kennedy center, dc - help and advice please

Have never been to Washington before and need some advice on my trip to the Kennedy Center. Have looked at maps and everything, but is the Kennedy Center easy to get to ? I am staying in midtown (is that the correct term for the central area of Washington...I'm not from the US, so a bit uncertain of terms to use?) and am looking to get there by taxi (or by walking??)

Is the Kennedy Center within walking diatnce of midtown or is it too far ? Or are taxis plentiful from the Kennedy center after the show and how much will it cost to get back to midtown ? Any advice would be greatly appreciated...many thanks.

PS Have also posted this on the Washington board, but there seems to be very few replies on there for anything, so am posting here in the hope that I may get more response. Thanks.

DC has an excellent transportation system- you will have NO PROBLEM getting to Kennedy Center by train, bus or cab.

What is the best way to get to DC from NYC, and then to the theater? Planning my FOLLIES trip...

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Megabus, definitely. its so easy and cheap.

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What's your budget? There are Bolt Buses that run from New York to DC that seems to run ~$15-20 each way. Or you could take Amtrak for as low as $49 each way.

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It's about 4-5 hours, depending on traffic. I would definitely recommend the Bolt Bus. I've taken it to and from DC many times. It's also really easy to get directly from where the bus lets you off to the KC.

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Ive never taken Bolt, I usually take Megabus which is essentially the same thing, I believe even the same drop off spot, but I know that whenever I get off the bus there are always cab drivers hovering around hoping to get riders, so that would make it even easier to get right over to the kennedy center.

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I've only taken Bolt Bus to Boston once (Greyhound more times than I can count), but if you can afford it, I would seriously recommend taking the train. I don't know if traffic between New York and DC is as bad as the traffic between New York and Boston is, but on a bus you can wind up stuck in standstill traffic for hours. Even with Wifi, you'll want to kill yourself, your seat mate and the driver.

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Updated On: 12/27/10 at 11:48 AM

for what its worth, I've taken the bus probably around 10 roundtrips to/from NYC/DC and I've never hit any major traffic though I'm sure there are traffic nightmares on I-95 at any given moment, I've been extremely lucky to avoid them.

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The walk from the metro stop to the Kennedy Center really isn't bad, but the shuttles are an added bonus. When you're trying to get back to the metro after the show though, tons of people are waiting for the shuttle so you have to wait a bit.

I don't know much about traveling to DC from New York, but honestly, once you're there just use the metro. It's so convenient and pretty straightforward, plus it's so much cheaper than a cab.

Where exactly are you staying? What I consider to be "Midtown" is Metro Center. That's a very, very long walk across town to the Kennedy Center. Take the Blue/Orange Metro line to Foggy Bottom. Cabs are not the best option. Not too expensive, but hard to track down.

Amtrak is hit or miss, IMO. Sometimes you find $49 trains when you buy months in advance. More often, it's $80-$120, each way. Trains are 3-4 hours, bus is 4.5 hours. I'm up and back from New York on Bolt Bus probably once a month and only on one occasion have I encountered traffic so bad that I felt it would have been worth the extra money to take the train.

CapnHook- Take Bolt/Megabus to the 10th & H St. stop. Metro Center is 2 blocks away and you can take the Blue/Orange line to Foggy Bottom, as others have mentioned. It's just 3 stops from Metro Center.

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NYC to DC's trip is essentially the same with a train and bus. I did both in one trip and the train took longer, but it all depends on traffic. Bus took 3 hours and 45 mins, train took about 4 and 15 mins.

There is a free shuttle from Foggy Bottom Metro on the blue and Orange Metro Lines to the Kennedy Center. I travel from DC to NYC and back a lot and take DC2NY and Megabus and Tripper Bus. They are the cheapest and have the best service. If you go to wmata.com you can get metro directions. DC Theatre Scene.com has FIND A SHOW which has all the local performance times, discounts, nearby restaurants and directions to theatres. Check the link below.