Trip Hacks DC

Summer is the peak travel season in Washington, DC! In this episode, Rob will take you through all the essential information you need to know to make the most of your summer trip to DC. He will cover what to expect in terms of crowd levels, weather, and the special events, concerts, festivals, and sports that you won't want to miss. If you're planning a summer trip to Washington, DC, don't miss this episode full of practical advice and inspiration to help you make the most of your visit. Full show notes are available on the Trip Hacks DC website.

Washington, DC is a great family-friendly travel destination. In this episode, we're exploring the best of Washington, DC through the eyes of your kids, with the understanding that kids of different ages have very different interests! We'll cover activities tailored to toddlers, grade-schoolers, and teenagers alike. Rob is joined by guest Jennifer Liao of FamilyTripGuides, a local blog that is a wealth of information about things to do with kids in the DC area and beyond. Full show notes are available on the Trip Hacks DC website.

When it comes to travel, safety should always be a top priority, and this applies just as much to Washington, DC as it does to any destination. However, navigating the topic of safety can be tricky and it's a topic that deserves an in-depth discussion. In this episode, Rob covers everything from how to minimize your risk of falling victim to crime to avoiding scams that could drain your wallet. He also offers insights on staying safe as a pedestrian or bicyclist, as well as tips for those looking to experience the city's nightlife during their visit. Full show notes are available on the Trip Hacks DC website.

One of the best things about Washington, DC is that there are so many amazing and iconic sites. But there are also a lot of incredible gems! Visitors to the Nation's Capital spend a lot of their time downtown and on the National Mall, but there is also a desire to explore behind Federal Washington. A new book helps locals and visitors participate in quests to discover new areas. In this episode Rob welcomes Washington, DC based author JoAnn Hill back to the podcast. JoAnn is the author of the new book Washington, DC Scavenger: The Ultimate Search for Washington, DC's Hidden Treasures. She previously appeared on the podcast to discus her first book Secret Washington, DC: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure. You can follow JoAnn on Instagram. Full show notes are available on the Trip Hacks DC website.

Washington, DC tourism is different compared to pre-pandemic. But how different? What changed exactly? In this episode Rob walks through many of the ways that Washington, DC tourism has changed – from the best areas to stay, federal government site status, and restaurants closings. Then we’ll look ahead together to what’s to come in 2023. There are some exciting developments on the horizon but also an important political change that may disrupt travel plans and that you definitely want to know about. View the full show notes from this episode on the Trip Hacks DC website.

Washington DC is a city of neighborhoods. There are actually over 100 neighborhoods in the nation's capital. The best itinerary for visitors is a mix of downtown federal government sites and local neighborhood experiences. In this episode you'll hear from Paige Muller, Chief Experience Officer of Curious Caravan, a custom trip planning service that curates one-of-a-kind adventures and itineraries for curious explorers seeking the unexpected in Washington, DC. Full show notes are available on the Trip Hacks DC website.

Washington DC is a museum city. People who visit often have ambitions of visiting many of our museums, but the reality is there are far too many to check out on a single trip. In this episode you'll hear from Noelle Harada, a TikTok creator who set a goal in 2022 to visit every museum in Washington DC. She is documenting each museum visit with a video and review. Full show notes are available on the Trip Hacks DC website.

A vast majority of historic sites in Washington DC are dedicated to men in history. When you visit you'll find huge monuments to presidents and military leaders and other men who made an impact on our country. Sites to American women exist but there are fewer of them and you need to know where to look. In this episode you'll hear from Kaitlin Calogera & Rebecca Grawl, authors of the book 111 Places in Woman's History in Washington, DC That You Must Not Miss. Kaitlin and Rebecca are professional tour guides and entrepreneurs. The mission of their company A Tour of Her Own is to elevate women’s stories into a more prominent place in American history and culture.

Sometimes it's useful to get a new or different perspective. A fresh set of eyes can highlight things that locals don't notice because we live here and see the city every day. In this episode you'll hear from Megan Marod, a licensed New York City tour guide who has visited Washington, DC several times over the past year. She shares some of the things she learned from those trips and offers tips to help you prepare for an upcoming trip. Full show notes for this episode are available on the Trip Hacks DC website.

Washington, DC is a fantastic destination for the Fourth of July. There are major events like the National Independence Day Parade, a Capitol Fourth concert and the fireworks - plus a handful of smaller events. It's a fun day but important to know what to expect so you can navigate the crowds, road closures and summer heat. In this episode Rob consolidates all of his Fourth of July advice in one place. Full show notes for this episode are available on the Trip Hacks DC website.

When you’re planning a trip, where to stay, which hotel, and what area, is a big decision. It’s why one of the first things I did after I started Trip Hacks DC was create a where to stay guide. In this episode you'll learn about all eleven recommend areas. What are the pros of each area? What are the cons of each area? And what are some solid hotel choices in each? Plus, what are the areas where you don't want to stay? The don'ts are podcast exclusive content so stick around until the end of the episode to hear! Full show notes for this episode are available on the Trip Hacks DC website.

