Private Washington & Philadelphia Tour from NYC

Two capitals, one private day

Philadelphia was the first capital of the United States and Washington the permanent one, and they sit on the same road south from New York. That makes them a natural pair for a single day, and it is the most popular combination among day trips from the city.

The private version takes your group alone. A bilingual English and Spanish guide, licensed in both cities, collects you from an address you choose in Manhattan anywhere between Lower Manhattan and 125th Street, and stays with you for the whole day.

What the day covers

Washington comes first, after four to five hours on the road with a coffee break. The guide stops at the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial, the Iwo Jima flag-raising statue, then spends about an hour at the Lincoln Memorial before the White House and the Capitol, both seen from outside. You have an hour for lunch.

Philadelphia is about three hours further on the way back north. The guide walks you through Independence National Historical Park to the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, and the day ends at the Rocky Steps in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. From there it is about an hour and a half to Manhattan.

What it costs for your group

GetYourGuide shows this tour as “from $2,038 per person”, which reads like a price for one. In the booking box the total hardly moves with the size of the group. On a mid-October weekday we checked, one or two adults paid $2,038 in total and four paid $2,040, which is about $510 each. That makes it the cheaper of the two private tours from New York for any group, and it includes Philadelphia.

The same operator runs a shared version of this day on a coach from Times Square at 5:00 AM, for $115 per person, rated 4.6 from more than 3,800 reviews. For two people the shared coach is far cheaper; for four or more the private tour costs about twice as much per head and removes the coach, the fixed schedule and the 5:00 AM start.

Who it suits, and who it does not

It suits families and small groups who want to see the Liberty Bell as well as the Lincoln Memorial, and Spanish speakers who want a guide in their own language. It is a long day, about 17 hours, and the time in each city is short: enough for the landmarks, not for a museum.

If you would rather spend the whole day in Washington, the private car tour gives you about five hours there with a private guide on foot, including the Smithsonian. The tour is not suitable for wheelchair users, and children under 8 need a suitable car seat under New York State law.

Check availability for the private Washington and Philadelphia tour.