Best option to get from NY to Washington dc

 

White House (You can visit the front lawn. There are always protests there, especially now with Trump in office)

 

Just to clarify for the OP: you cannot set foot on the lawns of the White House. You can see the White House (quite well) through the security fences. Worth seeing, but I wanted this to be clear for you.

You guys and ladies have provided us with some seriuosly good info which we are definitely going to use. I think we should buy a good guide book this weekend and start mapping out some sensible routes, then come back for your opinions. We have been so busy planning our road trip and stops and accommodation that we are only just getting round to looking at the details, so this thread had been enormously helpful. Thank you all for taking the time to post, it’s much appreciated.

When in DC, checkout the trendy neighborhood of Adams Morgan in NW (DC is divided into 4 quads, NE, SE, SW & NW) - there are many fine places for dining & boutique shops, close enough to the National Zoo - part of Rock Creek Park (with the panda ... easily an all-day or at least 1/2 day trip) ... take the Metro to DuPont Circle or Wooley Park-Zoo.

https://washington.org/dc-neighborhoods/adams-morgan

On the historic Southwest Waterfront (servedby Metro's Yellow & Green lines) is the open-air fish market ... home for The Wharf, upscale dining, entertainment & special events. It used to be my "go to" place to get some of those steaming & hot (spicy, with a curry mix) Maryland blue crabs ... yummy, it's messy to eat but well worth it - and, the best, if they have soft shell crabs, deep fried in a light batter/coating, as good as the ones further north at Baltimore's Inner Harbor ... they catch them fresh from the nearby Eastern shores of MD. Plus, plenty of variety of seafood.

On a related topic for OP, if you plan to be driving around & sightseeing - do consider having a prepaid data plan, both AT&T and T-Mobile have plans, around $30 to $45 a month, with up to 4 or 5 GB worth of cellular data - good for maps/navigation & lookup on the road, not sure if your UK carrier/plan has any good & inexpensive roaming (optional or add-on) data coverage ... the coverage possibly include Canada after crossing since you mention driving up to Montreal & back.

Also, inform & make sure that the car rental car company is aware of your plan to drive into Canada ... not that you will run into any issues at the border, they scan the license plate & know instantly it's a rental, we're not asked to produce our (car) Rental Agreement. Some of the roads being driven will be tolled - you also want to look into getting an EZ-Pass (electronic/cash-less toll transponder, front windshield mounted) as it will speed you thru all toll crossings in N.E. USA. Big car rentals will cheerfully love to have you use their toll tags, add-on a daily surcharge plus the tolls charged and bill you for it.

(P.S. - side note for Turtles06, thanks about clearing up/updating that info about DC's cab zone/now metered system ... haven't taken one in decades, when I was living/working in DC, either drive or use Metro/bus to get around, and commercial garage ... even when returning to visit)

When in DC, checkout the trendy neighborhood of Adams Morgan in NW (DC is divided into 4 quads, NE, SE, SW & NW) - there are many fine places for dining & boutique shops, close enough to the National Zoo - part of Rock Creek Park (with the panda ... easily an all-day or at least 1/2 day trip) ... take the Metro to DuPont Circle or Wooley Park-Zoo.

https://washington.org/dc-neighborhoods/adams-morgan

 

On the historic Southwest Waterfront (servedby Metro's Yellow & Green lines) is the open-air fish market ... home for The Wharf, upscale dining, entertainment & special events. It used to be my "go to" place to get some of those steaming & hot (spicy, with a curry mix) Maryland blue crabs ... yummy, it's messy to eat but well worth it - and, the best, if they have soft shell crabs, deep fried in a light batter/coating, as good as the ones further north at Baltimore's Inner Harbor ... they catch them fresh from the nearby Eastern shores of MD. Plus, plenty of variety of seafood.

 

On a related topic for OP, if you plan to be driving around & sightseeing - do consider having a prepaid data plan, both AT&T and T-Mobile have plans, around $30 to $45 a month, with up to 4 or 5 GB worth of cellular data - good for maps/navigation & lookup on the road, not sure if your UK carrier/plan has any good & inexpensive roaming (optional or add-on) data coverage ... the coverage possibly include Canada after crossing since you mention driving up to Montreal & back.

 

Also, inform & make sure that the car rental car company is aware of your plan to drive into Canada ... not that you will run into any issues at the border, they scan the license plate & know instantly it's a rental, we're not asked to produce our (car) Rental Agreement. Some of the roads being driven will be tolled - you also want to look into getting an EZ-Pass (electronic/cash-less toll transponder, front windshield mounted) as it will speed you thru all toll crossings in N.E. USA. Big car rentals will cheerfully love to have you use their toll tags, add-on a daily surcharge plus the tolls charged and bill you for it.

