Handicapped Travel Guide to Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

My handicapped travel guide to Washington, D.C.

2025 is all about learning to travel as a wheelchair user. My husband and I wanted a quick weekend getaway, so we hopped on a train to Washington, D.C.

My nation's capital was the most accessible place that I've been so far. I quickly fell in love with it and can't wait to go back.

In this post, I share our two-day itinerary and my successes and struggles as a handicapped traveler in Washington, D.C.

Preparing for my trip:

Washington, D.C., is a few hours away from where I live . We could have driven there, but I wanted to travel by train. As I said before, 2025 is all about learning how to travel as a wheelchair user, and a part of that is getting comfortable with the use of public transportation.

To get to Washington, D.C., we had to take three trains. Two were LIRR (Long Island Rail Road), and one was Amtrak. LIRR has a Care Program that is available for customers with mobility limitations. I called and scheduled their service a few days before my trip. Train crews know about your itinerary and provide assistance getting on and off the trains. They even escorted me to my second LIRR train and Amtrak's customer service desk at Penn Station.

Amtrak has a Red Cap service for passengers with disabilities. They even helped transport our luggage for us. I scheduled this when I booked our train tickets. We sat in a nice reserved area at Moynihan Station, and then a crew member helped us pre-board our train. They reserved handicapped seats for us and made the transition to the train effortless.

My struggles with Amtrak Red Cap service:

Red Cap service members are supposed to greet you at your destination. However, they didn't for me. When we got to Union Station in Washington, D.C., no one was there to help me off the train. The train was three feet higher than the platform, and I needed a lift in order to get off. Luckily, my husband was able to jump off the train and flag someone down to help us.

On our way home, no one was there to help me off the train at Moynihan Train Station. Minutes before we reached the platform, the conductor approached me and said he called Red Cap to ensure they were there. Well, they were not there, and ALL the conductors and staff on board our train disappeared. NO ONE was there to help. Thankfully, I'm still mobile, and my husband is as strong as an ox. He helped me step off the train and then carried the luggage and my electric wheelchair off. Our train had been delayed, and we were minutes away from missing the train to Long Island, which would strand us in NYC for the night. Typically, Red Cap would escort us to the LIRR Customer Service desk in Penn Station. I had no idea where to go. A group of train engineers were on the platform, so we asked them if they could tell us where to go or call Red Cap, and they said that wasn't their job. So, I took off in a frenzy, looking for someone who would be able to help. As soon as we got off the elevator, we lucked out and happened to be right around the corner from a group of police officers. They pointed us in the direction of the LIRR customer service desk, and I put my wheelchair into high gear. A crew member must have seen the panic on my face because he stopped everything he was doing and helped us catch our train.

Overview:

Long Island Rail Road trains are less than desirable, but their Care Program is amazing. They went above and beyond for me. Amtrak - not so much. Amtrak's trains were very nice. The handicapped seating was spacious, and food car contained a great assortment of items.

My advice to you:

• Do not let Amtrak's conductors out of your sight! Be diligent and demand they return to you when you reach your station. Have Red Cap on speed dial as well! If I were traveling alone, I would have been whisked off to another destination or stranded. I placed a formal complaint. You should do the same if it happens to you.

• Always ask a Care or Red Cap provider to seat you in a train car with a bathroom.

• Wear loose-fitting elastic waist paints. I learned the hard way. Using the bathroom on a train when you have mobility issues is no fun. I struggled to pull up my jeans with one hand while I held onto the handrail with the other.

Our itinerary:

Travel Day One:

• Most of our day was spent traveling. We caught a 6:30 a.m. train at our station and got into Washington, D.C., at 3:00 p.m. We grabbed a taxi outside the station and reached our hotel within minutes. Our room wasn't ready yet, so we hung around for almost an hour to check-in.

