[DownYonder]

Looks like I will be going to Arlington National Cemetery for an interment. Can someone recommend nearby hotels that are nice but not out-of- this-world expensive? And good restaurants in the same category?

[LexInVA]

The best you can do is to stay in Springfield or Arlington/Alexandria as they all share the same Metro Rail lines and can bring you directly where you want to go. Springfield has a host of hotels that will likely fit your bill and there are decent restaurants if you're able to get away from the hotel area via car or metro rail to other parts of NoVA. If you stay in Springfield, you can take the rail directly to the cemetary and take it to Alexandria where there's a lot of restaurants and to Crystal City, where there are more restaurants and lots of shopping.

[JanM]

It's been a long time since I rode the Metro, but make sure the train you're on stops at that station. At one time they didn't always stop at the Cemetery station.

[Indy]

Check the Crystal City & Pentagon City areas. There are hotels in both neighborhoods and plenty of restaurants. Safe areas as well. Both are on the same Metro line as Arlington Cemetery (and Reagan Airport, so fly into there if you can if you are flying).

[DownYonder]

Thanks for the info. We will have a car, so don't need to worry about the Metro. We are thinking about one of the big chain hotels in the Arlington area, but we will need to meet with family members in the Bethesda area. How hard is it to go between Arlington and Bethesda? Does it totally depend on time of day? We will be arriving sometime Sunday, and the service is on Monday morning.

[Event4Life]

Arlington-Bethesda will totally depend on the time of day. I've tried to get across DC during rush hour before and it was a nightmare. Never ever again. It took around 2 hours from the VA side - MD side for me. You may be better off using public transport depending on the time of day.

Agree with Pentagon City as far as hotels/restaurants.

[CiegoStar]

I would not recommend Metro to go from Arlington to Bethesda if you have flexibility in your schedule because it'll take forever. Traffic will be fine on Sunday barring an accident. (Just check Google maps for traffic.) Monday, I wouldn't plan on driving to or from Bethesda from 7-10 am or 4-7 pm, meaning you'll want to be off the road entirely during that time. Best case scenario, it'll take about 30 minutes, outer edges of rush hour, about 45 min. Good luck!

[LexInVA]

Thanks for the info. We will have a car, so don't need to worry about the Metro. We are thinking about one of the big chain hotels in the Arlington area, but we will need to meet with family members in the Bethesda area. How hard is it to go between Arlington and Bethesda? Does it totally depend on time of day? We will be arriving sometime Sunday, and the service is on Monday morning.

Stay in Springfield and you can take the Metrorail to Arlington Cemetery and the Beltway to Bethesda. If you stay in Arlington, you will pay through the nose as those downtown hotels near the Pentagon are very expensive, not to mention you have to pay for parking everywhere there, including hotels.

[Trixie]

Try Old Town, Alexandria. Good restaurants, excellent walking around, and it's on the train line to Arlington. Try Priceline. Also, on a Monday morning, it's a fairly reasonable (for DC) drive. Do not. I repeat. DO NOT. Go from Bethesda to Arlington at rush hour.