Explore some of the most famous landmark locations around Washington, DC on this half-day historical sightseeing tour. Travel to Mount Vernon, George Washington's popular plantation in Virginia and one of the nation’s most beloved historic sites. Learn about his life and tour his home of more than 40 years. Then enjoy a bus trip around Old Town Alexandria. See the many historic 17th- and 18th-century homes, hear colorful stories about this founding father and discover little known facts about all the monuments, statues and buildings in the area.

Admission to Mount Vernon, one of the most famous historical estates in America
Explore the 23-room mansion and admire its views of the Potomac River
See how the mansion has been restored to look as it did in 1799 when George Washington died
Visit the tomb of George and Martha Washington
Watch colonial-era actors at work in a blacksmith shop and on a colonial farm
Take a scenic bus tour through historical Old Town Alexandria

What's Included

Half-Day trip to George Washington's Mount Vernon from Washington DC
Drive through Old Alexandria on the way to Mt. Vernon and pass by sites like home of Robert E. Lee
Introductory video upon arrival to Mount Vernon
Tour of George Washington's Mansion
Free time to explore the rest of the estate on own at your leisure
Licensed Tour Guide
Includes Entry fees to the estate and reserved mansion time

Lunch (food court available at Mount Vernon)
Gratuities
Hotel Pick-Up/Drop-Off

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

400 New Jersey Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA
Meet your tour guide at the Hyatt Regency Hotel (close to Union Station Metro). Address: 400 New Jersey Ave. NW Washington DC 20001 Please plan to arrive at least 10 minutes prior to tour start time.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

On this half-day trip, travel approximately 30 minutes from Washington, DC to Mount Vernon, George Washington's beloved plantation home in Virginia. Tour the mansion and the Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center, featuring 23 galleries and theaters where visitors learn about Washington through interactive displays, an action adventure movie, short films produced by the History Channel and more. Visit the final resting place of George and Martha Washington, walk through the beautiful gardens and restored landscapes and much more.

After lunch at Mount Vernon (not included), enjoy a guided bus tour of Old Town Alexandria. See George Washington’s old “stomping grounds,” including Gadsby's Tavern Restaurant and Museum, which hosted Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, James Madison and James Monroe, among many other dignitaries. Visit Historic Ramsey House, also the site of Alexandria’s Visitors Center and Lee-Fendall House, a veritable showcase of American history since 1785. Also, see some of the town’s major attractions, like the Old Presbyterian Meeting House, Christ Church, the 7-foot-wide Spite House, Robert E. Lee’s Boyhood Home and the Torpedo Factory Art Center.

Boyhood Home of Robert E. Lee (Pass By)

Lee-Fendall House (Pass By)

George Washington's Mount Vernon

3 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Alexandria's Christ Church (Pass By)

Old Town Waterfront (Pass By)

523 Queen St (Pass By)

George Washington Memorial Parkway (Pass By)

508 Cameron St (Pass By)

King Street & South Washington Street (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation

Infants must sit on laps
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
Tours depart from 400 New Jersey Ave NW, Washington, D.C., DC 20001, USA. Tour operator details provided on your ticket after purchase.
Accessibility: our vehicles are unable to accommodate wheelchairs unless the passenger is able to stand and board the bus
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 25 travelers

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 canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

4.0

715 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 715 reviews

The tour was in time, and flowed well from beginning to the end when we were dropped off. Very good experience for us.

DebraM, Apr 2024

Our driver / tour guide , Robert was outstanding. The tour itself was very good. The grounds were impeccable and all staff were knowledgeable and professional.

Interesting history

Kelly_W, Apr 2024

Our guide Bobby, provided a fun and educational tour through Old Towne Alexandria and then dropped us at Mount Vernon. Highly recommend this tour of Mount Vernon to explore the property and learn about the Washington family. Our group learned a lot.

Go to the live performances.

Kim_E, Apr 2024

Easy transportation to get there and interesting to really go back in history. Don’t miss the clothier conversation - so much great information!

We enjoyed Mt. Vernon....

Athena_T, Apr 2024

We enjoyed Mt. Vernon. Our driver was excellent. Our only complaint is that the air conditioning on the bus was not working. It was a hot day and our drive was suffercating.

Great experience

George_M, Apr 2024

Our family has a great experience on this excursion. Timing was perfect. Had plenty of time to explore.

mount vernon

AnnH, Apr 2024

The tour out and back was really interesting. Mount Vernon was stunning. I wish I had had more time. It was a bit rushed.

