9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not great for parents of young children, April 28, 2008
This review is from: Fodor's Washington, D.C. with Kids, 4th Edition (Travel Guide) (Paperback)
I bought this new book because it was the most recently published and sounded great. It is not great for a number of reasons. First, it is heavily weighted toward trips with tweens and teens rather than younger children. I was planning a trip with children 6-8 years old. Most of the recommended places are recommended for tweens and teens. In fact, had I not known better from friends, I would have skipped the International Spy Museum altogether, because the guide recommends it for "older tweens and teens" and makes it sound beyond the understanding of a younger child. Having now been to the museum, I can see that tweens would be able to take advantage of many things they have there that younger kids can't really do, but it is a GREAT spot for younger kids. There is PLENTY there that they can enjoy. It is very fun for the whole family, actually, and was my husband's favorite spot we visited.
Another reason the book is not great is that it includes paragraphs on virtually every page of "Smart Stuff" for kids (mainly addressed to tweens and teens again), which is little tidbits of info or quizes that may be interesting. I think that may be helpful for a family with super bored kids or a family that is super boring and cannot otherwise provide information to their children, but it is (a) mostly for older kids, (b)not all that interesting, (c) really bulks up the book to the point that it's a pain to carry around with you and (d) apparently takes up so much space that important basic information is omitted.
This leads me to my next complaint: When planning our visit to the Air and Space Museum, I consulted the book. It gives very little information but says that the museum is so large that you need to plan your visit in advance because you simply cannot see it all in one day. Hello!!!!! That's why I bought this guide book - - to plan my visit! The entry on Air and Space doesn't even list all the galleries/exhibits in the museum or highlight the "greatest hits". They could have done that in two short paragraphs, and that would have been the most useful information. Instead, they include more "Smart Stuff" and a list of kids books to supplement learning on the subject. Great to have that, but not at the expense of the information I need to actually plan a visit to the museum.
In sum, this book frustrated me. It was somewhat helpful, yes, but unless you are going with older kids or have taken your kids before, it's not exactly what you need. I'm not sure there is a better guide that is up to date, but this one needs major improvement.
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2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
We carried this book all over DC, April 3, 2009
This review is from: Fodor's Washington, D.C. with Kids, 4th Edition (Travel Guide) (Paperback)
While this book is intended to guide school groups on tours of DC, I found it a useful starting point for planning a family vacation as well. I liked the way the authors grouped sites and activities by regions within DC, such as Capitol Hill, The Mall, Dupont Circle, etc. I especially appreciated the suggestions for resaturants and eateries close to each site that would be child friendly. We travelled with a 10-year old, and found that distances between museums and monuments were a challenging walk with a child, so the book's suggestions for multiple activities within a given area were very useful.
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2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Planning first trip to DC, April 17, 2008
This review is from: Fodor's Washington, D.C. with Kids, 4th Edition (Travel Guide) (Paperback)
I bought this book so we could plan for our first trip to DC this summer. I have a ten year old son. I have really enjoyed this book. It lets me know what thing he will like and possibly dislike. It has been helpful as there is so much to do and we only have 4 days. We want to make the most of our visit and this is letting us do that by helping us choose the best things for us to do.
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