Washington DC
Top activities in Washington DC

Small Group Tour of DC with Reserved National Archives Entry

Badge of ExcellenceWashington, United States

From USD 119.00

Select Date and Travellers

Free cancellation
Up to 24 hours in advance.
Washington DC Tours
All Washington DC Tours
Audio Guides
Likely To Sell Out
Unique Experiences
  • 7 hours (approx.)
  • Mobile ticket
  • Offered in: English

Overview

See the National Archives and Washington DC landmarks on a full-day guided tour in a climate-controlled custom mini bus offering a glass roof and panoramic views. Take in the sites along the National Mall, pass the White House and a series of iconic presidential and war memorials and visit the National Archive. This DC tour ends at the National Archive and offers a thorough introduction to the city’s highlights.
  • Full-day tour of DC landmarks and memorials
  • Reserved entry to the National Archives
  • See presidential and military landmarks
  • Perfect for first-time visitors
  • Scenic cruise on the Potomac River (seasonal)

What's Included

  • Reserved Entry to the National Archives Building
  • One Hour Boat cruise (seasonal: April 1 to October 15)
  • Bottled water
  • English-Speaking Live Tour Guide (on and off the bus)
  • Luxury Glass-Top/Open-Top Convertible Bus
  • Gratuities
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

  • US Navy Memorial Plaza
    701 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004, USA

End point

  • National Archives Research Center
    700 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20408, USA

    The tour ends at the National Archives Building at 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20408

What To Expect

Make your way to a meeting point, and join your guide and small group. Board a luxurious glass-roofed mini bus for a trip down the National Mall, a National Park lined with memorials and landmarks. Stop to see the White House from the North Lawn, and take in some of the most important memorials to presidents, national leaders, the military, and fallen soldiers.

Board the luxury mini bus making stops at many of DC's must-see sites including the White House, the National WWII Memorial, Jefferson Memorial and the monumental Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. Enjoy lunch (on own) at the Georgetown Waterfront followed by a (seasonal) cruise on the Potomac River.

Board the mini bus and continue on to the Lincoln Memorial to climb the famous steps to the President’s statue. See a moving tribute to the armed forces at the Korean War Veterans Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, then finish the day with your entry ticket to the National Archives.

United States Navy Memorial and Naval Heritage Center

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

U.S. Capitol Visitor Center

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

White House

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

National World War I Memorial

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

National World War II Memorial

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Jefferson Memorial

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Potomac River

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Georgetown (Pass By)

Lincoln Memorial

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Korean War Veterans Memorial

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial (Pass By)

The National Archives Museum

40 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • Involves a moderate amount of walking
  • Collapsible wheelchairs with removable wheels are welcome as long as someone accompanying the passenger using it can assist them board and disembark
  • Please let us know if you or anyone in your party has titanium body parts so that we can alert Capitol Police prior to entering security screening
  • Capitol Hill parking is very limited; taking a taxi/car service or public transportation to the start of the tour is advised
  • Plan to arrive at least 15 minutes prior to tour departure for check in and security
  • No food allowed on buses (snacks are fine!)
  • Not wheelchair accessible
  • Stroller accessible
  • Service animals allowed
  • Near public transportation
  • Infants must sit on laps
  • Convertible buses switch from open-tops to glass-tops between Oct 15 - Mar 15 due to colder temperatures
  • The tour price includes a boat cruise, and tourists will have the opportunity to purchase lunch at one of several waterfront restaurants in the summer
  • Reserved entry to the National Archives Building is included!
  • Most travellers can participate
  • The U.S. Capitol Building is viewed from outside only
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 14 travellers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

  • For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
  • If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
  • Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
  • Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
  • This experience requires good weather. If it’s cancelled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

