DC and Beyond 5 Day Itinerary
Five days of DC day trips is where most itineraries get lazy on the last day and loop back to a monument you already saw. Don’t. Baltimore sits 40 miles north, reachable by MARC or Amtrak from Union Station in about 40 minutes, and it’s the one day on this trip that’s both fully car-free and a genuinely different city, its own skyline, Inner Harbor, a serious aquarium, not a smaller echo of DC. Nest Alexandria, Mount Vernon, and Annapolis through the middle days and this is the fullest week of day trips DC supports before the drives start getting long.
For less, our 4-day itinerary stops at Annapolis. For more, the 6-day version adds Great Falls.
Book these before you go:
- Hotel near a Metro station : worth more than a view on a trip with five separate departures
- Mount Vernon guided day tour : skips arranging your own transit to the estate
- Baltimore Inner Harbor walking tour : useful context for a city most DC visitors have never actually walked
| Day | Focus | Travel time | Rough daily cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DC core anchor: Mall memorials, one Smithsonian | On foot and Metro within DC | $40-60 |
| 2 | Old Town Alexandria | Metro to King St, about 20-25 min, or seasonal water taxi | $50-70 |
| 3 | Mount Vernon | About 16 miles, 30-45 min 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 min | $45-65 by bus, $150+ by rideshare |
| 5 | Baltimore: Inner Harbor and the National Aquarium | About 40 miles, MARC or Amtrak from Union Station, about 40 min | $70-100 |
Day 1: The DC Core, Kept Short
Land at Reagan National (DCA) if you can; it’s directly on the Blue and Yellow Metro lines, 15-20 minutes to downtown. Dulles (IAD) reaches the Silver Line in about an hour. Check into a hotel near a Metro station, since the next four days all leave DC in a different direction.
Keep the day to the Lincoln Memorial, the Reflecting Pool, and one timed-pass Smithsonian; book that pass ahead if it’s the National Museum of African American History and Culture or the Air and Space Museum’s Mall building. This is an anchor day, not the full city tour; four more days are already spoken for. Skip any leftover mention of the DC Circulator bus in an older guide, it stopped running at the end of 2024.
Day 2: Old Town Alexandria, No Car Needed
Take the Blue or Yellow Line to King St-Old Town, then walk or ride the free King Street Trolley down to the waterfront (Visit Alexandria has current trolley details). March through December, the Potomac water taxi from The Wharf is the scenic alternative, about a 30-minute crossing for roughly $22 one way, but it’s seasonal, not a year-round substitute for the Metro.
This is the gentlest day of the trip on purpose, cobblestone streets and a genuine walkable waterfront, before Mount Vernon and Annapolis raise the transport stakes. Budget the afternoon for King Street rather than rushing back for dinner; Alexandria’s restaurant scene doesn’t need DC as a backup.
Day 3: Mount Vernon, the $30 Estate
Mount Vernon is George Washington’s working estate, farm, and tomb, not a free National Park Service site like the Mall memorials that carry his name. Admission runs $30 for an adult and $16 for a child, 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, reached by car, tour bus, or a seasonal Potomac riverboat from Alexandria or the Wharf.
Go early if you’re driving; parking and the first tour groups both fill by mid-morning on weekends, and the grounds reward a genuine three unhurried hours.
Day 4: Annapolis and the Naval Academy, the One Without a Train
Annapolis is Maryland’s state capital and home to the US Naval Academy, and it’s the one day on this trip with no 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 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.
Day 5: Baltimore, the Best Day Trip on This List
Baltimore is 40 miles north, and this is the day to stop treating “day trip” as a synonym for “small town.” It’s a real second city with its own skyline, and it’s also the most car-free day of the entire itinerary: MARC or Amtrak from Union Station, both under an hour.
Spend the day at the Inner Harbor and the National Aquarium , $49.95 for an adult with timed entry required, half-price at the walk-up window after 5pm on Fridays if you can shift the day that way. Round out the afternoon along the harbor promenade; unlike Alexandria or Annapolis, Baltimore has enough going on to fill a full day on its own merits, not just a morning.
MARC or Amtrak to Baltimore?
MARC is cheaper and runs on a commuter schedule, fine for a day trip as long as you check the timetable rather than assuming Metro-style frequency. Amtrak is pricier and faster, and a better fit if you’d rather not build the day around a specific departure window. Either gets you from Union Station to Baltimore in around 40 minutes; pick on price versus schedule flexibility, not on which sounds more like a “real train.”
Is Baltimore Just Another Quaint Day Trip?
No, and treating it that way undersells the best day on this itinerary. Alexandria and Annapolis are small, historic, and easy to see in an afternoon; Baltimore is a genuinely bigger, different city with its own neighborhoods, its own food scene, and a harbor that’s a destination in its own right, not an add-on stop. It also happens to be the easiest day to reach without a car. Skip it for a rerun of the Mall and you’ve picked the weaker option.
Do You Need a Car for This Whole Trip?
No, but the days get progressively less convenient without one until Baltimore flips the pattern back. Alexandria is a pure transit day, Mount Vernon is easiest by tour bus or seasonal riverboat, and Annapolis is the one day where car-free travel means building around a bus timetable. Baltimore then closes the trip on MARC or Amtrak, no car logic required at all, proof that the hardest day of the trip isn’t the farthest one.
Things to Know
Contactless bank cards work directly at Metro faregates, so a SmarTrip card is convenient but not required. Casual meals across all five days run $12 to $20, a mid-range dinner $30 to $55, tipping 18 to 20 percent everywhere from Alexandria to Baltimore. Pack for five different kinds of day: comfortable shoes for Alexandria’s cobblestones and Mount Vernon’s grounds, your ID ready before the Naval Academy gates, and a MARC or Amtrak timetable checked the night before Baltimore rather than at Union Station that morning.
Authority references: Mount Vernon for current hours and pricing, Visit Alexandria for Old Town listings, the Naval Academy for tour details, the National Aquarium for Baltimore ticketing, and WMATA for current Metro fares.