<p>We are visiting both soon and I am curoius never having been to DC, if it is feasible to drive from one to the other or is it best to take public transportation? Does anyone know how many minutes away they are from one another? Thanks.</p>
<p>Driving from AU to GW is about 15 minutes depending on traffic. </p>
<p>Public transportation takes awhile if you catch the GW stop at foggy bottom. I would recommend using the Farragut North station on the red line and walk to GW. It is best because AU/Tenleytown is also on the red line.</p>
<p>We visited this past summer. I highly recommend the public transportation. We flew down, took the metro from the airport (Reagan), and took the metro or the bus to our destinations. We stayed at the Embassy Row Hilton near Dupont Circle and there was actually a shuttle bus to AU at our door. Easy, easy, easy. The only thing we found a little alarming was our metro trip to U Maryland. The stop where we had to change trains was a little on the rough side. If you go out there, you may wish to drive instead. We saw G'town, AU and U MD. (My son liked AU very much, by the way). </p>
<p>We didn't go to GW, but there's an internet site for the DC transporation system: <a href="http://www.wmata.com%5B/url%5D">www.wmata.com</a>, on which you can do a trip planner and it gives you options on what you can take - train or bus.</p>
<p>Driving around DC looked awful - we saw traffic jams and truly crazy drivers everywhere.</p>
<p>Driving around DC is absolutely awful if you are from out of town. Directions are practically meaningless and the roads are make no sense. I would recommend public transportation (metro) and hopefully you'll be here after the cabbies switch over from the zone system to the metered system. Otherwise, and I would almost guarantee this, you will get ripped off. Another terrible reason to drive in DC is the limited parking situation. Not only is it a real pain in the **s to find a parking spot you are usually limited to only two hours and if you choose a parking garage it will be just another exorbitantly high expense. </p>
<p>Metro, metro, metro.</p>
<p>Like everyone else said - use the Metro. Did a trip last winter that included Johns Hopkins (in Baltimore), then train to DC, George Washington, Georgetown. </p>
<p>Much easier than trying to drive.</p>
hi - these posts are a bit older so looking for update.
we are planning to visit both American and GW same day is this feasible?
Also looking for thoughts on is it better to stay near American or GW? and how to get from one to the other and back.
thanks for your help and input!
Yes, both can be done in the same day. Do one before lunch and the other after lunch. Take the metro as mentioned above. I think it will be cheaper to stay in Md (Bethesda/Friendship Heights/Rockville (further out)-all on metro redline which is closer to American ) than DC but both will be expensive.
We saw both in a day in early November. Stayed by GW and took the morning visit there (we remained parked at our hotel, although I saw legitimate available street parking near GWU). I used hotel rewards, so I can’t speak to the expense… We then drove from GW to AU. AU provides free parking in their garage. We left from AU to hit Georgetown Cupcake and then drove 5 hours home.
I did not find the drive from GW to AU to be harrowing or all that difficult. We followed our GPS and only had one hiccup. BTW, I’m navigationally challenged.
Yes, you can do both in a day, just need to plan accordingly. Campus tours for both are relatively short since both campuses are on the smaller side. I spend a lot of time in DC on business and I use the Metro quite a bit when it’s convenient to where my meetings are. Having a daughter at AU, when we travel as a family, we usually stay up in Bethesda. There are lots of good hotels and it’s more economical than staying downtown. And it’s only a couple stops on Red Line to Tenleytown. Agree with post above that when going to GW, just get off at Dupont Circle or Farragut North…its a short walk to GW and helps to get a sense of the area around campus. And not worth your effort transferring to the other Metro line. If you do choose to drive, be prepared to pay for parking. It’s expensive and not always convenient. We always took Metro on visits because wanted daughter to get a sense of life in the city.
If you are pressed for time, I think you could skip the Mount Vernon visit at GW. Yes, many freshman end up living out there, but not worth rushing if you are trying to do two schools in one day.
I did both in one day. I did a 930 tour at AU, which went until around 1130, and then took an Uber to GW for a 1 o’clock tour. Honestly, the Uber took maybe 20 minutes and we got to GW really early, probably around 1215. It is extremely doable. Yes the Uber might be a bit more expensive, but in all honesty, spending the 10 backs to not have to transfer from red to blue and possibly get lost in an unfamiliar metro system is worth it in my book.