 

(P.S. - side note for Turtles06, thanks about clearing up/updating that info about DC's cab zone/now metered system ... haven't taken one in decades, when I was living/working in DC, either drive or use Metro/bus to get around, and commercial garage ... even when returning to visit)

We are hiring from Alamo, it says we are covered for Canada, but should we also tell them at pick up? Where do we get the ez pass ? We have 3 days in Washington, then picking up hire car at Reagan airport, do we get a toll pass there? Thanks

We are hiring from Alamo, it says we are covered for Canada, but should we also tell them at pick up? Where do we get the ez pass ? We have 3 days in Washington, then picking up hire car at Reagan airport, do we get a toll pass there? Thanks

EZ Pass is a transponder that speeds you through certain tolls in the mid-Atlantic and northeastern part of the U.S. Instead of lining up to pay cash at the toll both, you drive through a dedicated EZ Pass toll lane, without stopping and usually without waiting in a line (queue) of cars. So it's usually faster than paying by cash. The EZ Pass is linked to an account that you set up with one of the participating states; it is tied to your credit card, from which the toll payments are debited. I'm not aware of any way that you can buy a personal EZ Pass without setting up an account, and I'm not even sure you could do it from the UK. At any rate, given your plans and when you will be traveling, I don't see any reason why you need an EZ Pass for this trip. The EZ Pass is most useful (imho) driving between DC and NY (on the I-95 toll roads), and especially during holidays and other high-traffic times. (There are no tolls on I-95 driving from Boston to NY.) [Caveat: I am not as familiar with the cashless toll roads in Massachusetts.]

You won't be driving to DC, and when you leave DC, it looks like you won't be on I-95 (given your plans to drive to Waynesboro and Ephrata). If, after you plot out all of your driving routes and still feel that an EZ Pass would be convenient, you can rent one from Alamo, for a maximum of $19.75 for the rental period (plus the tolls, which you would pay regardless).

Here's Alamo's EZ Pass page; depending on where you are driving in Massachusetts (given their cashless toll roads), and how you are actually getting into NYC (see the list of cashless bridges and tunnels), you may determine it's worth it to simply rent an EZ Pass from Alamo. That may be your safest bet, given those "cashless" toll roads, etc.

https://www.alamo.com/en_US/car-rental-faqs/toll-charges/northeast-us-tolls.html

EZ Pass is a transponder that speeds you through certain tolls in the mid-Atlantic and northeastern part of the U.S. Instead of lining up to pay cash at the toll both, you drive through a dedicated EZ Pass toll lane, without stopping and usually without waiting in a line (queue) of cars. So it's usually faster than paying by cash. The EZ Pass is linked to an account that you set up with one of the participating states; it is tied to your credit card, from which the toll payments are debited. I'm not aware of any way that you can buy a personal EZ Pass without setting up an account, and I'm not even sure you could do it from the UK. At any rate, given your plans and when you will be traveling, I don't see any reason why you need an EZ Pass for this trip. The EZ Pass is most useful (imho) driving between DC and NY (on the I-95 toll roads), and especially during holidays and other high-traffic times. (There are no tolls on I-95 driving from Boston to NY.) [Caveat: I am not as familiar with the cashless toll roads in Massachusetts.]

 

You won't be driving to DC, and when you leave DC, it looks like you won't be on I-95 (given your plans to drive to Waynesboro and Ephrata). If, after you plot out all of your driving routes and still feel that an EZ Pass would be convenient, you can rent one from Alamo, for a maximum of $19.75 for the rental period (plus the tolls, which you would pay regardless).

 

Here's Alamo's EZ Pass page; depending on where you are driving in Massachusetts (given their cashless toll roads), and how you are actually getting into NYC (see the list of cashless bridges and tunnels), you may determine it's worth it to simply rent an EZ Pass from Alamo. That may be your safest bet, given those "cashless" toll roads, etc.

