Old Town Alexandria and Mount Vernon Tour
4.5
Old Town Alexandria and Mount Vernon Tour
By USA Guided Tours
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About
Lowest price guaranteeReserve now & pay laterFree cancellation
Ages 0-99, max of 55 per group
Duration: 5h
Start time: Check availability
Mobile ticket
Live guide: English
More
- Bottled water
- Air-conditioned vehicle
- Entrance Tickets to Mount Vernon
- Live Tour Guide (in English)
- Entry/Admission - George Washington's Mount Vernon
What's not included- Lunch
- Mansion Is Under Renovations until 2026. Partial Access Only.
- Start:
- 701 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004, USAUS Navy Memorial Plaza
End:This activity ends back at the meeting point. - Not wheelchair accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Infants must sit on laps
If you have questions about accessibility, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 6349P59- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
- This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 55 travelers
- For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.
- If you have questions about this tour or need help making your booking, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 6349P59
From
$84.00
per adult
Select date and travelers
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Itinerary
- 701 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004, USAUS Navy Memorial Plaza
- 1
- 2
About the operator
Don’t take it from us – here’s what people have to say about this operator:
- R9994NTstephanieg0 contributionsGreat Tour of DCDion & Sylvia did a great job! They were enthusiastic, kind, knowledgeable, and entertaining. Just the right amount of time to hit the main attractions and they were especially beautiful at night.Written January 13, 2025
- JoeyMcGirr0 contributionsDecember 2024 DC Tour of Monuments at Night!This was the first stop on our most recent DC trip. Although my wife and I had been to DC before, we were bringing two teenagers with us for their first trip (our daughter and niece) and wanted them to see the monuments up close without wearing them out from too much walking. Seeing the monuments at night is great, and we wanted to contrast this experience later for when we visited some again during the daytime. It was December, so using a bus tour made sense. Our tour guide was great. Personable and knowledgeable. The tour was casual; get off the bus or don't. Do what you can; don't overdo it. We felt no pressure and still saw about 15 landmarks in a 2.5-hour span. The last stop was only a few blocks from our Airbnb, so we asked to leave the tour early, and it was no issue at all. Will (highly) recommend to our friends.Written January 11, 2025
- kaylees2270 contributionsComments on the monumentVisiting Washington, D.C.’s monuments and memorials at night is a very special experience. After nightfall, these historical landmarks are illuminated with a solemn and peaceful look. The soft lighting of the Lincoln Memorial makes people feel deeply respectful, while the Vietnam and Korean War Memorials are even more solemn in the night atmosphere, especially when reflected in the pool. The Washington Monument looks particularly majestic under the night sky, and the surrounding National Mall is clearly outlined by the lights. Walking through it is both romantic and full of historical weight. Whether standing at the Jefferson Memorial overlooking the tranquility of the Tidal Basin or feeling his extraordinary influence at the Martin Luther King Memorial, visiting these landmarks at night gives them an atmosphere that cannot be matched during the day. Another benefit of night tours is that there are relatively fewer tourists, allowing for a quieter appreciation of these historical landmarks, while also avoiding the heat and crowds during the day. If you have the opportunity, be sure to try this unique night experience, which will allow you to feel the meaning behind these monuments more deeply.Written January 9, 2025
- natem1900 contributionsGreat & very complete tour!Great tour guide who was funny, entertaining & also knowledgeable. Great value for what all you get. Very nice/clean bus that was warm & made the experience on a cold night very worthwhile and good!Written January 5, 2025
- chasitya20250 contributionsAwesome ExperienceThis tour was absolutely amazing! Sally was our tour guide and she was so informative and funny. Chris was our driver and he was awesome! He knew I was by myself so he took lots of pictures for me with no hesitation. I’d recommend this tour to anyone who is new to D.C. and would like to see all the great important sites. It’s so beautiful at night!Written January 4, 2025
