DC and Beyond 4 Day Itinerary

DC is a fine one-day city and a much better multi-day base. This four-day trip gives the National Mall a single anchor day, then spends the rest of the trip outside city limits: Old Town Alexandria by Metro, Mount Vernon by car or tour bus, and Annapolis with the US Naval Academy, a state-capital-and-military-academy combination no other DC day trip offers. The catch is Annapolis. There is no train, so the honest plan is a once-daily direct bus at $4 to $12, or a rideshare that can run past $100, not a train that does not exist.

For the city core on its own, with more room for museums and monuments, see our Washington DC itinerary . This one assumes you have already decided the Mall gets a day, not four.

Book these before you go:

Day Focus Travel Time Rough Daily Cost
1 DC core: the Mall, one Smithsonian, a monument or two Metro hops, 15-20 minutes each $40-60
2 Old Town Alexandria Metro to King St, about 20 minutes, or the seasonal water taxi, about 30 $50-70
3 Mount Vernon About 16 miles, 30-45 minutes by car or tour bus $70-90
4 Annapolis and the Naval Academy About 33 miles, no train: direct bus about 1h10, or rideshare 40-50 minutes $45-65 by bus, $150 plus by rideshare

Day 1: The Washington DC Core, Kept Deliberately Short

Pick one Smithsonian, book its free timed pass in advance if it needs one, and pair it with two or three monuments on foot: the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument (a $1 recreation.gov fee even though entry itself is free), and the Jefferson Memorial across the Tidal Basin. Do not try to fit Arlington, Georgetown, and Capitol Hill into the same afternoon, that is a four-day trip on its own, and this itinerary needs the rest of the week for the destinations that make it different from every generic DC guide.

The Metro handles this day fine: distance-based fares up to a $6.75 maximum, tap in and tap out every ride. Skip any older guide still mentioning the DC Circulator bus, it stopped running at the end of 2024. For a longer list of what fills this day, see Washington.org .

Day 2: Old Town Alexandria, No Car Needed

Take the Blue or Yellow Line to King St-Old Town, then walk or ride the trolley into the cobblestone waterfront district (Visit Alexandria has current trolley details). March through December, the Potomac water taxi from The Wharf is the more scenic option, about 30 minutes for roughly $22 one way, but it is seasonal, not a year-round substitute for the Metro. Either way, this is the easiest, most transit-friendly day of the whole trip, and worth using as the gentle introduction before Mount Vernon and Annapolis raise the transport stakes.

Budget the afternoon for the waterfront and the historic core rather than rushing back to DC for dinner; Alexandria’s restaurant scene holds up fine on its own.

Day 3: Mount Vernon, the $30 Estate

Mount Vernon is not a free NPS monument like the memorials on the Mall bearing Washington’s name, it is his working estate, farm, and tomb, a paid historic-house museum at $30 for an adult and $16 for a child, open 9am-5pm April through October (9am-4pm the rest of the year, confirm both on mountvernon.org before you go). It sits about 16 miles south of downtown, reachable by car, a tour bus, or, in season, a Potomac riverboat cruise from Alexandria or the Wharf.

Go early if you are driving yourself; parking and the first tour groups both fill up by mid-morning on weekends, and the grounds reward at least three unhurried hours.

Day 4: Annapolis and the Naval Academy, the Awkward One

Annapolis is Maryland’s state capital and home to the US Naval Academy, and it is the one day trip on this list without a direct train. About 33 miles from DC, the cheapest car-free route is a once-daily direct bus, roughly $4 to $12 for about 1h10; a rideshare covers the same distance in under an hour but can run $60 to $135. Plan the transport before you plan the sightseeing, not after.

The Naval Academy allows pedestrian public access only, no vehicles through the gates, and every visitor 18 and over needs a REAL-ID-compliant photo ID or a passport. Guided tours run $12 for an adult, 9am-5pm March through December with shorter winter hours. The combination of a state capital and a working military academy is genuinely not available on any other DC day trip, which is the reason to put up with the awkward transport rather than swap this day for something easier.

Is Annapolis Worth the Hassle Without a Car?

Yes, but only if you plan around it rather than assume you will improvise a way there. The direct bus is cheap and simple once you know its schedule; a last-minute rideshare works but costs as much as the other three days combined. The Naval Academy angle is unique enough on this itinerary to justify either option.

Do You Need a Car for This Whole Trip?

No, but each day gets a little harder without one. Alexandria is a pure transit day. Mount Vernon is easiest by tour bus or seasonal riverboat if you skip renting a car. Annapolis is the only day where car-free travel means a specific bus schedule rather than a flexible option, so build that day around the timetable, not the other way around.

What Ties These Three Day Trips Together?

Presidential history at Mount Vernon, naval and state-government history at Annapolis, and colonial-era waterfront at Alexandria give this trip a throughline the Mall itself does not: three different flavors of American institution within an hour or two of the same hotel room.

Things to Know

Contactless bank cards now work directly at Metro faregates, so a SmarTrip card is convenient but no longer required. Casual meals across all four days run $12 to $20, a mid-range dinner $30 to $55, tipping 18 to 20 percent everywhere including Alexandria and Annapolis. Pack for a genuinely different day each day: comfortable walking shoes for Alexandria’s cobblestones, a bit more time buffer for Mount Vernon’s grounds, and your ID ready before you reach the Naval Academy gates.