Trip Hacks DC

For the first time in three years National Cherry Blossom Festival events are back in person. This is an exciting development after years of missing out on one of the most anticipated events in Washington, DC. However, it's important to know what's changed and how. In this episode Rob is joined by Diana Mayhew. She is the President of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, the nonprofit organization that organizes and implements festival events each spring. Diana has some important tips if you're planning to visit for the cherry blossoms in 2022 and beyond.

Full show notes for this episode are available on the Trip Hacks DC website.

When is the best time of year to travel? What's the best process to choose a hotel? How do you find the best tours and experiences in a destination? In this episode Rob takes the mic to tackle all of these questions and more. He brings his decade of experience as a tour guide and applies it to how he travels. It's a different perspective than you'll hear from a frequent or professional traveler, but hopefully valuable nonetheless! 

Full show notes for this episode are available on the Trip Hacks DC website.

Are travelers coming back to Washington, DC? Is the tourism industry recovering? The answer is yes. But also no. It's complicated. The only way to properly explain it is to walk through what 2021 was like month by month.  In this episode Rob takes the mic for a solo podcast. He talks about how Trip Hacks DC tour business fared in 2021 and what the experience was like to own a Washington DC tour business and try to come back from a devastating 2020.

Full show notes for this episode are available on the Trip Hacks DC website.

How do you book your airfare, hotels, and tours? What websites do you use? What would you think if I told you that the websites you use to book your trip could make or break your travel experience? This is an important topic whether you're traveling to Washington, DC or elsewhere! In this episode Rob takes the mic for a solo podcast. He covers a topic that very few tour industry insiders will publicly discuss - why booking direct is a superior option to booking travel on a third party website. 

Full show notes for this episode are available on the Trip Hacks DC website.

Trip Hacks DC is primarily a source of travel content for Washington, DC visitors. But once visitors get here, especially when they sign up for a Trip Hacks DC tour, they have a lot of questions and curiosities about what it's like to live in DC. If you're planning to move here, hopefully you'll find plenty of useful information in this episode. If you're just visiting, hopefully this episode helps satisfy some of your curiosity.

Rob welcomes John Coleman to the podcast. John is a real estate agent who has dedicated much of his time to perfecting the home buying process. He’s also the host of Coffee with Coleman, a YouTube channel where he loves to discuss Washington DC, real estate, business, and all that good stuff. Make sure to follow along with him on Instagram and Facebook as well.

Full show notes are available on the Trip Hacks DC website. 

At the time of recording there are nearly 200 Trip Hacks DC YouTube videos and dozens of podcast episodes with travel tips galore! But how do you tie all of those tips together into a tip itinerary? This episode's guest walks you through how he took the tips he learned from Trip Hacks DC and designed an itinerary around them.

Rob welcomes Doug McKnight to the podcast. Doug is a fellow podcaster and co-host of Rope Drop Radio, a podcast by two dads who love Disney. He is an expert on Disney parks and Disney cruises but is also a great travel planner no matter the destination.

Episode sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Rope Drop Radio. Listen on all the podcast apps and follow along with them on Twitter and Facebook. And by travel agent Michelle McKnight, a Destination Specialist with TouringPlans. Whether you want to travel to Disney World or Washington, DC or anywhere in between, Michelle has you covered.

Washington, DC visitors all know about the major sites - the monuments, memorials, museums and historic places. But there is so much more out there! There is an entire "secret" side of Washington, DC that many visitors, and even some locals, never truly discover. A new book tells the stories of some of the places.

In this episode Rob welcomes Washington, DC based author JoAnn Hill to the podcast. JoAnn is the author of the new book Secret Washington, DC: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure. She is an avid traveler and foodie who writes about her global travel adventures on the blog dcglobejotters. She is also an educator, former DC public school teacher and founder of the tutoring company Capitol Teachers. You can follow JoAnn on Instagram.

Full show notes are available on the Trip Hacks DC website. 

Travelers have a plethora of restaurant choices when they visit Washington, DC. Everyone wants to eat well but many travelers also want to know how to support the businesses that are rooted in the local community. The reality is, if you want to sample some of the quintessential DC foods you need to check out some Black owned businesses while you're here.

In this episode Rob welcomes Washington, DC based food blogger Anela Malik to the podcast. Anela is a Black food blogger, former diplomat, and avid traveler. She is the founder of Feed the Malik, a project where she highlights marginalized perspectives in food and showcases some of DC’s tastiest treats as well as her own recipes. Follow her on Instagram and TikTok and keep an eye out for her upcoming book!

Full show notes for this episode are available on the Trip Hacks DC website.

There are so many fun things to do when you visit Washington, DC that the options can feel overwhelming. You might wonder: are free tours any good? Is it worth it to splurge on a private tour experience? Is the best mode of transportation to see the monuments by foot, bike, Segway, or bus? In this episode we tackle all of these questions so you can pick out the best Washington DC tours when you visit.

Travel industry veteran and world traveler Shane Whaley joins Rob for this conversation. Shane hosts Tourpreneur, a podcast that deep dives into the journey of the tour business owner. He also hosts Spybrary, a Spy Podcast for fans of spy books and movies; as well as Radio GDR, a podcast in English all about the life and times of East Germany.

Full show notes for this episode are available on the Trip Hacks DC website.

In this podcast episode you'll learn about a great areas to stay (and avoid) on your Washington DC trip. Plus what amenities to look for in a hotel, how to do your research, and a few tips for finding the best deals.

Chris Raney from Yellow Productions joins Rob for this conversation. On Chris's YouTube channel, he produces travel videos that are fun, informative and entertaining. You can also keep up with Yellow Productions on Instagram and Facebook.

Full show notes for this episode are available on the Trip Hacks DC website.