You can check googlemaps and the like to see if the driving time is something you want to do. You can check www.amtrak.com to see the train option. That is the only train option.

I would not take more than one day trip to DC from there during 1 week.

The distance is about 165 miles using I-64/I-295/I-95 If you go during the workweek the segment between Fredericksburg and Washington can be brutal from about 5:30 AM on.

I would not try to do a trip to Washington in just one day; simply too much to see.

Traffic around DC is ery heavy so I don;t think this is at all realistic for a day trip. There is a train - but it often runs very late and may well not fit your schedule.

To see DC you need to be in the city - or immediate suburbs accessible by Metro.

And even if ONE day trip were feasible (it's really not), certainly going back and forth using Williamsburg as a base is not.

OK thanks for your tips!

Well, I'll pile on to say, you can do one day trip if you must, but it's a hellish drive that can be plagued with grisly traffic. I have done it because I wanted to see an exhibit in DC and couldn't stay overnight, and I wouldn't recommend it. If you do it, leave very, very early and plan to stay in DC until after rush hour; yes, that will be a long day!

There is a lot to see/do around Williamsburg - totally worth a week's trade. But it is definitely not a base for visiting DC. If you want to see DC, stay in/near DC.

If your purpose is to see the sites in DC, then Williamsburg wouldn't be a good choice but if a day in DC is fine then Williamsburg could work. I would make sure I'd go up on a Sunday and leave to get there when the museums opened. There is no guarantee that you won't hit traffic but Sundays usually aren't bad and you can find parking.

If you have a focused agenda for DC, then an early departure from Williamsburg can work. Just be prepared for a long day. If you can't go on a Sunday, consider connecting to the VRE in Woodbridge during the week; that could take some of the edge off rush-hour madness. Saturdays in the summer are notoriously brutal with the vacation crowds heading to/returning from the Outer Banks.

We drive and take the train to Washington from Richmond fairly often.

The train from Staples Mills Station in Richmond gets you to Washington in about the same amount of time as it takes to drive. +/- two hours. The train from Williamsburg is on a much less traveled line and goes much less frequently, probably 3+ hours, again about the same amount of time it would take you to drive.

In the morning, commuting traffic around Washington is all but over by 0900 unless there are accidents. The afternoon is the problem. If you can leave Washington between 7 and 8 PM you should not have trouble. So, a one day excursion, sure, if you don't mind it being a long one. Trips day after day? No.

I live in Williamsburg but am in DC half time.

A day trip is absolutely feasible. We've had guests do it countless times. Multiple day trips wouldn't be so much fun.

Don't drive. Take the train from either the Ashland or Staples Mill Rd. stations near Richmond. An 8am train will get you to DC when the museums are opening. You can return as late as 6 or 7 in the evening.

Both stations are one hour door to door from Wmburg. I prefer Ashland b/c parking is free and it's five minutes off the highway going away from urban Richmond.

Yes, but if you leave from Ashland, you don't get to ride right down the middle of Main Street, something my overseas visitors think is a stitch!

But coming from Williamsburg, it makes more sense than going into Staples Mills because of 295. You are absolutely right! I was RVA-centric!

thanks again!!

When we stayed in Williamsburg we took a day trip to DC just to see a few places that we had not seen on our trip the year before. We drove and parked in Alexandria and took the Metro into DC. I agree with everything stated above. The drive to DC was not bad but the drive back was horrific for the first hour and we left at about 7:30pm. I suggest taking the train or stay in the DC area until about 8 or 9pm.

It was a long day but well worth the trip. Most of the days in Williamsburg ended early so we had lots of energy stored up.

For those who know the area, is there a car rental place at or near either train station in Richmond area?

Will be taking my granddaughter to Williamsburg for four days then to Washington DC for three. We will fly into Richmond and home from DC. I will rent a car, but the idea of dropping the car before heading to DC and riding the train is appealing. I assume the train goes into Union Station?

I do some version of a Williamsburg-DC trip for each of my grandchildren when they turn 10. This is trip #5 and I like to mix it up a bit each time. Hadn't thought of doing the train. Might be a win win deal as I dislike that drive to DC and getting rid of the car there.

cwn: Your post could get lost in the shuffle at the end of this thread. It might work better if you start a new thread w/ your questions.

Thanks, I thought about that after I posted...will do if there are no replies here. I have some time since I am in planning stage.

We were in Williamsburg several years ago-- I think 2003-- and there was a tour bus that made day trips to DC. I'm not sure of the name, nor if it still exists. I think it was like $50 pp at that time. It was a great day for us, but the bus driver- not so much. Traffic, I could see, was as others have said "BRUTAL." I'm certainly glad we explored this way to see even a portion of DC. We did see many of the main sites, WWII Memorial, Arlington, Choice of which Smithsonian, Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, and several other sites. Like I said, it was easy for us, not so much for the driver. Hope this may give you another way to see DC.

>>We will fly into Richmond and home from DC. I will rent a car, but the idea of dropping the car before heading to DC and riding the train is appealing. I assume the train goes into Union Station?<<

Why not drop the car off in Williamsburg and take the train from Wmbg to DC? Train leaves 9:30 ish in the morning, gets into Union Station at 1 something.

I'm not clear on why you want to drop your car off in Richmond. Regardless, all three Richmond area train stations (Main Street, Staples Mill, and Ashland) are approx 1 hour drive from Wmbg. None have car rental services at the station though all have some car rental places nearby. Personally, I would choose the Ashland station. It'll be the easiest to find and there is an Enterprise Car rental w/in a 10 minute walk of the station. Or Enterprise will take you there.

We did this on our spring trip to Williamsburg last year. We had a timeshare in Williamsburg as our "home base". We spent time exploring Jamestown, a few days in Williamsburg, one day in DC, Monticello, and Laray Caverns.
We left early in the morning and drove into town and parked in a structure for the day. We spent a few hours at the Air & Space Museum & the Natural History Museum. We walked the mall from the Capital to the monuments. My husband picked our car up and we drove over to the Jefferson Memorial at the end of the afternoon. We had dinner in DuPont Circle and drove back by the monuments in at night (beautiful) before heading back to Williamsburg about 10pm. It was a VERY long day, but amazing. We gave the kids the option of coming back for a 2nd day (White House, Newseum, Georgetown, Eastern Market, etc) but the kids opted for Laray Caverns & Monticello instead.