In this video we are going to tell you what you should pack when you visit Washington DC.
Hello! Welcome to Trip Hacks DC my name is Rob. I'm Allison,
I'm a fellow tour guide and avid traveler.
And if you're coming to Washington DC
and you're looking for the best tips, tricks, and hacks for exploring the city make sure to subscribe to this channel and hit the bell
notification icon so that you don't miss any new videos.
And if you're interested in taking a Trip Hacks DC tour, head on over to TripHacksDC.com
afterwards to see the tours that I offer. In this video
Allison is going to help me tell you the best things to pack for your trip, so let's get started... OK, so Allison
let's start with what kind of shoes you should bring. In several of my previous videos
I have mentioned that you should pack the most comfortable pair of walking shoes that you own.
That's true. I see people show up to DC
all the time wearing ballet flats like these. These are the worst shoes you can possibly bring. You need shoes that are supportive,
strong and can get you through a full day without breaking your feet.
OK, so that makes sense, so what kind of shoes should you bring?
Vanity is not most important here. You want to wear shoes
that you can go their whole day. It doesn't matter if they're a little embarrassing,
you just need to get through the day
and there's nothing worse than being stuck in a museum with aching feet.
So for both men and women
it sounds like a good pair of running shoes is the ideal option?
Running shoes, walking shoes, Keen and
Clarks both make pretty good non-
running shoes if you do want to look a little bit more stylish in your videos. Look for shoes that have a strong heel and
a thick foot bed. Dr. Scholl's also makes insoles if you wanted to add a little bit extra comfort.
That's a great tip in case you don't go out and buy a whole new pair of shoes.
Yes.
All right so let's move on to how to keep your stuff with you. A good backpack or a purse is going to
be needed when you visit.
You don't want to be lugging around a bunch of things in your hands.
You're going to want your hands free or eating and pointing and taking pictures.
A backpack - what kind of backpack would be a good option for people to bring with them?
Well you want one that is - here's my travel backpacks - you want one
that's not giant. You're not lugging around a whole week's worth of clothes here. You want something
that's pretty compact so when you turn
you're not swiping out people.
That's a great point and actually at some of the museums, specifically the art museums,
They won't even let you wear a big backpack on your back.
They are going to make you put it in a locker or wear it on your front, so it's best to just not bring one
That's too big. If you'd rather not bring a backpack,
purses are great. Just make sure it's large enough to carry all your items,
and it's got a strap that isn't going to weigh you down after a few hours.
And I noticed it on that one
there's a zipper which is an additional security feature when you're carrying a purse around.
Yes, you'll be sometimes on a crowded Metro
or stuck among a bunch of people
waiting in line or in a museum and you want to have a nice secure zipper.
DC is a very safe place, but you can never be too safe.
So in one of my previous videos
I mentioned that you want to have a water bottle with you so that you can stay hydrated throughout the day especially
on the hottest days of summer.
finding water bottles can be expensive and time consuming
throughout your day.
You want something that you can easily just refill out a water fountain.
And since the water fountains on the National Mall are infamous for
being broken all of the time a lot of businesses will let you refill your water bottle like that for free if you ask.
So in your backpack or purse you're probably going to
have your wallet so let's talk a little bit about what you want to have inside your wallet itself.
Don't forget your ID. If you're going to be visiting bars or grabbing a drink at a restaurant
you're going to get carded.
How about cash? We sort of live in a cashless society
now where most people pay for things with credit or debit cards,
but it's usually still looking at idea to have a little with you.
That's very true. And in DC
there are some businesses that are still cash only.
And it's always good to have enough cash on hand for small transactions
and also if you want to tip somebody at the hotel or tour guide.
OK so this next one is important if you are a big smartphone user. I see people sitting in Starbucks
or a dark corner in a museum near an outlet all the time trying to charge their devices.
That's no way to spend your vacation.
So it's worth to pack a power bank like this or a
replaceable battery if your phone or device has a replaceable batteries
so that you don't have to spend time recharging during the day.
Even if you check the weather
and it says that's not going to rain sometimes, especially in the summer, a pop-up storm can happen.
Yeah so those storms in the summer, you can get a huge
downpour in a really short period of time and it seems to come out of nowhere,
so I personally always carry a small umbrella on me whenever I go out in DC.
Ok so one thing that a lot of people don't realize when they get to DC
Is that there are a lot of
allergens in the atmosphere here.
DC is known for famous flowering trees.
You might not have them back at home, or even know that you're allergic to them until you get here,
so it's very important to pack up some allergy medicine, just in case.
Another good thing to have on you our snacks,
especially if you're traveling with kids
or you just get hungry throughout the day.
Something like a Power Bar or a Cliff Bar is a great thing to keep with you. And for things like allergy medicine or snacks
you don't necessarily have to travel across country with a bunch of granola bars,
there is a CVS on seemingly every corner downtown so you can always stop there and stock up at the beginning of your trip.
OK so let's talk about a few things that you want to pack depending on what season you're visiting.
If you're coming in the summer
be prepared to be outside. Sunscreen, hats and sunglasses are a necessity.
I know personally whenever I go out in the summer or I'm giving a tour
I have all three of these on me and in the winter even though we do have generally mild winters,
it still does get cold here.
And this is especially true if you're coming from a warmer climate and you're not used to it.
You can never be too prepared here. Pack a coat,
scarf, hat, and some gloves and you can always take them off if you get a little bit warm.
And if you're coming from the Caribbean or some climate where you don't even own a coat, you can bring
sweatshirts and jackets and layer them up to create a
bit of a coat. And don't feel too stressed out about all of this if you forget something you can always stop it buy it
once you get here.
If you do happen to forget something or it gets cold unexpectedly, right downtown conveniently
there's a Macy's, a H&M, a Gap and all kinds of stores that you can pop into. And that's it!
Thank you for watching this video. If you found it helpful you can subscribe to this channel by clicking on the Trip Hacks DC logo
which is popping up right now at the bottom of the screen, and if you're coming to DC
and you want to take a tour, you can click on the Capitol dome on the left side of our heads,
that'll take you over to TripHacksDC.com where you can see the tours that I offer.
Enjoy your trip!