Memorable trip!

fiona_m, Apr 2024

Due to Spring Break crowds, lines were long but still a great trip. Robert was a great guide, full of information! Would have loved more time with less crowds but definitely worth it!

Best tour day ever!!!

Kimberly_C, Mar 2024

The tour guide was very knowledgeable! I learned a lot about Mt Vernon and old Alexandra. I would have loved to spend a little more time in old Alexandria

We Recommend

Julie_M, Mar 2024

After seeing all of the monuments and a lot of museums, we thought it would be nice to get out of the city. This was a great five hour trip. We would recommend it.

Great trip and guide!

Sandra_G, Mar 2024

Great trip! Very knowledgeable tour guide. 11am tour was perfect and just the right amount of time. We did not feel rushed! Beautiful tour and the sightseeing ride around Alexandria was an added bonus!

Disappointed - On Both Accounts

Kayla_T, Mar 2024

My family and I were very excited to visit the DC area and wanted to plan a trip to Mount Vernon and see the monuments all lit up at night but unfortunately this did not live up to expectations. I did lots of research and ultimately booked the half day trip to Mount Vernon with a driving tour of old Alexandria and added the upgrade of the night monument tour knowing that this would be long afternoon/evening but appreciating the idea of getting them done back to back. The Mount Vernon tour I selected started at 2 and said it was 5 hours. No specific information was given for the night time tours but the others that I had looked at began at 8 so I was anticipating a short break between the two tours. After booking, I continued to do research and made plans for my family including what we were going to do for dinner, what we wanted to be sure to see at Mount Vernon, etc. For the Mount Vernon portion, our tour guide was nice and knowledgable although he did put more of his personal opinion into his information than I would prefer, that wasn’t what made the trip a disappointment. We boarded the bus around 1:45 and the guide commented several times that we would need to hurry as we were the shortest tour of the day (which puzzled me since it was advertised as the same 5 hours as all the others). One group on the tour was running late and the guide made a couple of calls and we ultimately waited for them and did not depart until 2:15, which caused him to again say we would need to hurry. We finally arrived at the estate around 3 and our guide quickly organized us to go to the visitor center and get our tour tickets which were timed for 3:15. Our guide then let us know that all of the buildings would close at 4 so he gave us a recommended route to maximize our time…this was very surprising and disappointing given that we were expecting to leisurely explore the estate and had this information been advertised I would have never booked the 2pm tour. The house/grounds were beautiful but we were rushed and did not get to see half of what we wanted to. We did not have time to watch the video at the visitors center, we looked around briefly, perused the very crowded gift shop and then everyone was back on the bus and departing by 5pm. The tour around old Alexandria was nice but I was not able to listen to much of what the guide said because before departing we asked about the night time tour (2 other families were also going) and he let us know that it departs promptly at 7:30 so we needed to be boarding the bus by 7:15 and would not have much time to grab a bite to eat so I was looking up nearby dinner options since my plan to eat at the estate was no longer possible. We arrived back to the pickup location a little before 6 (3:45 minutes into our 5 hour tour). Needless to say, missing a lot of Mount Vernon and 1:15 minute of the tour I thought I was getting was a huge disappointment and definitely felt like we did not get what we paid for. We were able to find some decent food and came back for the night time tour optimistic…only to be let down again. Again, our guide was knowledgable while adding much of his own opinion into his commentary but this time it bothered me a bit more because there was a group on the tour who spoke little English and his actions toward them were rude and insensitive. Another person on the tour (not with this group) was able to translate much of the information and she was very kind to do so, but the gentleman included in this group sitting next to my family spoke more English than the tour guide thought and he very clearly knew that the guide was talking as if they were idiots…it was totally uncalled for. I anticipated that there might be a bit more traffic because of the cherry blossom festival but I did not realize that we would completely miss a lot of the monuments because of this…had we been made aware, I likely would have canceled. All in all, my family made it to 3 out of the possible 4 stops made on this tour which was much less than I was expecting. We were able to stop at the Capitol and the White House with no problem and then drove past quite a few buildings, the Washington Monument, and the WWII memorial and we were told there was no way to stop for those (although it looked like many other groups figured out how to stop). We then headed to the Jefferson memorial and the guide said we could not stop because of all of the things blocked off for the festival (again several other busses figured out how to stop). As we headed towards the FDR memorial, which again we could not stop at because of the festival, the guide abruptly stopped (not pulled off the road, stopped) just before the bridge that overlooked the basin and the Jefferson memorial, he said everyone could run to the bridge quickly and then snap a picture and run back but we had to be quick because this really wasn’t a parking spot and he was doing this to be nice since we couldn’t get any closer because of the festival. My family opted to stay on the bus at this ‘non’stop and I was glad we did because after a moment the guide began yelling for people to come back because the police were pulling up. Our next stop was the Lincoln Memorial, which was absolutely beautiful. However, at this point my family was tired and completely underwhelmed and we were staying closer to the Lincoln Memorial than we were to the drop-off location so I decided to see if it was worth it to stay. I asked the driver how many stops were left and he informed me that he was going to try to stop by the MLK memorial if he could get to it with all of the festival stuff but he wasn’t sure if it would happen or not and then they would be headed back. As a result, my family opted to leave the tour at the Lincoln Memorial. While I completely understand that the festival traffic and road blocks are completely out of your control, I do not understand how I am supposed to be satisfied with 3 (possibly a 4th stop that I opted out of) stops when I could see with my own eyes that other groups were able to make the stops. I would not have booked a tour for only 3-4 stops and I feel like the company could have contacted me when I booked or in the days leading up to my tour and informed me just how big of an impact the festival would have on our tour and then I could have at least made an informed decision rather than feeling like I was not getting what I signed up for. I enjoyed the little time I got to spend at Mount Vernon and visiting the monuments at night. I still think that those are both worthwhile ways to explore this area. However, I in no way feel like these two tours delivered on what was advertised or expected and I do not feel like they were worth the money. If you want to do these two activities, I would recommend finding other ways to accomplish this and not spend money on these tours or find another tour company.