• After ditching our bags, we headed out to walk (seeing as I was in my wheelchair, I should probably say stroll) around the neighborhood. Our hotel was steps away from The Mall, so we snapped pictures of the Capitol Building and Monument, then went to an early dinner at Carmine's. (Family-style Southern Italian Food.)

Washington, D.C. Day One:

We started our day with a complimentary breakfast at the hotel (their way of saying thank you for being so patient regarding our check-in delay). Then we grabbed an Uber and went to the Art of Brick exhibit at the Rhode Island Center (which was a fifteen-minute drive away). The Art of Brick is a traveling Lego art exhibit. We saw it ten years ago at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and had so much fun that I knew I wanted to see it again. Tickets were reasonably priced, new art was displayed, and the self-guided tour took us roughly an hour.

After that, we Ubered back to The Mall and went to the National Museum of American History. We explored every nook and cranny of this museum, which took several hours. Admission is FREE, and this was the most accessible museum we visited during our trip. The spaces are large, the bathrooms are clean, and they have separate elevators for staff, so I didn't have to wait in line to use them. My husband and I shared a sandwich at the LeRoy Neiman Jazz Cafe and stayed until 4:00 p.m.

All museums close at 5:30 p.m. We didn't have enough time to explore another, so we went to the food court at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center to grab a sweet treat. The chocolate chocolate-chip cookie at Larry's Cookies and Ice Cream was delish! Afterward, we went for a stroll to see the White House. Then, we had an early dinner at Old Ebbitt Grill. Wow, was this place amazing!

Washington, D.C. Day Two:

We headed out early to the National Air and Space Museum. Every time we visit D.C., we save this museum for last, which means we visit when we're overtired and hangry. My husband wanted to be there when they opened their doors so we could tour the entire museum for once. Naturally, it didn't work out. Lines were down the block when we got there. You also needed a pre-booked ticket to get in, which we've never had to do before. It turned out that more than half the museum was closed for refurbishment, including all of the spaceships. Space was limited because of that. I hopped online and grabbed FREE tickets while we waited in line. Thankfully, they weren't 'sold' out. There wasn't much to see, so we spent less than an hour here. (I did not check the Smithsonian's for exhibit closures as part of my preparation, so ... my bad!) The National Air and Space Museum was highly accessible, but the paces were smaller than at the National Museum of American History. Employees used the same elevators as guests, so I would often have to wait to go to another floor (because they have access to levels guests don't, and you can't ride an elevator with them).

I'd never been to the National Gallery of Art, so we headed there next. I assumed we would breeze in and out of there. Boy, was I wrong! There was so much to see in this museum; I could have easily spent the entire day there. We did stay for several hours and even shared lunch in the cafe. Accessibility was a bit challenging at times. We struggled to find their handicapped-accessible entrance. The spaces in this museum are really tight. My electric wheelchair (which is smaller than my manual) could barely fit in the handicapped bathroom stalls. The elevators were a tight squeeze as well. Overall, we enjoyed our time at the National Gallery of Art, and I will definitely go back when we have more time.

Next, we went to the National Museum of Natural History. We explored every inch of this museum and stayed until closing. I've been here many times before, but with my children when they were little. Our visits were always rushed then, so it was nice to take our time. We were exhausted by the time we left this museum, so we ordered takeout and ate it in our hotel room while we decompressed.

Travel Day Two:

• We checked out of our hotel at 11:00 a.m. and started the trek home. This is where we ran into the most trouble (as I stated in our intro), but we DID make our train in NYC and arrived home around 8:00 p.m.

  
  

There you have it! It was a quick weekend getaway, but I learned so much. This was my first time traveling with my electric wheelchair. I tested the battery life, which lasted the entire day. We went non-stop daily from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and I still returned to the hotel with 1/3 of battery life. Using the electric wheelchair conserved energy, so I was able to do eleven-hour days with ease. I think I would have struggled using my manual in all the tight spaces (on the Amtrak train and in the museums). I'm gaining more confidence every time I travel. If you haven't already, be sure to check out my other blog posts.