DC and Day Trips in 6 Days on a Budget
Six days on a budget stretches DC into a full week of regional day trips, and the first five run on foot, Metro or a seasonal water taxi before day six forces the one real car decision on the whole plan. Day one anchors on the free Mall core. Days two and three cross to Old Town Alexandria and Mount Vernon’s $30 estate, still no car needed. Day four’s Annapolis has no train at all, so a direct bus or a rideshare fills the gap. Day five swaps back to rail into Baltimore. Day six is different again: Great Falls has zero public transit, so it’s a car or rideshare (about $20 a vehicle at the park gate) unless you swap in the single daily Amtrak run to Harpers Ferry instead. Budget roughly $250-400 total across all six days for transport, food and tickets, hotel aside. Go on weekdays when you can.
Book these before you go:
- A DC hotel near a Metro stop : pick one on the Blue or Yellow Line so the first three days start without a transfer
- A Mount Vernon estate and gardens tour : a fixed-fee alternative to driving or parking yourself on day three
- An Annapolis and Naval Academy tour : a set price up front on a day where a car or rideshare otherwise runs the bill up
- A National Aquarium Baltimore timed ticket : lock in entry before you make the MARC or Amtrak trip out
| Day | Focus | Travel time | Rough daily cost (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DC core: Mall memorials, one free Smithsonian | Walkable, short Metro hop | $25-40 |
| 2 | Old Town Alexandria | Metro ~20-25 min, or seasonal water taxi ~30 min (Mar-Dec only) | $20-35 |
| 3 | Mount Vernon | Car or tour bus ~30-40 min, or seasonal riverboat ~1h | $45-65 (includes $30 admission) |
| 4 | Annapolis and the US Naval Academy | Direct bus ~1h10, or car/rideshare ~35-40 min | $40-70 (includes $12 tour) |
| 5 | Baltimore: Inner Harbor and National Aquarium | MARC or Amtrak ~35-45 min from Union Station | $70-100 (includes $49.95 admission) |
| 6 | Great Falls, or the one Amtrak to Harpers Ferry | Car/rideshare only, ~30-45 min (no transit); or Amtrak, 1 train/day each way | $50-90 (includes $20/vehicle NPS fee) |
Day 1 Budget: Free Monuments and One Smithsonian
Start at the Lincoln Memorial and walk the Reflecting Pool to the WWII Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, all three free, unticketed, and open 24 hours. Pick exactly one Smithsonian for the afternoon rather than chasing several: the National Museum of American History and the National Museum of Natural History both take walk-ins with no pass needed. Skip the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Air and Space Museum’s Mall building, and the National Zoo unless you already booked a free timed pass on si.edu, since weekday walk-up access there is capped to a set hour. The Washington Monument is free to visit but needs a $1 recreation.gov ticket, book 30 days ahead for the view from the top. Lunch at Ben’s Chili Bowl on U Street, a half-smoke plus fries, runs $12-20. One trap to skip planning around: the DC Circulator, the old dollar shuttle bus, stopped running for good at the end of 2024, so it’s Metro or your own feet from here on.
Day 2 Budget: Old Town Alexandria on a Metro Fare
Take the Blue or Yellow Line to King St-Old Town, about 20-25 minutes from downtown, tapping in and out with a SmarTrip card or a contactless bank card. WMATA charges by distance with a $6.75 weekday max fare and a flat $2.25-2.50 fare on weekends and late nights. From the station, the King Street Trolley usually covers the walk down to the waterfront at no cost, though it’s worth checking current status on visitalexandriava.com before you go. March through December only, the Potomac water taxi from The Wharf is a pricier alternative at roughly $22 one way for a 30-minute crossing, and it doesn’t run in winter. Walk the cobblestone blocks, browse the free-to-enter Torpedo Factory Art Center working artist studios, and treat lunch as the day’s main spend at $12-20 in most casual spots. If two days is all you have, the 2-day version of this plan stops right here.
Day 3 Budget: Mount Vernon, the First Paid Stop
Mount Vernon sits about 16 miles south of downtown, and it’s George Washington’s actual working estate, farm and tomb, a paid historic-house museum rather than a free NPS monument like the ones bearing his name on the Mall. Admission runs $30 for adults 12 and up, $16 for ages 6-11, and free under 6, open 9am-5pm April through October and 9am-4pm the rest of the year. No Metro line reaches it, so budget for a car (about 30-40 minutes each way), a tour bus, or a seasonal Potomac riverboat cruise. Pack a lunch or eat on-site, since on-site dining sits toward the higher end of the casual $12-20 band. If Mount Vernon is as far as you want to go, the 3-day version of this plan ends here, skipping Annapolis, Baltimore and Great Falls entirely.