When you visit Washington, DC you will almost certainly check out the major monuments and memorials on the National Mall. Over the past few years, several new monuments have opened around the city. These are monuments both to former presidents and to major wars. Because they opened during the pandemic, their ceremonies didn't have much fanfare. In this episode Rob is joined by guest Carolyn Muraskin to discuss these new sites, as well as a few other lesser-known memorials they think you should know about. Carolyn is the owner of DC Design Tours, a tour company that runs historic walking tours with a focus on architecture, design and urban planning, including a few tours that cover sites discussed with Rob.

For the first time in three years National Cherry Blossom Festival events are back in person. This is an exciting development after years of missing out on one of the most anticipated events in Washington, DC. However, it's important to know what's changed and how. In this episode Rob is joined by Diana Mayhew. She is the President of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, the nonprofit organization that organizes and implements festival events each spring. Diana has some important tips if you're planning to visit for the cherry blossoms in 2022 and beyond. Full show notes for this episode are available on the Trip Hacks DC website.

When is the best time of year to travel? What's the best process to choose a hotel? How do you find the best tours and experiences in a destination? In this episode Rob takes the mic to tackle all of these questions and more. He brings his decade of experience as a tour guide and applies it to how he travels. It's a different perspective than you'll hear from a frequent or professional traveler, but hopefully valuable nonetheless! Full show notes for this episode are available on the Trip Hacks DC website.

Are travelers coming back to Washington, DC? Is the tourism industry recovering? The answer is yes. But also no. It's complicated. The only way to properly explain it is to walk through what 2021 was like month by month. In this episode Rob takes the mic for a solo podcast. He talks about how Trip Hacks DC tour business fared in 2021 and what the experience was like to own a Washington DC tour business and try to come back from a devastating 2020. Full show notes for this episode are available on the Trip Hacks DC website.

How do you book your airfare, hotels, and tours? What websites do you use? What would you think if I told you that the websites you use to book your trip could make or break your travel experience? This is an important topic whether you're traveling to Washington, DC or elsewhere! In this episode Rob takes the mic for a solo podcast. He covers a topic that very few tour industry insiders will publicly discuss - why booking direct is a superior option to booking travel on a third party website. Full show notes for this episode are available on the Trip Hacks DC website.

Trip Hacks DC is primarily a source of travel content for Washington, DC visitors. But once visitors get here, especially when they sign up for a Trip Hacks DC tour, they have a lot of questions and curiosities about what it's like to live in DC. If you're planning to move here, hopefully you'll find plenty of useful information in this episode. If you're just visiting, hopefully this episode helps satisfy some of your curiosity. Rob welcomes John Coleman to the podcast. John is a real estate agent who has dedicated much of his time to perfecting the home buying process. He’s also the host of Coffee with Coleman, a YouTube channel where he loves to discuss Washington DC, real estate, business, and all that good stuff. Make sure to follow along with him on Instagram and Facebook as well. Full show notes are available on the Trip Hacks DC website.

At the time of recording there are nearly 200 Trip Hacks DC YouTube videos and dozens of podcast episodes with travel tips galore! But how do you tie all of those tips together into a tip itinerary? This episode's guest walks you through how he took the tips he learned from Trip Hacks DC and designed an itinerary around them. Rob welcomes Doug McKnight to the podcast. Doug is a fellow podcaster and co-host of Rope Drop Radio, a podcast by two dads who love Disney. He is an expert on Disney parks and Disney cruises but is also a great travel planner no matter the destination. Episode sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Rope Drop Radio. Listen on all the podcast apps and follow along with them on Twitter and Facebook. And by travel agent Michelle McKnight, a Destination Specialist with TouringPlans. Whether you want to travel to Disney World or Washington, DC or anywhere in between, Michelle has you covered.

Washington, DC visitors all know about the major sites - the monuments, memorials, museums and historic places. But there is so much more out there! There is an entire "secret" side of Washington, DC that many visitors, and even some locals, never truly discover. A new book tells the stories of some of the places. In this episode Rob welcomes Washington, DC based author JoAnn Hill to the podcast. JoAnn is the author of the new book Secret Washington, DC: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure. She is an avid traveler and foodie who writes about her global travel adventures on the blog dcglobejotters. She is also an educator, former DC public school teacher and founder of the tutoring company Capitol Teachers. You can follow JoAnn on Instagram. Full show notes are available on the Trip Hacks DC website.

Travelers have a plethora of restaurant choices when they visit Washington, DC. Everyone wants to eat well but many travelers also want to know how to support the businesses that are rooted in the local community. The reality is, if you want to sample some of the quintessential DC foods you need to check out some Black owned businesses while you're here. In this episode Rob welcomes Washington, DC based food blogger Anela Malik to the podcast. Anela is a Black food blogger, former diplomat, and avid traveler. She is the founder of Feed the Malik, a project where she highlights marginalized perspectives in food and showcases some of DC’s tastiest treats as well as her own recipes. Follow her on Instagram and TikTok and keep an eye out for her upcoming book! Full show notes for this episode are available on the Trip Hacks DC website.