Twin centre holiday New York and Washington DC

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Hi all

Has anyone done the two cities in one trip?

We are looking to go late March/early April next year with flights into NY and out of Washington (a lot cheaper that way than the other way round)

It will be the first time on East Coast for me and adult DD's first trip to the USA.

Aim is to do Airbnb in each city and take train from NY to Washington rather than drive.

Does anyone have suggestions as to how long would be best in each city? We both like art, food, museums and just pootling around rather than shopping or shows.

I was thinking ten day trip - with 6 nights in NY and 4 in WDC but also looking at maybe a quick (one night) stop in Philadelphia?

Feel free to tell me if this is realistic please and any suggestions re nice areas in Washington to stay would be lovely too.

I'm sure I have missed out a lot of considerations!

Many thanks

I’ve done it. It was wonderful. If you can tweak your dates at all, arriving in Washington when the cherry blossom is in bloom is particularly lovely.

I assume you know the main NYC attractions because they are very well known, so my advice is on Washington:

Take comfortable shoes! All the various Smithsonian Museums are brilliant but it’s a LOT of walking and standing. The monuments to presidents and the Korean and Vietnam war memorials are worth seeing, the post office tower gives great views across the city and there are lots of great places to eat.

We did it a couple of years ago. Good to avoid the heat of the summer!

There are rules for Airbnb in New York so you won’t be central. (Unless it’s changed since we went)

We did 4 days in New York and pre booked - certain activités and got one of the passes. Which we used for the bus tour which was a great start to the first day with jet lag. Then we did the usual tourist things! The only thing I didn’t see the point of was going to Statue of Liberty - we did a sunset boat tour which was more than enough. I would have preferred to have done something else with the time then arriving on island.

washington we stayed by the water - after New York was lovely calmer space! We did 4 days there too. A lot of walking ! We hired scooters and was a brilliant way to move around! I fell in love with Washington- clean and beautiful!

we used the train and pre-booked seats etc

There is some great Facebook group pages so would recommend joining those.

Also done this!
We did it in 2012, 3 days in DC then 4 days in NYC. Got a train between the two. The one thing I’d say about it (not sure if it’s still like this) but the train was odd. You had to pre-book tickets with ID. It was like catching a flight. You didn’t stand on the platform for the train you had to stand in a waiting area and only go to the platform when the train was there. The train was also 3+ hours late and apparently that was totally normal. You couldn’t get on another train either you had to wait for the specific one. Totally unlike trains in Europe where you can casually hop on and off.

I haven't done both in one trip, but I've done them separately and your plan sounds pretty perfect to me. They're both amazing cities with tons to see and do. I'd block out your rough itinerary so you can see whether you've got the balance of days right. Philly is also really nice - some American history (Liberty Bell, etc) and the Art Museum of Philadelphia is fabulous - one of the best in the US.

Thanks all - didn't realise Philadelphia had an art museum so very glad I asked!

The train situation seems bizarre - thanks for the insight @sofski91

If we are in Airbnbs (except perhaps Philly) how much would you say was a moderate amount of money per day to cover travel/food etc..?

We have free access to museums due to job - so I think that's a chunk saved

We have. Flew into DC then amtrak to NYC.
A few years ago now but I think we did 3 nights in DC & 4 in NYC. Of the two I much preferred DC. It has so many wonderful sights and museums.

Food side definitely NYC tho.

We did NY and Boston which is another option. We had prebooked tickets for the train with allocated seats. Penn station was so clean and as po said you wait for your train and the queue is really well managed.

NY we did a tour of Central Park, national history museum, high line, SOL, ESB. Lots of walking!!

I did this 10 years ago and got the greyhound bus between the two cities. Back then, the bus was super comfy and had wifi, plus loads cheaper than the amtrak and didnt actually take that much longer, but no idea how it compares now. I flew into JFK, did 4 days in NY, 3 days in DC then i flew out of Baltimore, which is also easily accessible from DC. I was travelling solo so one week total was enough but theres so much to do, i could have happily done 6 days + 4 days.

That sounds like a good trip, Philadelphia is worth a stop. The Holocaust museum and the air and space museum (part of the Smithsonian) are wonderful in DC. In NYC I'm sure you know the Met, also the Whitney, frick, neue gallerie and Guggenheim are good. I keep on meaning to go to the (free) JP Morgan library too.

For daily money, there was a recent nyc-specific thread that should be easy to find.

For Amtrak, yes it's known to be not the best but what PP has described isn't dissimilar from the TGV...

For the statue of liberty I like taking the free Staten Island ferry instead of special cruises.

It’s a brilliant trip with kids, and very easy!

We did 4 nights in NY and 4 in Washington with DC aged 6 and 9. It was great for a two centre trip, with so much to do. Easter was the perfect time, as the weather was mild. Washington especially can be unbearable in summer.

The museums in DC are particularly good and mostly close together. We caught the train, which was easy, comfortable and fun as you go through many other famous places.

We tagged 5 days in Shenandoah National Park onto the end of the trip, less than an hour from DC, which was absolutely beautiful.