If you’re visiting Washington DC from outside the United States you MUST watch this video to find out the most important things you need to know. Washington, DC is different from other destinations in the U.S. and you will have the best experience if you come prepared.
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~Resources from this video~
How much to TIP in Washington DC – https://youtu.be/Rn8qdO0xvTo
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~Video Chapters~
0:00 Learn U.S. history and government
0:35 See Washington DC on a guided tour
1:22 Hello!
1:55 Practice your English
2:56 How much cash to carry in Washington DC
3:57 Tipping
4:15 Bring international power adapters
4:46 International phone plan
6:03 Check the U.S. holiday schedule
14 Comments
As an internationell traveler myself, I say – 8 very good advices. Also make sure to check up on local transportation.
Merry Christmas!
I would say one of the best tips for international visitors is to plan your activities in advance. For instance if you’re going to the Smithsonian museums, plan which ones on which days and get there early as possible
Your an amazing YouTuber Rob.
I learned that abroad, in many countries, anything other than a hundred dollar note ($100) is looked at with suspicion of being fake. I usually have to tell people that it’s actually not an advantage to use a $100 bill here because it’s hard to change sometimes so getting other smaller denominations is a good idea.
My best advice is to watch Rob's videos before visiting. Particularly the best ones that resonated with me are cheap eats, what to wear for the weather, and driving. The food on the national mall is bad, driving is horrendous and weather is so eventful that you want to be able to change quickly and comfortably from warm to cold weather clothing. Seriously, driving is evil and if you search the Top 10 cities worst to drive in the US, DC is usually in the Top 5.
Great tips. Here are a couple of mine (as a Maryland resident near DC).
1. Try a cuisine you're not used to! If you're visiting several US cities you'll have you chance to try "American" food, but thanks to its rich diversity DC has a variety of food that's hard to find in other US cities such as Salvadorian or Ethiopian and cuisines that are popular in the US but may not be in your country like Korean, Thai, and Lebanese.
2. Crosswalks! One thing that surprises a lot of international visitors is that just because a crosswalk is lit up white for pedestrians, doesn't mean there are no vehicles crossing. For example, a car starting parallel to you might still be able to turn right or left into the street you are crossing. Or turning right on red, where a car may stop at a stoplight but then turn right if there are no cars. These cars MUST yield to pedestrians, but you want to be attentive in case they don't see you. A white pedestrian crossing light really only means no cars are actively going STRAIGHT through the road you're crossing. This is in contrast to places where a pedestrian light only illuminates when no cars are allowed to move at all.
3. Along the lines of 2, jaywalking is not really as big a deal as people outside the US think it is. Cross when safe, don't put yourself or drivers at risk, but no one's going to care if you cross when no cars are present. In fact, it's expected.
4. DC is the nation's capital but remember that it's a city of 700k people and few of them work in government. We are often frustrated or aware of national concerns, but there's so much more to the city than just being a capital.
Any questions, feel free to ask away!
We enjoyed our tour with you back in August Rob, and I think Charlie may have surprised you with his American history knowledge on our tour.
We read up on the history a lot before we travelled, but Charlie got a lot of his knowledge from watching the Hamilton musical!
My tip for mobile usage was just to use it on the WiFi of the hotel, store or restaurant you are in. In between times, you are on holiday/vacation so put your phone away and enjoy exploring!
When you go out to eat and ask for water. Be prepared for just tap water. When traveling abroad my first time when I asked for water and was expecting tap water and they asked me flat or sparkling I was not prepared.
I would add, not just for international tourists, that it's worth taking advantage of the guided tours that some of the sites offer. I would do them all one after the other if its possible and they are different. I spent like that almost 4 hours in the Capitol, doing 3 guided tours.
Thanks Rob
Thanks for the video Rob. We’re coming to DC for the second time in April – going to try an eSIM this time (I was hunting for public WiFi last August)
One of my tips is take the metro
You'll learn and understand so much more if you take one of Rob's tours.
Another piece of advice is to watch a video from the channel Wolter’s World about what not to do in the US generally. Some of the major points from that video are don’t crowd up on locals if there is no need to – Americans like having personal space whenever possible, don’t forget to tip (and don’t not tip in protest of US tipping culture, we know it sucks and a lot of us want to change it but if you refuse to tip you’re only hurting the server that probably isn’t even making minimum wage), and don’t talk politics with the Americans (this one is doubly so for the DC area).
What about renting a car? Does it worth or can we use public transportation?