San Diego Airport (SAN) is a short drive away from the city's downtown on either the I-5 or the Pacific Highway. Flight duration is nearly five hours to Washington Ronald Reagan National (DCA). Ronald Reagan is due south of the capital and has excellent public transport links to the city: bus and subway are your best bet, though there are trains to the greater D.C. area as well.

Attractions and Tips

As the nation's capital, Washington D.C. is not short of monuments. Most famous of these are of course the Lincoln Memorial with its reflecting pool, the Washington Memorial obelisk and the cool white marble of the Jefferson Memorial. The city is also host to some excellent museums, such as the National Gallery of Art and the Holocaust Memorial Museum. Bibliophiles will have the time of their life scouring the shelves of the Library of Congress, while science geeks can disappear down the Smithsonian's halls. D.C. also has a thriving food and drinks scene, so after a long day of sightseeing, relaxation is only a few minutes away.

Washington D.C. has a continental climate with hot summers and cold winters and a wet spring and fall in between; visitors are advised to dress accordingly. The city's hotels are mostly found downtown, near the Mall and the Potomac River.