Day 4 Budget: Annapolis and the US Naval Academy
Annapolis, Maryland’s state capital, sits about 33 miles east, roughly 33-40 minutes by car, and this is a day where a budget plan gets genuinely awkward: no train reaches it at all. The cheapest car-free option is a once-daily direct bus, about $4-12 for roughly 1 hour 10 minutes; a rideshare covers the same distance faster but can run $60-135 one way. At the US Naval Academy, pedestrian public access is free, though every visitor 18 and older needs a REAL-ID-compliant photo ID or passport, no vehicle access allowed. Guided tours cost $12 for adults, $11 for seniors, $10 for kids, running 9am-5pm March through December with shorter winter hours. Budget a casual $12-20 lunch near the Academy gates or on Main Street. This is the day that turns a DC trip into a genuine multi-state one, and it repeats again on day six.
Day 5 Budget: Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and National Aquarium
Baltimore sits about 40 miles northeast, and it’s a genuinely bigger, different city than the small-town Virginia and Maryland stops earlier this week, not just another quaint add-on. MARC or Amtrak from Union Station cover the roughly 35-45 minute ride; MARC runs cheaper and slower on a more commuter-oriented schedule, while Amtrak costs more but runs faster and more often through the day. At the Inner Harbor, the National Aquarium charges $49.95 for adults and $39.95 for youth and seniors, with timed entry required, so book ahead rather than risk a sold-out slot. Show up after 5pm on a Friday and walk-up tickets run half price, one of the better budget moves on this whole trip. Budget a $12-20 casual lunch or step up to a $30-55 Inner Harbor seafood dinner before the train back. If Baltimore is as far as you want to go, the 5-day version of this plan ends here, skipping Great Falls and Harpers Ferry entirely.
Day 6 Budget: Great Falls, or the One Train to Harpers Ferry
Great Falls sits about 15 miles upriver from downtown, and it’s the one day this week with zero public transit option on either side of the Potomac. The Virginia side, run by the National Park Service, charges $20 per vehicle at the gate (free under 16), and the only ways in are your own car, a rideshare, or an organized tour; a Metro Silver Line ride plus a taxi from the nearest station runs roughly $21-29 one way if you don’t have a car. If you’d rather skip driving altogether, swap in Harpers Ferry instead: Amtrak’s Capitol Limited runs the trip 7 days a week, departing DC in the mid-afternoon, though it’s a single train each direction, so the whole day has to bend around that one timetable. Don’t rely on MARC for this swap, its Brunswick Line to Harpers Ferry is weekday-commuter-only and simply doesn’t run on a Saturday or Sunday. Either way, this is the priciest and most car-dependent day of the trip. If you have a seventh day, the 7-day version keeps all six of these days and adds one longer trip like Gettysburg or Shenandoah’s Front Royal district.
How Much Does a 6-Day DC Trip Cost on a Budget?
Plan on roughly $250-400 across all six days for transport, food and tickets, hotel not included. Days one and two stay cheapest: free memorials, one no-pass Smithsonian, and a Metro fare under $7 each way. Day three adds the $30 Mount Vernon ticket, day four the $12 Naval Academy tour plus bus or rideshare fare, day five the $49.95 Aquarium admission, and day six either the $20 Great Falls vehicle fee plus a car or rideshare, or a single Amtrak fare out to Harpers Ferry.
Do You Need a Car for This Six-Day Plan?
Not for the first three days, all of them run on foot, WMATA Metro, or a seasonal water taxi. Day four changes that: no train serves Annapolis, so it’s a direct bus, a rideshare, or your own car. Day five swaps back to rail, MARC or Amtrak into Baltimore. Day six needs a car or rideshare again, unless you skip Great Falls entirely and take the single daily Amtrak run to Harpers Ferry instead.
Is Great Falls Worth a Rental Car for One Day?
Yes, if gorge and whitewater scenery is worth a day with no transit shortcut: the $20 vehicle fee at the gate is cheap next to a rideshare combo that can run $21-29 one way, so a rental car pays for itself fastest if you’re also using it for part of day four. If a car for one day doesn’t appeal, Harpers Ferry’s single daily Amtrak run is the better fit, just build the day around its one departure time rather than assuming Metro-style frequency.
Check current Metro fares at wmata.com , Mount Vernon hours at mountvernon.org , Alexandria trolley status at visitalexandriava.com , Naval Academy tour times at usna.edu , Aquarium tickets and the Friday discount at aqua.org , and Great Falls Park hours plus the current vehicle fee at nps.gov . For DC-wide planning, washington.org covers the rest. Tip 18-20% at sit-down restaurants across all six days, the standard US rate by cash or card alike.