Totally worth it.

Ana_W, Mar 2024

We signed up for the 5 hour tour, but could’ve spent all day there. Very informative and educational. Learned so much about our first president and the tone he set for this new country.

Disappointed

Pamela_W, Mar 2024

Pros: we had transportation to Mt. Vernon and were able to visit the mansion Cons: we paid for a “half day tour” and spent less than an hour at the Mt. Vernon estate; we were picked up at 2pm, arrived a few minutes after 3pm, were told to “go straight to the mansion for a 3:15 tour”; after the tour we had a few minutes to explore the grounds and then Mt. Vernon closed at 4pm! We missed the introduction video, didn’t see all of the grounds and buildings, and feel we missed out on much of what we had paid for. Before you sign up, check closing time for the location you will visit. Extremely disappointed to only be able to visit for less than one hour. We expected to spend 2-3 at Mt. Vernon.

History in form

CarlyleS, Mar 2024

Such history! Beautiful place to see. Restoration helps history come to life. Easy to spend a lot of time exploring.

Educational and inspiring

Anonymous, Mar 2024

Tour bus driver Robert taught us a lot of facts about George Washington that I didn't know. Then to get to Mount Vernon and see and learn more about our 1st President was an amazing experience. So innovative, so humble, very kind and brilliant leader. Worthwhile endeavor.

Too busy

Cody_G, Mar 2024

Tough to navigate site with amount of schools there for tours. If we could do again we would probably pass.

Great trip to Mt. Vernon.

Neil_S, Mar 2024

Robert was our tour guide & driver and he did a great job. He was very knowledgeable as well as entertaining.

Worst Tour Guide

Abby_J, Mar 2024

Tour guide/bus was late to meeting location to begin with. Upon entering, tour guide made some rude remarks towards individuals names or group size making the experience uncomfortable from the start. Hardly any information was given over old Alexandria, sounded more like a quick google search on the history. Once at mt. Vernon we were dropped off had to do a self guided tour (the whole reason I bought this tour was for a guide). We didn’t even get the full 5 hours as they did not account for mt. Vernon closing earlier on Sunday. When back on the bus some semi racist remarks were made to my group and one other. The ride was uncomfortable and awkward. Might as well buy tickets to Mt. Vernon and Uber.

Worst tour and tour guide

Melissa_C, Mar 2024

The tour guide… was only pretty much a bus driver. No tour was given. He dropped us out at Mount Vernon and picked us up 2hours later. No guided tour at all at Mount Vernon. He was rude to some of the other tour members and very loud and abrasive. This tour was not worth the amount of money that was charged…. Literally just an overpriced “Uber ride”. Very disappointed… pretty don’t waste your money on this tour.

George Washington Slept Here

Patricia_T, Mar 2024

Right on time! Lots of info with our driver/ tour guide who was very knowledgeable. Gave us tips to max out our time @ Mt. Vernon, which really helped! On the way back saw lots of Alexandria, told in an interesting way. Finally, gave us recommendations for our next day (Go see the Postal Museum) and turned out to be a great suggestion. Very happy with our guide Robert and the tour contact.

...