Leave a Review Washington DC
Great Concept, But Lots of Improvements Still Needed
We were excited to use the app despite mixed reviews. Really loved the history facts with the sites and sprinkles of humor.
It can be a little confusing getting started but once you get close to a site and click the site in the app, the story telling starts.
However, I wish there was a refund policy but since there isn’t here’s a few tips for anyone considering downloading. It would be best to drive the city late at night when there’s hardly any traffic. That way you can enjoy the sites and stories better without worrying about delaying or navigating through traffic. If you get thrown off course at night it would be easier to course correct.
At certain sites the app and/or GPS kept messing up and throwing us off course. We were driving 10-15 mph and there were multiple times when the app gave the history lesson AFTER the site had been passed. There were times we were driving in the correct direction and the app said the location was on the opposite side of the street. There were times when the app would say stay or get in the right lane and then immediately after that say get in the left lane and turn left. Crossing several lanes of DC traffic makes this difficult, and then you get thrown off course.
You definitely cannot use this app as a solo traveler. You need someone to look at the map and help the driver navigate, it is a necessity. A couple of times the map re-oriented itself in the app throwing us off too. Sometimes the narration was way too fast and you couldn’t understand what they were saying, or gave late narration. Sometimes the narration repeated the history lesson on its own after it had already told the story.
We tried to make the app work for the trip because when it worked it was good but eventually gave up and stopped using it out of frustration from how it kept messing up.Show lesstrvlgrlswrld
Frustrating
Extremely discouraged that the map wouldn’t allow you to zoom out…it would automatically zoom back in…making it difficult to plan for sites ahead. The dialogue kept getting interrupted by driving directions. Felt very disjointed. Would not recommend to others.Doughyjoey
Developer Response
Have you ever encountered a situation where someone in the car is reading something important to you, and you arrive before the reading is completed? Then the reader says, oh I didn't finish, you got here too fast. Well, that is what happens on driving tours. We counter as much as possible by stating it is best to stay in the traffic slower lane. And by presenting the most important information first so if you miss the end you have already gotten the most important info. Sometimes we lower the volume of the description so that you hear the directions over the description.DO. NOT. BUY.
5/22/22
Horrible! Not worth it AT ALL! I wish I could get my money back. Not updated, doesn’t recognize your location well. I don’t know DC well and their traffic patterns. The directions would just start playing and you would do what was told and you end up way off coarse and couldn’t get back.shutterflySammyLynn
Excellent! Especially for a city with a confusing Road plan
We took full advantage of this app when my son was exhausted and wanted to nap in the car. It was amazing and full of history and detail. Washington DC‘s road plan is incredibly confusing and the app did a great job of telling you which way to go. It’s best to use if you have a co- navigator to read the GPS map. However even if you’re on your own, it’s a great way to find all kinds of secret hidden places amongst the city full of history. Well done!Show lessLOALM MASS
Developer Response
We are very pleased you enjoy our Drive Washington tour! Our team makes every effort to make it fun and easy to use and you verified our efforts are working. We also take the time to changes along the route, which are always happening in Washington, are noticed and the tour updated. Thank you for taking the time to do a review.Interesting and easy to follow, needs some updates
Good app, needs some directional update as there are a few streets closed or barricaded.aaaaasssssjjjjjjj84
Developer Response
Thank you for your review. Yes, street closures are a problem and one almost impossible to solve. As stated in the App introductions, DC has closures for riots, motorcades, demonstrations, and road repairs almost daily or hourly. We try our with what we can do.Great variety of sites
During a pandemic, we thought this would be better than a crowded tour bus - and it was! A couple of new traffic patterns where left turns aren’t allowed anyone, and sometimes it repeats the previous waypoint, but we got to see and hear about DC in a unique way.MattSuppa
Developer Response
Thank you for your review. We try hard, but the cities are always doing something different with traffic patterns and while we have test drivers, often the changes are temporary. And, just so you know, tour bus drivers encounter the same problems.Well worth it!
Two siblings and I just used this app over the past three days and were very happy with it. Yes, there was some user adjustment, and yes, I made u-turns and around-the-block adjustments depending on traffic flow and unfamiliarity with the city streets, but we saw places we would not have ventured by or known what they were even if we had driven by them. We particularly enjoyed the Georgetown and embassy areas - two places we definitely would not have driven to without guidance. D.C. could definitely use more visible street signs and site markers- we were surprised at how poor the signage is overall. On the positive side, D.C. doesn’t have many one-way streets compared to some other cities so it was easy to get back on track. As the driver, by the second day, I realized it was more helpful to use two devices with the app. I used my phone on the dash as my street driving guide as a sibling used my iPad to follow and play the site information through the car’s bluetooth system. I was able to follow the street patterns much more easily that way. We heartily recommend this app if you have someone comfortable with city driving, and we feel it was worth every cent. Kudos!Show lessSeptember smile
So disappointed
Didn’t work for us. Wouldn’t play, either using Bluetooth or using an aux cord. Very glitchy.ashleymink
Great value!
This was very easy to follow and so helpful to see most of the sites in our limited time in DC; much better than spending $100/person for the bus!FrodoBagginsGandalf
Developer Response
Our SelfTour team thanks you and are glad that your experience was wonderful. We try hard to make our tours enjoyable and the best they can be.Great for the price!
This is a great alternative for persons not wanting to get on a crowded bus or who want to spread out the tour over a couple of days.
Pros:
Price - Saved $300 on a family of 6!
Own Pace - Stop & Go
Cheesy Jokes!
Cons:
DC traffic patterns
No rerouting option
No historical deep dives.
The pros way outweigh the cons, but I wanted to provide my true experience. Our family is looking forward to doing this tour again on our next DC visit.Show lessOKingpjn
Developer Response
If we had known your reaction to the tour experience would be so good, we would have thrown in more of those cheesy jokes! Seriously, our team thanks you for your positive comments on our hard work. We look forward to hearing from you again after experiencing one of our other tours. Best.
