This day trip is well worth the journey and the experience. I enjoyed the day immensely. I recommend this for anyone who likes to generally explore by themselves and who are not keen on an all day guided tour. This was a DIY trip, with train journey, hop on and off bus and meal at Hard Rock Cafe. I was booked on a train at 6am from New York to Washington DC. The journey time was 3 and half hours. Quicker than by bus and cheaper than by plane. The train is better in my opinion than by plane because your travelling from city centre to city centre, without the hassle of travelling to and from an airport. For a foreigner the journey by train gets you to see the surroundings on route to DC, you get to see New Jersey, Maryland and it passes through Philadelphia and Baltimore. A pleasant journey there and back. In Washington DC you have plenty of time to see the sights as you have time to explore from 9.30am until your train journey back to New York at 7pm. Make sure you get to the station at least 45 minutes before so you can be at the front of the queue guaranteeing a good seat back to NYC. I got to see a lot in Washington DC using the hop on and off trolly. Well worth it and the drivers of the trolly were enthusiastic guides, who enlightened your experience. They were knowledgeable and well informative. I also had a chance to visit one of the museums and visited most of the monuments in my own time. Before i returned to the station i ate at Hard Rock cafe. It was a good meal. A good day, very hot and tiring but worth it. Two pieces of advice, bring a camera, bring a hat if its sunny, sun cream if its to hot and umbrella if it rains. I arrived back at NYC at 10.30pm ready for bed. Enjoy!