- eddiemleblanc0 contributionsWorth itGreat trip. Our tour guide, Nick, did a great job explaining everything and making it interesting with his corny jokes. At first, I thought the tickets were expensive, but now I realize it was worth it. I thought I knew a lot about the history of the sites and people, but there was so much I didn't know. Worth it.Written January 4, 2025
- jodirobinette810 contributionsGreat experience!Besides the bitter cold, we had a great experience! Our driver, Sylvia and our tour guide, Dion were awesome! I’m not sure there is anything about DC and American history that Dion doesn’t know. He has a true passion for it and it shows. We learned a lot, took some good pictures and enjoyed seeing the monuments and other parts of the area he pointed out. Our two teenagers were also happy and entertained so that’s a win!Written January 4, 2025
- D104RKlindseys0 contributionsSkip it.There were only three stops on this tour. One was a long way off. You couldn’t see out of the bus. The whole trip would have been over three hours. We got off and got an Uber home. Do the monuments at night tour on an open top bus instead.Written January 3, 2025
- SandraMT550 contributionsFantastic and interesting eveningFantastic night tour and the guide & driver were both excellent. Highly recommended. It was a cold night but the coach was warm and comfortable.Written January 3, 2025
- Catherine D0 contributionsTeens and parents happy!Sally and Godfrey were excellent guides. Teens stayed engaged throughout. Sally shared interesting facts about history and the city. Highly recommend.Written January 2, 2025
- BrittanyOH0 contributionsGreat Tour — But Not the Bus We ExpectedThis is a great tour — lots to see, plenty of time off the bus to explore and take photos, and helpful commentary along the way. Elvis was entertaining. Both of my kids (16 and 8) loved it. My only complaint: we paid extra for the glass top bus, but they put us on a normal 14-seat bus. When we asked about it, they told us this is what we get since it’s cold out, but there was a glass top bus with the same company that boarded at the same time as ours. The views out the windows were NOT nearly as good as they would be in the glass top bus, and for the significant up-charge, we were disappointed (as were several others in our group).Written January 2, 2025
- davidbI795UW0 contributionsGreat guided tourThe guide was friendly and knowledgeable and the bus was comfortable and clean. The sites of Washington DC were all beautiful at night!Written January 2, 2025
- jimmT568VT0 contributionsSome beautiful sights, but too time-consumingMost of the sights were nice, but a lot of the time was spent on a bus. And unfortunately, the sound system was muffled and it was hard to hear our tour guide's comments. The trees at the Ellipse and CityCenterDC were excellent. The long drive to and from Alexandria wasn't worth the time it took. Overall, though, it was an entertaining way to spend an evening.Written January 2, 2025
- J2841KKronp0 contributionsTour Cancelled Without NoticeTour was booked and paid for and the tour was cancelled without any notice. Plus $40 in Uber charges to get to the meeting point. Ridiculous!Written January 1, 2025
- J4293WVbrettd0 contributionsExcellent informative tourExcellent tour of many popular monuments and buildings. Tour guide was great and schedule was easy. Very knowledgeable guide and very comfortable bus.Written December 31, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinions of Tripadvisor members and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
171 reviews
Excellent
138
Very good
16
Average
9
Poor
3
Terrible
5
MilesAndSmilesJ
Tampa, FL85 contributions
Christopher ran a great trip from start to finish. He was incredibly knowledgeable and had a great sense of humor which added to the enjoyment of his narrative. He worked hard to ensure that he imparted as much information as he could during the trip and we were fully engaged for the whole time. The time at Washington’s home and museum was great and very informative. We ate lunch in the restaurant and we enjoyed the food which was basic but well prepared with great service. We would thoroughly recommend this trip anyone that’s interested in the attractions it offers. Thank you Christopher.
Written February 1, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ana M
San Diego, CA2 contributions
Had a really nice time. Driver Tony and guide Joey were great, kept us on schedule without feeling rushed and were very informative. Would just recommend they let patrons know about the separate restaurant in Mt. Vernon, food court options are not good so it would’ve been nice to had made reservations at the restaurant instead.