 

https://www.alamo.com/en_US/car-rental-faqs/toll-charges/northeast-us-tolls.html

Thank you so much for such a detailed reply. I am using a roadplanning app and I think it has an option to avoid tolls, so I will look and see what changes to the route that would require. We aren’t in a hurry so a few mile won’t be a huge problem. Thank you agai

Thank you so much for such a detailed reply. I am using a roadplanning app and I think it has an option to avoid tolls, so I will look and see what changes to the route that would require. We aren’t in a hurry so a few mile won’t be a huge problem. Thank you agai

Check your routes carefully. You're avoiding Philadelphia and New York. Get some advice about Baltimore if you're not avoiding that. Massachusetts has removed toll booths, so if you're not paying close attention, you might not even know you went through a toll. They take a picture of the license plate and bill you, which is how the extra charges from Alamo will come back to haunt you months later.

The 4 tolls in Mass are the eastern part of the Mass Pike (I90), the Tobin Bridge, the Sumner/Callahan Tunnel, and the Ted Williams Tunnel. If you go from the White Mountains to Boston on I93, there Is one toll on I93 at Hooksett. Route 3 below Hooksett also has tolls (I routinely avoid tolls in this area). The eastern route from the White Mountains to Boston through Dover and Portsmouth also has tolls. As far as I know, New Hampshire still has options to pay tolls in cash.

If you can just pick up an EZ Pass at one of the service centers (although I'm not sure whether you need a US address) near DC all of your cares will be resolved. If you have one they run a lump charge from your credit card ($35 on mine but I don't know if it varies by issuing office) and then work that balance down as you use toll roads, so probably you'd have some leftover value after your trip. The various systems that the rental car companies use are priced to make a profit for the middlemen and the agency. For example, the toll charge that gets passed on to you by Alamo might be the cash toll rather than the lower EZ Pass toll, plus the daily charges.

Florida's SunPass is still incompatible with EZ Pass but I picked one up on one of my Florida trips. It makes driving in the Orlando and Miami-Fort Lauderdale areas easier and cheaper.

Most of the crossings are now cashless easy pass or no easy pass. It’s not worth setting up an easy pass for a one vacation use.

The most important thing in the Northeast corridor going down to DC and up to Boston is beating the traffic. So yes a live connection for Google Maps or Waze is a must.

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Most of the crossings are now cashless easy pass or no easy pass. It’s not worth setting up an easy pass for a one vacation use.

On the Delaware River crossings you don't pay crossing into NJ.

On the PA Turnpike the discount for EZ Pass is 25%. Same for the NJ Turnpike during off-peak hours.

But in my experience the tollpass deals from the rental agencies will charge the renter the cash price plus a handling fee.

I am using a roadplanning app and I think it has an option to avoid tolls, so I will look and see what changes to the route that would require. We aren’t in a hurry so a few mile won’t be a huge problem.

For offline Map/Navigation, which isn't as good these days as using iOS Map or Google Map/Navigation, or, my favorite - Waze with real-time traffic integration, especially major metro/cities in the US ... I have a free Android App - "Map Factor Navigator" which download ahead, over WiFi, maps of different States in the U.S. and Provinces in Canada, Bahamas, Bermuda, etc. for use ... similar to Garmin in the old days, not so long ago. Not as user friendly but for key POI, it's a good backup - even for me, as we used it driving around in the Grand Canyon NP, AZ - 3 years ago, where cellular data signals basically didn't work all that well, if at all.

Hence, as a heads-on, suggest/recommend having a visitor's data plan, just in case - worth the minimal expense to get one. This is also where my dual-sim Android smartphone is great when abroad, as I just swap out a local prepaid sim card for data ... "Free" hotel WiFi in the USA are famous for being slow & poor, even with the "premium" upgrade.

There is an "EZ Pass On the Go" option, sold at authorized retail outlets in MD, VA and NJ - I did not check or follow your routes to see whether it's "worth" it or not to get one. But, this is a "useful" sidebar items for other CC visitors to the US coming from abroad - Hertz' rental charge for their equivalent/compatible "PlatePass" program is $25 for each rental period, plus the CASH rate for tolls charged, and it can add up quickly. Good to know Alamo is a little less, just make sure - if considering - there isn't another hidden "administrative" fee buried somewhere & taxes on top of it. The OTG Pass is also sold in DC at the AAA (auto club) downtown office.

This is a prepaid & ready to use bundle, and rental cars usually have the velco mounting strip already on the windshield - just keep theirs inside the RFID sealed box in the glove box & use your own - just slap the OTG Pass on and you are good to travel. Cost is $32.50 with a stored value of $25 on it, and it can be recharged or funds added.

https://www.ezpassmd.com/en/onthego/onthego.shtml

At the end of the trip, you keep the Pass/tag as your "souvenir" to bring home - knowing you only paid the EZ-Pass rates, which in many instances - is the same when traveling out of the "issuing" state - as identical to cash rate for tolls. But, it's a time saver for many travelers during peak periods at toll crossing, zipping thru & sometimes not even slowing down to 15 mph vs. stopping & waiting, adding as much as 10, 15 or even 15 minutes at every EZ-Pass crossing.