Traveller Photos

See more

Reviews

4.5
83 reviews
Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
0
0
0
0
0
Reviews by Viator travellers.
Showing 1-10 of 83 reviews
Tour is easier than self-navigation for first timers.
Alice_E, May 2023
Loved the tour of the Monuments with Nick and our driver (sorry forgot his name). They were quite entertaining with “bad”jokes all day. They grew up in DC, so it was filled with personal anecdotes, and they knew how to navigate/alter our itinerary to avoid delays. Small Tour meant about 16 people. We generally had plenty of time to explore around each memorial. I especially liked the FDR, Lincoln, and Jefferson Memorials. We had great views of the Washington Memorial all day but the only way to go into it is through a timed entry from the NPS. It is the same with the tour of the Capital Building. That is not part of the tour, but we were aware and made the necessary arrangements. Overall a great experience. Only issue was with communication of tour timing between the tour company and Viator. Another couple and ourselves had to catch up to the tour. It was not tour operator’s fault. Just double check..
Great tour
Patty_H, Apr 2023
Small group, easy to enjoy the tour and guide was fun and informative! Great way to get an overview of a great city!
Response from Host, May 2023
Thanks for the kind words! We are glad you enjoyed your time with us in Washington! Be sure to follow us on social media and tag us in your photos @usaguidedtours!
Great tour!
Amy_D, Apr 2023
What a great tour! Our tour guide Dion was amazing and it was a great way to see a lot in one day. I highly recommend.
Small group is best!
Cheryl_B, Oct 2022
Loved the capital building! The river cruise was a nice break and very enjoyable. Our tour guide and driver did a fantastic job! Very knowledgeable! Lots of walking and stairs, so be prepared.
Response from Host, Oct 2022
We are glad you enjoyed the tour! Please share your memories with us on social media @usaguidedtours and #usagt
DC Tour
Lori_A, Mar 2020
Brittney was very knowledgeable and friendly. She covered great highlights of our beautiful capital city.
Fantastic!
monicar138, Feb 2020
The tour guide was excellent, full of good information, fantastic sense of humor, patient and prepared for everything. The driver was experienced and very polite. I certainly enjoy and recommend this company and this tour. Great value!!!!!!
Superb!
timothywilliamson44, Oct 2019
As good as it gets. 3 Cheers. Christopher was a superstar. Full of useful and entertaining information. Should be on hbo or something.
Half Day tour of DC
Jo_Bradshaw, Oct 2019
The tour is definitely worth while doing. Our guide Christopher was very knowledgeable and had some great jokes to share. It was really interesting on all the places we were taken too we were given the right amount of time to see the monuments.
Terrible, unknowledgeable tour guide
Kathleen_R, July 2019
Tour guide made terrible attempt at humor. She didn’t know how to properly use a microphone in the bus and had no speaker outside. At one point we came to Lafayette Park and her only bit of information was the name of the park and that the statue was of Lafayette. I could have bought a map! I wish we could have walked away. Capitol tour was great but she wasn’t our guide.
Netherlands in Washington
Jeffery_S, July 2019
Good tour covering all major monuments. Would recommend to get good overview of Washington in short period
Great tour
Rick_G, July 2019
This is a great tour. We started out with Christopher at the Capitol and were very impressed with him (ask him to name a statue from your state!). We thought we were going to be disappointed that he went with another group but we were wrong. Yanna is amazing. She came to USA in 1974 and must have spent a lot of time absorbing American history. She was extremely knowledgeable but also very entertaining. She’s just precious too. Other things that are great about the tour are the small groups and air conditioned buses. Can’t go wrong with that in the DC summer heat and humidity!
Great experience
Pioneer394038, June 2019
Very nice tour. Driver(Thomas) was very safe and easily navigated around traffic and detours. Tour guide(Nick) was fun and friendly and entertaining. Really seemed to know his info and able to answer questions
capitol tour
MichaelB_P, June 2019
Very long wait to see very little at capitol. Bus showed up 20 min late and found out our bus was overbooked and delayed more. Was very unorganized and poor communication. We left tour after seeing outside of white house . Would not recommend this tour
Super fun and great tour guide
Anna_I, June 2019
It was super fun. Me and my grandma learned a lot about Washington DC. the tour ladie was amazing and told as lot about D.C. And she was super funny and kind.
Disappointing tour
Doerthe_S, June 2019
Although the title of this tour included a reserved US Capitol entry, we waited for more than 1 hour. In addition different groups got mixed together ending up in a crowd of more than 60 people. The headsets provided lost connectivity frequently due to the group size. After the Capitol we had to wait for the bus....the bus was comfy and brand new. The time spend on the different sightseeing spots was apart from the white house, which was extremely long much to short. The tour guide lost the overview of his group - when I asked a question he asked me if I'm belonging to his group? Somewhat strange...
Great overview - Highly Recomend
Robert_G, May 2019
During March - June be prepared to do some serious waiting, as "every" 8th grader in the country visits during this time. But other than that it was a wonderful overview od DC and we could not have figured out half of what are guide pointed out. Wroth every penny.
Great tour
Danny_O, May 2019
The tour was a great way to visit Washington DC for the first time. Henry our tour guide was funny and had a great knowledge of all the sites.
Queing and sightseing in a rush
Doerthe_S, May 2019
Visit of Capitol: 90 min. queing/ waiting- 30 min. tour together with 60 other people (several times headset connection lost). After waiting for the bus without tourguide....stops at landmarks for 10-15 minutes much to short....waste of money and time for disorganized tour. Tourguide doesn't recognize you and present private opinion.
In a rush
Doerthe_S, May 2019
Different groups at Capitol are getting mixed ending up with over 60 people in one group. Time at spots much to short. Tour guide was overwhelmed with size of group mostly talking about his opinion - boring!
AMAZING
Curious20955902388, Apr 2019
Excellent tour, well organized, punctuality, very cheerful and well informed tour guide, good driver. The selection of places to visit was brilliant. Highly recommend.

Compare Similar Experiences

1 / 3
Current
No Photo
Small Group Tour of DC with Reserved National Archives Entry
83
7 hours
Free Cancellation
From
USD 119.00
No Photo
Best of DC Plus US Capitol and National Archives Reserved Entry
1,664
8 hours 30 minutes
Free Cancellation
From
USD 129.00
No Photo
Small Group National Mall Night Tour with 10 Top Attractions
923
3 hours
Free Cancellation
From
USD 99.00

Explore Similar Things to Do

Attractions in Washington, United States

Help CentreCustomer CarePrivacy PolicyAbout ViatorNewsViator blog
© 1997-2023 Viator, Inc.
Terms & Conditions