Signature Tours of DC

A Washington, DC sightseeing operator with its own guides and coaches

Signature Tours of DC runs its own guided sightseeing tours in Washington, DC, with trips to Arlington National Cemetery and George Washington's Mount Vernon nearby. The homepage describes its own guides and drivers and "brand-new, climate-controlled buses with leather seats," and says "Since 2000, Signature Tours DC has been one of Washington DC's most trusted and award-winning tour operators," describing itself as an "AWARD-WINNING TOUR OPERATOR WITH OVER 25 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE." Public tours start from the National Archives at 790 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Prices are in US dollars. The website can be read in English, Arabic, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian, though the site does not say which languages the tours themselves are guided in.

The homepage lists Tripadvisor Certificates of Excellence in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 and Travelers' Choice Awards in 2020, 2023, 2024 and 2025, and headlines "Over 3,000 5-Star Reviews!" The company's own reviews single out named guides and a driver.

Tours on the menu

The City Bus Tours are the core product, "From $84+." The Morning City Bus Tour lasts 3 hours from 10:00 AM with "10+ Top Monuments & Memorials": the National Archives, U.S. Capitol and White House (exteriors), the Lincoln, World War II, Martin Luther King, Jr., Korean War, Vietnam Veterans and Vietnam Women's memorials, and the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial (Iwo Jima). The page says "Each stop is approximately 10-20 minutes depending on location," and it passes the Washington Monument and Arlington Cemetery on the way. The night version, "From $64+," is "a 3-hour guided bus & walking tour of the National Mall with stops at 10 top memorials and monuments," leaving at 7:30 PM. In cherry blossom season, which the site puts at "typically late March-early April," tours allow time to walk under the trees.

The boat option pairs the city tour with a narrated cruise on the Potomac, "From $95+." The City Bus Tour + Seasonal Boat Cruise lasts 6 hours, and the cruise leaves from historic Georgetown, where guests buy lunch on their own. The boat page gives the season as "March 26 to October 15," and the bus page as "typically mid March - mid October." Out of season, the boat is replaced by "Bonus stops to Jefferson Memorial and Eisenhower Memorial," with lunch at the Pentagon City Mall Food Court.

On foot, the Capitol Hill + U.S. Capitol Tours are a "2-Hour Guided Walking Tour of Capitol Hill" with admission available to the U.S. Capitol, Library of Congress or Capitol Museum buildings, "From $55+." The Arlington Cemetery Tours are "Guided 2-Hour Walking Tours" covering the Changing of the Guard and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, "From $59+." Tour + Admission Tickets packages, "From $89+," add entry to the Washington Monument, the National Air and Space Museum or the National Museum of African American History. The Mount Vernon tours include "Admission & Mansion Tour" plus a drive through Old Town Alexandria, and the longest combination on the night tours page runs 10 hours, covering Capitol Hill, the morning bus tour, Arlington and the night tour.

Private tours

Private tours are sold by vehicle: SUV Private Tours for "Up to 4 Guests," Large Van Private Tours for "Up to 8 Guests" and Coach Bus Private Tours for "Up to 40 Guests," plus a special private tour with the U.S. Capitol, the Archives or the Washington Monument. The page promises "a dedicated experienced personal tour guide who will narrate the history around the spots and talk and walk with you at each stop." An Arlington private option lists the Changing of the Guard, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the John F Kennedy gravesite and the Columbia and Challenger memorials. That Arlington option meets at the Arlington Cemetery Metro Station, and the page asks guests to arrive 15 minutes early. The page also notes paid parking at Arlington National Cemetery, with the catch that guests who park there must make their own way back from the Lincoln Memorial at the end. Private tours are booked by phone on (202) 498-2346.

How the day works

The bus tours meet at the National Archives, "on the corner of 9th St & Pennsylvania Ave," near the Archives Metro Station on the Green and Yellow lines. The boat page asks guests to "be there 30 min before tour starts (9:30 am)." The exception is the 8:00am Capitol Hill package, which "will meet across the street from the Supreme court building at 1 First Street NE." There is "No hotel pick up or drop off." For packages with attraction tickets, the company says it will send the ticket on the day of the tour, valid for the time the attraction assigns.

The private tours page is frank about fitness: "The walking tours are recommended only for those able to stand and walk briskly for that period of time and is not ideal for people with mobility issues (including but not limited to wheelchairs, canes, walkers, oxygen tanks, scooters, etc.) or accompanied by small children or babies in strollers." It advises comfortable shoes and umbrellas because "most of the tour is outdoors," warns that DC "can be very cold in the winter and very hot in the summer," and notes that food and drinks other than water are not allowed in Arlington Cemetery, where photo ID is required.

Booking and terms

Booking is online, with the code Signature15 for 15% off; the site says the discount does not apply to Mount Vernon tours or private tours. Guests must show an email confirmation or printed receipt at the start of the tour. Contact is (202) 498-2346 or royalusa@hotmail.com. The menu links to an FAQ page, but the tour pages do not state a cancellation window or refund rules.

What the site leaves open, and who it suits

The tour pages give no group-size figure for public tours, and the guiding language is not stated. Several prices are "From" figures that depend on the package. Cancellation terms need checking before paying.

What the site does publish is unusually complete: meeting points with a metro stop, stop lists with time at each stop, seasonal boat dates, clear vehicle capacities for private tours and a plain statement of who the walking portions do not suit. It suits first-time visitors who want the National Mall covered in one morning or evening, families and groups who want a private vehicle, and anyone combining monuments with museum tickets or a Potomac cruise. Visitors with limited mobility should read the walking notes before booking.