Baltimore and DC Tour Guides & Tour Ideas

[roothy123]

I live between Baltimore and DC and know a bit about both cities. However, as a resident I've never explored how to best see Baltimore on a cruise ship stop, or how to see DC on one either (the ship overnights in Baltimore). I know people coming in October on the new Viking Star and wondered if anyone could recommend a tour guide in either city that wouldn't cost an arm and a leg. Also, what transportation from Port of Baltimore to DC would work - cab to Penn Station, then MARC or Amtrak to DC? They're coming on a weekday, and they are not embarking or disembarking, just visiting Baltimore on a two day port call. I know coming to DC for a day would not be a quick and easy thing, but if it's not too big of a hassle, they may want to do it on the day they're in port overnight. As for Baltimore, I would guess they might just want to do a ship's excursion, but if anyone has actually toured Baltimore on their own, I'd love comments. It would be nice to see more than just the Inner Harbor, which I assume is one place the ship's excursions might go. And as for DC, does the Trolley still run, and DC Ducks, or is there a Hop on Hop Off bus that would make it easier for them to get from one place in DC to another?

[markeb]

There are a handful of operators in DC; you can catch them at Union Station:

 

http://www.unionstationdc.com/info/sightseeing

 

The old Tourmobile is no longer in operation, and it's the only one I've ever used. The Big Bus doesn't seem to have very good reviews. I see Old Town Trolleys around town all the time, and City Sights is also apparently fairly popular. These are all some sort of hop on/hop off.

 

MARC or Amtrak should work fine into Union Station.

 

What do they want to do? If they just want a good overview, then one of the HOHO buses will be fine. They're still pretty good even if you want to dive into a museum or two as the Mall is bigger than you think, and there's no real public transportation from one end to the other, but the loop can take awhile (and many of them go beyond the Mall these days).

 

I don't know about Baltimore.

[roothy123]

Thank you. I wasn't aware of a couple of these options in DC. Thanks for the link to Union Station stuff too. I'll check out the HOHO things. I'm not sure what they want to see, except I know they're not crazy about museums in general. I would think, however, that they'd like to see the basic tourist stuff (White House, Congress buildings, and at least a few monuments.)

[trixiegal]

Check on Groupon and Living Social for tour ideas for both cities. I get email from both sites everyday and there are usually good discounts on lots of tours, especially unique and unusual ideas like Italian Food Tours or Cocktails on the Potomac.