With OTG tag, you pay cash or with credit/debit card, no ID or vehicle info needed so residency is not required, just a question of whether you will use that much in tolls & the "extra" time to go out of the way to stop somewhere to buy it first. Car rentals provide that "convenience" at a marked up cost ... just brought up the suggestion/idea as FYI for all doing these road trips.

Drove across the GW Bridge, NJ into NY last week - off-peak at midday, lots of drivers using the cash lanes, easily 20 minutes of backup sitting there to get up to the tooth booth cash collector - we just zip around the EZP lanes & continued on our way into Upper Manhattan, time for it - about 30 seconds.

I only see that for the Bayonne Bridge. The George Washington Bridge is $15 cash, or $10.50 (off-peak) EZ Pass.

 

On the Delaware River crossings you don't pay crossing into NJ.

 

On the PA Turnpike the discount for EZ Pass is 25%. Same for the NJ Turnpike during off-peak hours.

 

But in my experience the tollpass deals from the rental agencies will charge the renter the cash price plus a handling fee.

Be aware that most of the toll roads within the city of New York have gone cashless. That applies to the RFK (formerly Triboro) bridge, the Henry Hudson bridge at the northern tip of Manhattan, the Queens-Midtown tunnel, the Carey (Brooklyn-Battery) tunnel, and others. I think it applies to the Verrazano too. It does not apply to the NY/NJ crossings yet.

All the above charge the cash rate to E-ZPasses that were not issued by the state of New York, sigh.

Generally speaking, Alamo will automatically enroll you into a plate recognition system for tolls and you probably won't be able to opt out. For every day (up to a maximum of four, I think) that you go through a tollbooth, they'll charge you a $3.99 daily fee on top of the cash toll amount. It stinks but that's how it's done in rental cars up here.

It's difficult (I guess) to find comprehensive information about tolls and cashless tolling in the Tri-state NYC area, probably due in part to the number of different tolling authorities. I did find the following info that supports what you're saying.

Q. When will MTA Bridges and Tunnels change to Cashless Tolling?

A.The Henry Hudson Bridge converted to Cashless Tolling in November 2012. The other MTA Bridges and Tunnels facilities converted to cashless in 2017. Queens Midtown and Hugh L. Carey Tunnels converted in January 2017, the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial and Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridges in June, the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge in August, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in July, and the Throgs Neck and Bronx-Whitestone Bridges in September.

An EZ Pass makes it a non-issue. I still don't know how easy it is for a foreign tourist to obtain one.

The track work in the MD area is not affecting travel times. It has resulted in some schedule changes.

They are replacing one track, out of 3 tracks.

I commute on a commuter train that uses the Amtrak rails.

Keep on checking spots might come up.

Best way to get around DC is with a HOHO bus you can take a relaxing night tour and see all the monuments lit up. 2 days would be perfect for you.

 

 

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I second the HOHO bus which will also take you to Arlington National Cemetery, which I found to be the most memorable part of my trip to DC, along with the Smithsonian museums that you already have planned.

Amtrak 100%. It brings you right to the Capital Hill area, and if you aren't meeting a flight in DC, then there's no need to worry about any rail work. It's much less likely to be stressful and trafficky than 95 through Jersey, PA, DE, and MD, and will be substantially more comfortable. And you can walk to Capital Hill area hotels from the Amtrak Station in DC.

We arrive at Brooklyn cruise terminal on 17 May and will be going to Washington. We have 2 options available to us. The local train from Penn Station to Washington, leaving at 12.35 or Vamoose business coach leaving at 2pm. Travel time is around 4 hours. Now there are repair works on the railway which may mean delays and the cost for 2 is higher at $185. The coach take about half an hour longer and it drops us off either at Bethesda or Arlington, and we are staying in the Capitol Hill area. The coach is $100.

We don’t really know what time we will be off the ship, although we plan to self disembark so should be early. We can’t decide which will be the most relaxing option, and if we are too early for the coach, which picks up in Manhattan, we don’t know what we would do with ourselves, given that we will have suitcases in tow. I’m also worried about leaving our luggage unattended on the train and it possibly getting stolen. It’s our first trip to USA and we are struggling with the detail. Thank you