Written October 18, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Carole H
1 contribution
Our tour was 9/24/22 and Edgar Vasquez was our guide with Maggie as our excellent driver. Edgar takes pride in his tours, is very knowledgeable about the history of the area and is easy to listen to since he interjects humor into the storylines frequently. Both he and his driver, Maggie, were very approachable with questions and friendly. We were in Keith’s group at the Washington mansion and I would recommend being in his group as well. The Mt Vernon property is vast for exploring with real vegetable and fruit gardens, stables, and trails to George Washington’s tomb and the dock, so I’m glad we wore our most comfortable walking shoes and dressed in layers for the variable temperatures. We were also allowed to bring our snacks and waters in a small bag on the tour bus which I highly recommend. No eating on the bus or inside the incredible museum or mansion, but we ate on park benches outdoors in Alexandria and at Mt Vernon when we were stopped. Some fast food available to buy at Mt Vernon and plenty of bathrooms.
Written September 24, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We are glad you enjoyed the tour! Please share your memories with us on social media @usaguidedtours and #usagt
Written October 21, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Jake T
7 contributions
Apr 2023
Mnt Vernon and Old Town Alexandria are amazing. A must-see destination while you are on your vacation in DC or Vergina. So much history here and a beautiful setting. The reason I rated this tour a 2 is because it simply was not worth the money we paid. I pay money for tours so I can learn things that I otherwise would not find out on my own. Most of the historic sites in and around DC have a lot of history boards telling you a little bit about the area etc. Mnt Vernon was loaded with these all around the property and they were very well done. Meaning, you can learn quite a bit of info just by doing a self-guided tour and reading the history boards. A good tour guide, IMO, should be able to tell you more details and back stories, etc than what you could simply learn on your own. The other thing that I was disappointed with regarding this particular tour was the amount of time that was wasted once we actually got to Mount Vernon. Our tour bus left the DC area at exactly 10am. It arrived at Mnt Vernon at exactly 11am. When we arrived at the visitor center, our tour guide informed us to "hang out" at the gift shop and cafeteria for one full hour before meeting back at the entrance of the visitor center to start our tour at 12pm. So we literally sat around waiting for an hour at the gift shop not doing anything before we could start our tour. This was a complete and total waste of time. The tour felt very rushed and we didn't even get to see the full property. That hour that we spent at the gift shop/cafeteria could have gone to much better use. The actual description of tour says you will have leisure time to walk around the property and explore. That was not at all our case. Had we not waisted the one hours time in the gift shop, we would likely had time to do this. In all, I think Trip Advisor is a good company and generally does a great job. We booked a DC Monuments Bike Tour with them which was amazing! Very much worth the money. The biggest difference was our tour guide. Our tour guide at Mnt Vernon was not very good. Our tour guide for the bike tour was amazing. Had we had the tour guide at Mnt Vernon that we did on our bike tour, I think it would have been a very different experience. So, if you do end up booking this tour, see if you can do some homework on your actual tour guide beforehand. Make sure you get a good one or it could be a bust like it was with us.
Written April 17, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for that feedback. Would you be able to send us an email at reservations@usaguidedtours.com with your guide's name so we can follow up with them?
Written April 22, 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
dolfnlvr
2 contributions
Dec 2022
It was nice. The day (not the fault of the tour guides at all obviously) was pretty dreary and the actual tour of the mansion was very "herded." I didn't feel like most of the interpreters were excited to be there...they seemed to be verbalizing what is on Wikipedia and had very little ability to answer people's questions beyond, "I'm not sure" or "that information is available in the museum." The museum itself was nice, and the interpreters there were knowledgeable. It was a nice outing.
Written December 5, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi, Could you elaborate on what you mean by interpreters? Are you referring to our staff or the Mt Vernon staff? I look forward to your feedback on how we can improve this experience.
Written December 6, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Melissa T
Auburn, AL39 contributions
This is NOT a tour of Old Town Alexandria. That is false advertising. This is a tour of Mt. Vernon only. It's very crowded and you get corralled through like cattle. It's not a relaxed tour. You also spend 1/3 of the time stranded at the crappy food court and gift shop for way longer than necessary. I'm sure this is by design so you will get bored and buy some crap you don't need.
Written June 19, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for your feedback regarding the tour. The main focus of the tour is Mount Vernon Estate along with the Mansion. We do make several stops in Old Town Alexandria as well. If you did not stop at the other locations, please contact us at reservations@usaguidedtours.com or 202-733-7376 so we can discuss this matter in further detail.
