by Marjorie Wise

Created on: July 06, 2009   Last Updated: July 08, 2009

Washington, D.C., is your vacation destination and you want to see it all. Unless you have several weeks, that probably won't happen, but you can see a lot if you plan ahead.

Driving is probably not the best way to enjoy your vacation in Washington, D.C. Traffic is horrendous and parking is limited. Taking a tour is a good way to see the sights and get an overview of what's there and the distance between attractions. There are several options for tours in Washington, D.C., and you can choose to ride, bicycle, walk, or Segway.

*The Tourmobile visits all major attractions and gives the option of getting on and off at any of them. Your $27 adult ticket is good all day. There will be a shuttle about every 30minutes until 4:30 pm.

*The Old Town Trolley operates the same way, stopping at 19 attractions. Tickets for the trolley are $31.50 for adults and can be printed at home.

* A fun option to just see the sights is a 90-minute tour on the D.C. Ducks, an amphibious vehicle (ducks . . . get it?) that runs from Union Station to the National Mall then splashes into the Potomac River for a river view of the capital and a short cruise. Adult tickets are $29 and can be printed at home.

*Walking tours are 90minutes to two hours long and can be $10 per person or free. Washington Walks offers different tours each day of the week, with such offerings as Embassy Row, haunted houses, and moonlight walks. DC by Foot tour guides work for tips only, so there is no fee and the guides give a good presentation.

*Bicycles tours are two or more hours and average $35-$40. Night tours to monuments, when the crowds are gone, are offered or you can just rent a bike for about $35 for nine hours and go off on your own.

*A Segway is a self-balancing two-wheeled vehicle, sort of like a scooter, that moves at about 12 miles per hour. The two-hour Segway tours are extremely popular and many are sold out, even at $70 per person.

Once you've seen the attractions in general, it's time to be more specific about where you want to spend your time. The monuments and Smithsonian museums on the National Mall can take days to explore. You can't see it all, so start at the Smithsonian Information Center, known as the Castle, at the National Mall and choose the museums that hold the most interest for you. Museums open at 10 am; there will be smaller crowds in the morning. Most museums close at 5:30 pm but a few will remain open as late as 7:30 pm. Check the Smithsonian website or at the Castle for

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