of no 'touristy' destination that you should be worried about....aside from normal precautions that any prudent person would take in a big city.  No question there are some neighborhoods that you might consider avoiding at night, but I honestly feel as safe here as I ever did in Chicago, New York, Milwaukee.....etc.

I'm not quite as concerned about safety while visiting the tourist attractions as I am about my car while its parked at a Metro station while I'm being a tourist. That's why I'm still trying to figure out where to stay that's near a relatively safe station. And at an affordable hotel.

[Choporoz]

Brian, that's a great site.  Lot of great info there. 

 

I haven't parked my cars at every metro parking station, but I don't know of any that I'd hesitate to leave my car at.  Most (all?) metro parking will cost you during the week.

 

If you're only asking 'what neighborhoods to avoid', I'd say that is a little difficult - As a very general rule, I'd try to avoid being within a third of a mile of the Anacostia River....I'd probably avoid much around Columbia Heights....in fact, I'd start my search by staying west of about 14th St....but that would omit some very safe neighborhoods, no doubt.  I'd think, for most, a hotel with cheap/free parking within a block or two of any metro would be a better option than driving to a metro station from a hotel

[Scott F]

 

On 6/3/2015 at 7:47 AM, Choporoz said:

Brian, that's a great site.  Lot of great info there. 

 

I haven't parked my cars at every metro parking station, but I don't know of any that I'd hesitate to leave my car at.  Most (all?) metro parking will cost you during the week.

 

If you're only asking 'what neighborhoods to avoid', I'd say that is a little difficult - As a very general rule, I'd try to avoid being within a third of a mile of the Anacostia River....I'd probably avoid much around Columbia Heights....in fact, I'd start my search by staying west of about 14th St....but that would omit some very safe neighborhoods, no doubt.  I'd think, for most, a hotel with cheap/free parking within a block or two of any metro would be a better option than driving to a metro station from a hotel

That's what I needed to know. Thanks.

[quanjig]

Personally, I would stay somewhere in Virginia, I'm not a big fan of Maryland or the district in terms of vehicle safety. Look at Crystal City or Rosslyn, lots of hotels and a quick hop on to metro or even cab it into the district. That way you can take advantage of hotel parking. You could even look at Vienna or Springfield as they have hotels and metro stations.

[VolFan]

Stay in Crystal City, pentagon City, or Old Town (or near the Eisenhower stop). You'll be on the Yellow/Blue line which will get you everywhere you'd really want to go. If you want to stay further out to save $$ on a room, drive to either Reagan National Airport or Pentagon City Mall, and park there. You'll pay for the parking, but it's comparable there to areas further out, and you'll be right at the Metro stops. You can park in the neighborhoods around King street metro, but there's a 3 hour limit on parking. We always liked the Marriot on Duke street in Old Town Alexandria. Easy metro access and you can walk or free trolley to a lot of the sites in Alexandria. They charge about $25 a day for gated parking, which is fairly standard. Stay away from the Green line, unless you're going to a Nats game. Also, do not try to drive in Georgetown. Just. Not. Worth it.

[ww2farmer]

FWIW, when my wife and I visited DC circa 2002, we stayed quite a ways out in Winchester Virgina, then drove down Rt. 50 and parked at the Vienna/Fairfax station, which is or was at the time (maybe still is) the end of the "Orange line" and had no issues. Plus the drive from Winchester was very nice, and the hotels that far away from DC are much cheaper, and the extra cost of gas to get there from that far out was peanuts compared to the lodging savings. Again all from 13+ years ago...so....it might be irrelevant.

[hoodedmonkey]

Tyson's Corner in Va, also stations in Reston and Vienna (both also Va) Tyson's will give you the busy city feel, and traffic is consistently thick. Reston will give you the suburb vibe, sprawled with congestion during commuting times but light during the day. Vienna gives you the old town feel, and in general traffic will be thicker longer than in Reston. All are safe for your car.