DC and Day Trips in 7 Days on a Budget
Seven days is enough to see DC itself and still use it as a base for six real day trips, without renting a car until the back half of the trip. All prices here are USD. Days 1 through 5 run entirely on Metro, MARC, and a couple of cheap buses, no car needed at all. Days 6 and 7 both need a car or rideshare, so hold off on that rental until then, it will do more work in two days than spread thin across the whole week. Plan on roughly $50-90 a day through Day 5, more once the car shows up.
How Much Does a 7 Day DC and Day Trip Itinerary Cost?
Budget $50-70 a day for Days 1 and 2 (DC core plus Alexandria, both mostly free sights and cheap transit), $65-90 for the paid day trips (Mount Vernon, Annapolis, Baltimore), and $110-150+ for Day 7 once a one-day car rental, gas, and tolls are added on top of gas-station coffee and a packed lunch. Across the full week, that puts a lean but comfortable budget around $550-650 per person before lodging.
Do You Need a Car for These DC Day Trips?
Not for the first five days. Old Town Alexandria, Mount Vernon, Annapolis, and Baltimore are all reachable by Metro, a direct bus, MARC, or a seasonal water taxi. Great Falls on Day 6 is car or rideshare only, no transit reaches either side of the gorge, and Day 7’s long trip (Gettysburg or Shenandoah) is realistically a car day too.
Gettysburg or Shenandoah for Day 7?
Pick Gettysburg for Civil War history: it’s about 85 miles and 1h40 or more each way by car, and the battlefield rewards a full day. Pick Shenandoah for scenery: the Front Royal entrance is roughly 70-90 miles out, and the sane plan is one district of Skyline Drive, not the full 105-mile length. Both are long, car-only days, not casual add-ons.
| Day | Focus | Travel Time | Rough Daily Cost (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DC core: Mall, monuments, one Smithsonian | Walking / Metro | $50-70 |
| 2 | Old Town Alexandria | Metro ~25 min, or water taxi ~30 min (seasonal) | $40-60 |
| 3 | Mount Vernon | Car or tour bus ~40 min | $65-85 |
| 4 | Annapolis + US Naval Academy | Direct bus ~1h10, or car ~40 min | $55-90 |
| 5 | Baltimore: Inner Harbor + Aquarium | MARC/Amtrak ~40 min | $90-110 |
| 6 | Great Falls (+ Harpers Ferry option) | Car/rideshare ~30-40 min | $45-65 |
| 7 | Gettysburg or Shenandoah (long trip) | Car, 1h40+ or 1h15-2h+ | $110-150 |
Day 1: DC Core, Free and on Foot
Walk or Metro to the National Mall and knock out the big free sights: the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument (free to view, but a $1 recreation.gov booking fee applies if you want to go up), and one Smithsonian museum. Stick to a walk-up building like Natural History or American History on this day, since Air and Space’s Mall building and the African American History museum both need a free timed pass booked ahead. A SmarTrip fare card runs a few dollars a ride; a half-smoke at Ben’s Chili Bowl on U Street is about $8-10. Sights are free, so the day’s cost is really just food and transit, $50-70 total.
Day 2: Old Town Alexandria
Take the Blue or Yellow Line to King St-Old Town, about 25 minutes, then walk the cobblestone waterfront and Gadsby’s Tavern Museum. Lunch in Old Town runs a casual $12-20. Between March and December, the Potomac water taxi from The Wharf is a fun alternative, around $22 one way, but it’s seasonal, Metro is the year-round budget option. If two days is all you have, our 2-day DC and Alexandria plan covers exactly this much.
Day 3: Mount Vernon
George Washington’s estate is about 16 miles south of the city, and it’s a paid historic-house museum, not a free NPS monument, so budget the $30 adult admission ($16 ages 6-11) on top of transport. Go by car, a tour bus, or a seasonal Potomac riverboat from Alexandria. Hours run 9am-5pm April through October and 9am-4pm the rest of the year. With admission, lunch, and a car or tour, figure $65-85 for the day. Our 3-day plan stops here if that’s all the time you’ve got.
Day 4: Annapolis and the US Naval Academy
There’s no direct train to Annapolis, a common surprise given how close it looks on a map. The cheapest car-free option is a direct bus, roughly $4-12 one way and about 1h10; rideshare runs $60-135 one way. Everyone 18 and over needs a REAL ID-compliant photo ID or a passport to get onto the Naval Academy grounds, and a guided tour is about $12. Budget $55-90 for the day if you take the bus, more by car or rideshare.
Day 5: Baltimore, Inner Harbor and the Aquarium
MARC or Amtrak from Union Station gets you to Baltimore in about 40 minutes. The National Aquarium is $49.95 adult, timed entry required, so book ahead rather than showing up hoping for a walk-up slot (check for a Friday-after-5pm discount if your schedule allows a later visit). Between the train, the aquarium, and lunch at the Inner Harbor, plan on $90-110. Our 5-day plan ends its trip here.
Day 6: Great Falls, Plus Harpers Ferry if You Have Time
Great Falls Park, on the Virginia side of the gorge, charges $20 per vehicle (NPS fee, under-16s free), and there’s no transit option at all, this is a car-or-rideshare day. If you’d rather swap in Harpers Ferry, take the Amtrak Capitol Limited, which runs once a day, 7 days a week, from Union Station, roughly 1h15. Skip MARC for this trip specifically, its Brunswick Line to Harpers Ferry is weekday-commuter-only and simply doesn’t run on weekends. Either way, budget $45-65. The 6-day plan is the shorter version that ends here.
Day 7: Gettysburg or Shenandoah, the Long One
This is the day to have a rental car, and it’s the priciest day of the trip because of it. Gettysburg is about 85 miles and 1h40 or more each way, worth it for a serious Civil War day. Shenandoah’s Front Royal entrance is roughly 70-90 miles out and 1h15-2h+ depending on traffic, plan to cover one district of Skyline Drive rather than the whole 105-mile road. Between the one-day rental, gas, tolls, and park or battlefield admission, this day runs $110-150 or more, easily the most expensive of the week.
Book These Before You Go
A Mount Vernon or Alexandria walking tour and a Gettysburg battlefield tour are both worth booking ahead of time rather than arranging on arrival. For a budget place to sleep, check DC hotel and hostel listings before you commit to a neighborhood. For the free stuff, go straight to the source: Mount Vernon’s official ticket page , the National Aquarium’s timed tickets , Great Falls Park’s fee details , and WMATA’s fare planner for the Metro and MARC legs.
Tip 18-20% at any sit-down meal on this trip, it’s the US norm and not optional the way a service charge is elsewhere. Pack good walking shoes for Days 1 and 2, and don’t book the Day 7 rental car any earlier than Day 6, there’s no reason to pay for a car you’re not using yet.