Washington D.C. is an incredible place to explore with your students. With over 70 free attractions, days are easily filled with exciting and educational activities at an affordable price. When planning a school trip to Washington D.C., it is important to keep in mind the average time spent at each attraction as well as the activities that are flexible and those requiring timed visits.
Traveling with a student group is very different than visiting Washington D.C. with your family. Although certain attractions are free and open to the public, many require a timed entry when visiting with a large group. These advance group reservations need to be requested months prior to your visit and are sometimes accompanied by a small fee issued by the vendor. With the increasing demand and limited availability for these advance group reservations, it is important to prioritize which attractions are most important to your group.
So, which attractions require advance group reservations? When do tickets become available? Can group leaders also make requests or must they all be made by Scholastica Travel? The answers are detailed below.
Attractions Requiring Advance Group Reservations
- Description: Learn about the history and colonial culture of Old Town Alexandria by lantern light. Walk the streets of Old Town while hearing ghost stories, legends, and folklore told by guides in colonial attire.
- Tickets Available: Ongoing
- Demand: Moderate
- Requested by: Scholastica Travel
Arlington National Cemetery Wreath Laying at the Tomb of the Unknown
- Description: Students present a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns during the Changing of the Guard ceremony.
- Tickets Available: Requests are accepted up to one year and no less than five weeks in advance.
- Demand: Moderate
- Requested by: Scholastica Travel or Group Leader
Arlington National Cemetery Tours by ANC Tours
- Description:Pay respects to President John F. Kennedy, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, and soldiers from every war in American history. This is a driving tour of the cemetery.
- Tickets Available: Ongoing.
- Demand: Moderate
- Requested by: Scholastica Travel
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Tour
- Description: Take in the spectacular mosaics of the largest Catholic church in North America.
- Tickets Available: Ongoing
- Demand: Low
- Requested by: Scholastica Travel
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
- Description: Learn all about U.S. paper currency. See millions of dollars being printed as you walk along the gallery overlooking the production floor!
- Tickets Available:Tickets are available 6 months in advance.
- Demand: Moderate
- Requested by: Scholastica Travel
- Description: The site of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. Today it is a working theatre, historical monument, world-class museum and learning center.
- Tickets Available: Reservation requests are submitted at three annually designated times.
- Demand: High
- Requested by: Scholastica Travel
George Washington’s Mount Vernon
- Description: Discover the man and the ideas that founded a nation. Tour the mansion, gardens, museum, and interactive educational center
- Tickets Available: Reservations are accepted in August for following year.
- Demand: Moderate
- Requested by: Scholastica Travel
- Description:This museum chronicles the history of espionage. Guests adopt a cover, break codes, identify disguised spies and become the subjects of covert surveillance.
- Tickets Available: Ongoing
- Demand: Moderate
- Requested by: Scholastica Travel
- Description: Read the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and Bill of Rights firsthand
- Tickets Available: Non-refundable tickets are available 3 months in advance
- Demand: High
- Requested by: Scholastica Travel
- Description: Take a guided tour of the headquarters of the Department of Defense.
- Tickets Available: Reservations may be booked from 14 to 90 days in advance.
- Demand: High
- Requested by: Group Leader
- Description: Take a narrated cruise down the Potomac and experience unique and beautiful views of the Jefferson Memorial, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Washington Monument, DC bridges and more.
- Tickets Available: Ongoing
- Demand: Low
- Requested by: Scholastica Travel
Shear Madness at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
- Description: “Set today in the Shear Madness hairstyling salon, this record-breaking comedy is Washington’s hilarious whodunit”
- Tickets Available: Tickets are available 6 months in advance.
- Demand: Moderate
- Requested by: Scholastica Travel
Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture
- Description:The National Museum of African American History and Culture is the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, history, and culture.
- Tickets Available: Non-refundable tickets are available at varying times throughout the year as designated by the museum.
- Demand: High
- Requested by: Scholastica Travel
- Description: Tour where senators and representatives meet to shape U.S. policy.
- Tickets Available: Reservations are available 4 months in advance. Due to the very high demand for this reservation, it is recommended that group leaders request a reservation through their Member of Congress. Members of Congress can access reservations 5 months in advance.
- Demand: High
- Requested by: Scholastica Travel and/or School Group Leader via their Member of Congress
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Description: Learn the story of the Holocaust through artifacts, films, photos, and oral histories.
- Tickets Available: Tickets for a $1 service charge become available at the end of November. Free tickets are available 3 months in advance.
- Demand: High
- Requested by: Scholastica Travel or School Group Leader
- Description: Go inside the 555′ 5 1/8″ Washington Monument and take the elevator to the top for unparalleled views of the city.
- Tickets Available: Sale dates for Washington Monument Tickets are determined by the National Park Service.
- Demand: High
- Requested by: Scholastica Travel
Washington National Cathedral Tour
- Description: Tour the dramatic Gothic architecture and see majestic stained glass, carvings, gargoyles, and peaceful gardens.
- Tickets Available: Ongoing
- Demand: Moderate
- Requested by: Scholastica Travel
- Description: See the presidential home of every U.S. president except George Washington.
- Tickets Available: Group Leaders must submit requests through their Member of Congress up to 6 months in advance.
- Demand: High
- Requested by: School Group Leader via their Member of Congress