Written June 19, 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Azin M
14 contributions
Unfortunately, the bus ride was very noisy with constant rattling that was so loud we couldn’t hear the tour guide. We were at the back of the bus, but the ticket price is the same, so I still expect a comfortable ride and tour. The seat belt didn’t work which I really needed since I literally caught air multiple time with the bumpy road and speed of the drive. (Teenagers liked it since they like roller coaster rides.)
The tour at Mount Vernon was very nice. I’d recommend finding a better mode of transportation so you can enjoy the tour guide’s information along the drive as well.
The tour at Mount Vernon was very nice. I’d recommend finding a better mode of transportation so you can enjoy the tour guide’s information along the drive as well.
Written April 26, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for taking the time to give us your feedback about our bus and driver. We want to understand your concerns better so we can address them. Could you please call us at 202-733-7376 as soon as possible and provide us with more information about your tour? Thank you!
Written April 28, 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Lyn D
2 contributions
Mar 2023 • Couples
This was one of my highlights of visiting Washington. Our tour guide Christopher, was incredibly knowledgeable about George Washington's home, old town Alexandria, the Civil War, American history, places to visit in Washington DC and really made the tour. The tour in total lasted about 4.5 hours and was worth the money.
Written March 15, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Carole L
1 contribution
Aug 2023 • Friends
Excellent trip. Great tour guide. Mount Vernon experience was far better than I expected. Great, and reasonably priced, restaurant! But, needs to use the full time states for the trip to be able to see things without rushing. We ended up back in DC about an hour earlier than scheduled so it seems some of the disappointments could have been avoided. Felt rushed to eat lunch and had very little time to look through the large gift shops in order to board the bus at the time required. Also, the trip itinerary was supposed to include a stop and 10 minute tour of Christchurch in Alexandria and we only just drove by it, so that was also disappointing.
Written August 10, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Karen H
Delaware, OH206 contributions
Jun 2023 • Couples
Our tour did exactly what it said it would do--it took us to Mount Vernon where the guides there gave us a tour. BUT Brittany pointed out so many things along the way. What made her an exceptional guide was all the additional information she had to offer (in addition Mount Vernon's guides) from independent reading she has done on the topic and the people involved. Brittany truly was great and our driver, Cortez, did a wonderful job as well (although he does need to learn how to distribute ice so that it actually chills the water he had for us :) ).
There is plenty of walking, but some of it may be avoided if one is willing to miss some of the sights on the grounds. The roads to and from are not in the best of shape and the ride on the bus is not that pleasant (not the tour bus company's fault). We were not rushed at all. In fact, because we had brought something to eat with us for lunch, we had time to spare.
One suggestion I might make is that Brittany inform folks that once they pass through the glass doors on their way to the gift shop/cafeteria, they can't go back through. It seemed to me there was some museum space/movie (maybe?) that we would have wandered through/watched before we ate if we had known we needed to do it first.
Finally, a suggestion to the company...we looked everywhere for a way to get to the Marine Corps Museum and couldn't find anything available. Maybe there's a market for another tour venue to Quantico???
There is plenty of walking, but some of it may be avoided if one is willing to miss some of the sights on the grounds. The roads to and from are not in the best of shape and the ride on the bus is not that pleasant (not the tour bus company's fault). We were not rushed at all. In fact, because we had brought something to eat with us for lunch, we had time to spare.
One suggestion I might make is that Brittany inform folks that once they pass through the glass doors on their way to the gift shop/cafeteria, they can't go back through. It seemed to me there was some museum space/movie (maybe?) that we would have wandered through/watched before we ate if we had known we needed to do it first.
Finally, a suggestion to the company...we looked everywhere for a way to get to the Marine Corps Museum and couldn't find anything available. Maybe there's a market for another tour venue to Quantico???
Written July 2, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rosalie B
Redmond, Oregon
Is there an actual guide that shows you around Old Town Alexandria and Mount Vernon? Or, is it just an audio tour?
Written October 5, 2022
Our driver was our guide however, it could have been better. The tour of Washington's house at Mount Vernon is guided and well done.
Written October 7, 2022
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