Trip Hacks DC Tours — Local services in Washington

This review is a little delayed, but we were never going to not write about how great our experience was!

My husband and I discovered the Trip Hacks DC YouTube channel about a year before our trip in November 2021. My husband had been to DC many times before, but this was to be my first time, and as the planner of the house, I soaked up all the information I could. As the trip date got closer, and looking over all we wanted to try to see in five days, we decided to splurge and book a private monument tour with Rob.

As informative as Rob’s YouTube channel is, his private tour exceeds it. The three-hour tour covered eight different stops along the National Mall and was well-paced, never feeling rushed or drawn-out. The amount of knowledge that Rob has, and his skill at telling the stories of each stop on the tour, was astounding. Rob made sure to not only point out the different design features and interpretations of each monument, but also to tell the story of how each monument came to be and the interesting and fun facts behind each. Along the way, Rob kept the conversation moving, taking time to find out more about us and allowing us to pepper him with random questions about living in DC. Rob was also gracious enough to take photos of us at each monument, something that, as partners traveling alone, we rarely get, beyond selfies. Additionally, because of the time of year (early November) coupled with the time of day (dusk), it meant that we got some beautiful photos of the monuments with very few people around. In many cases, we had the monuments completely to ourselves.

We left the tour feeling immensely grateful for his time and knowledge. We knew that we would enjoy the experience, but we didn’t know that, looking back, his tour would be one of, if not THE, highlight of our time in DC. Make sure to book time with Rob, you will not be disappointed! Thank you Rob! -...

I booked a private tour with Rob based on his brilliant and helpful YouTube videos I watched when researching our visit to Washington DC, and I was confident that my wife and I would enjoy the tour; I just didn’t realise how much. Travelling with teenagers, I wasn’t sure what they would make of it though, as they are not always easy to maintain enthusiasm, especially with historical facts and walking around. However, every one of us came away feeling that the tour had been a highlight of our visit to Washington DC and I’m delighted that I booked it.

Rob is a very professional, amiable and likeable character, whose knowledge of his subject is remarkable. We found it difficult to think of questions to ask, as he always provided us with so much rich information. I felt that Rob tailored his presentation to us as an audience as I never felt that we were being provided with too much information, so it was always felt relevant.

Our tour took in the monuments around the Tidal Basin and west side of the National Mall, starting at the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. As visitors from the UK, we came away much better informed about the history and the people linked to the various monuments, especially Franklin D Roosevelt, whose monument was our collective favourite, but we would have been unlikely to have come across it if left to our own choices, and certainly wouldn’t have had the insight to its features without Rob’s input.

The tour lasted around 3 hours at a sensible pace: no route marches between sites like you get on some tours, and had we spent the same amount of time again, I suspect Rob would have kept us all hooked.

Rob even bid us farewell with some advice on restaurants for eating at and we had a lovely meal in one of his recommended eateries.

This was good value for money and I would recommend Rob’s private tour to anyone visiting...

Prior to traveling to DC...we found Rob's videos on DC travel/Travel Tips on Youtube...I can not tell you how many of his tips/tricks we followed while in DC...his videos were extremely helpful and really helped us prepare for our trip to maximize our experience in the nation's capital.

Last minute, we booked our tour with Rob on the first day of our visit to DC/Virginia - and it turned out to be an incredible start to our trip! Rob was awesome from start to finish! He started our tour at the Jefferson Memorial and we ended a few short hours later at WWII...with many stops in between (MLK, FDR, Korean, Lincoln, Washington Monument, Vietnam, and Vietnam Women's Memorial just to name a few!)

Throughout the tour he was engaging, thoughtful and so knowledgeable about not only the history/facts about all the DC landmarks, but also about how they came to be on the mall with even insights on the architects and individuals who constructed them. Our kids (ages 11, 10, 10, 9, and 8) truly learned so much as we walked from monument to monument mesmerized not only with the grandeur of the structures, but also the history being shared...Rob engaged with each of the kids (and us) sharing stories and details which really kept their attention and pulled them into the stories of FDR...MLK...and Lincoln. It was outstanding!

Over the coming week post our tour, as we visited our family in Virginia, you could still hear our kids sharing what they had learned on our tour with Aunts, Uncles and cousins...local Virginian's who didn't know some of the information, all amazed that they had learned so much in just a short tour. We HIGHLY recommend Rob! If, like me, you want your kids to "take something home" from your travels...trust...