New York to Washington DC Day Trip by Rail Activity - New York Travel Guide

Be prepared for a long day it is worth it.

Started 5.30am finished around 8.30pm. NY Penn station very busy, staff friendly .

Train trip both ways comfortable ,

Washington DC train station has all the facilities you require ie food and bathrooms.

Bus tour : hop on hop off - at your leisure

Hard Rock Cafe

I couldnt fit in as many exhibits as I wanted too , one day is definitely not enough time

Enjoyable day and a must to see if you can spare a full day .

Great trip and really worthwhile doing. Was a very long day we were booked onto the train from NY Penn station at 5:30am and train back was at 19:10pm but despite being really tired we would recommend. Plenty of time to do the whole tour and hop on and off bus to see the sights. We did the White House, Lincoln memorial, Capital Hill, Space museum and Arlington cemetery tour plus plenty of time tor lunch and to be back for the train. Make sure you arrive back at Union St in plenty of time....even though the train was scheduled for 19:10pm, they started lining passengers up to board at around 18:30pm.

This day trip is well worth the journey and the experience. I enjoyed the day immensely. I recommend this for anyone who likes to generally explore by themselves and who are not keen on an all day guided tour. This was a DIY trip, with train journey, hop on and off bus and meal at Hard Rock Cafe. I was booked on a train at 6am from New York to Washington DC. The journey time was 3 and half hours. Quicker than by bus and cheaper than by plane. The train is better in my opinion than by plane because your travelling from city centre to city centre, without the hassle of travelling to and from an airport. For a foreigner the journey by train gets you to see the surroundings on route to DC, you get to see New Jersey, Maryland and it passes through Philadelphia and Baltimore. A pleasant journey there and back. In Washington DC you have plenty of time to see the sights as you have time to explore from 9.30am until your train journey back to New York at 7pm. Make sure you get to the station at least 45 minutes before so you can be at the front of the queue guaranteeing a good seat back to NYC. I got to see a lot in Washington DC using the hop on and off trolly. Well worth it and the drivers of the trolly were enthusiastic guides, who enlightened your experience. They were knowledgeable and well informative. I also had a chance to visit one of the museums and visited most of the monuments in my own time. Before i returned to the station i ate at Hard Rock cafe. It was a good meal. A good day, very hot and tiring but worth it. Two pieces of advice, bring a camera, bring a hat if its sunny, sun cream if its to hot and umbrella if it rains. I arrived back at NYC at 10.30pm ready for bed. Enjoy!