While we wait for the more experienced, I have used Uber while in Chicago and my DD's use it and Lyft in NYC.

The cars were ordered on by my DD's phone. Here's what I like about it. You know the make of the car coming to get you and there will be a count down of where the car is in relation to where you are. 10, 9, 8..........car is now out front! We had 4 per car.

We didn't order ahead of time, but I imagine that might be a feature.

When we were in Chicago, we used a regular cab going to the event. We were downtown, in a hotel so plenty of cabs. The event was in a residential neighborhood, so we used Uber to get back.

Since you pay in advance, tip included, when you reach your destination, you like jump out.

I just Ubered around with a young guy who had the app on his phone. We did not order in advance, and in Washington DC, with one of the highest number of Uber drivers in the country, you won't need to book in advance.

It was seamless, and we even had a glitch in which a wrong type of car was sent, but was corrected (within minutes, another driver appeared). The only thing that irked me was the surge charge because a concert was ending nearby. I think the surge is ridiculous at this point, especially with the vast increase in drivers in the past few years.

Here's a quick link from Uber to get you an estimate in DC.

Thanks!

I used that link, and the estimate seems good. So I just install the app on my phone, and that day, I request a car and I won't have to worry about one not coming...

Now I just ned to figure out the difference between Uberblack, UberSUV, UberX, etc.

No advanced bookings as far as I know. They always arrive within minutes. Surcharges are set during heavy traffic times because, no matter how many drivers there are, traffic still moves more slowly. Your fares are known in advance so you don't get hit with additional time the car spends getting through traffic to the destination. Go to their website and you can see how it works without/before getting the app.

I just used Uber for the first time while visiting Boaton with my daughter last week. I've been in an Uber car several times before with my husband but it was the first time I'd ever used the app myself. It was very easy! We used it four times during our trip. The longest we had to wait was five minutes, but it was pouring rain that day. The other times I made sure we were standing right outside our location b/c the cars picked us up almost instaneously. I must admit I was a little nervous about it and don't think I would ever use one if I were alone, but that's just my personal comfort level.

I forgot to add that we live outside DC and dh uses Uber frequently in DC and the suburbs, as well as all over the country when he travels, and has never had a problem having one arrive in a timely manner.

When I'm in Philly visiting my kids we Uber just about everywhere. They've told me it's cheaper than a taxi and I appreciate the fact that the cars have all been newer models, spotlessly clean and the drivers have been unfailingly polite and friendly.

We can even watch the progress of the car on the map on our cell phone so we know when to head outside.

When we're all together we do submit our request in advance because we need a Suburban but if we only need a car we just order about 15-20 minutes before we want to leave. .......unless of course the Pope's in town or the DNC.....or even worse the Pres.........what a mess that is. I really do feel for DC residents who have to deal with that regularly.

Very easy to use Uber. Set it up. Open the app when you are ready, select regular UberX and you will get regular vehicles. If just for two people, UberX is perfect. In DC, you will most likely end up in Prius:-)

UberBlack are luxury cars like Tesla, Mercedes, etc. They are executive car quality.

UberSUV is if you have multiple people and want a SUV.

I am so jealous about your reservation at Pineapple and Pearls. Now that Rose's Luxury is accepting reservations, I need to make a reservation for dinner. The Donovan is a good location.

Have fun in our fair city!

We were just in DC last week and used Uber several times-what a fantastic product! My daughter has the app on her phone and I was amazed at how easy, convenient and cost effective, it was. We took an Uber from the airport to our hotel, and then a couple of times between destinations on days when the heat and walking was just too overwhelming. No problems whatsoever and it is like magic; a couple of clicks on the phone and a moment later a car glides up, you climb in and off you go. Arrive at your destination, climb off and it's all done. Can't get much easier than that. We used cabs a couple of times too but Uber is a winner in my book.

I live in the DC suburbs. Everyone here ubers to the city. Recently, DD and her husband took UBER to the city and home for a weekend getaway rather than driving their own car or taking the METRO which is a mess due to safety repairs limiting trains.

Thank You!

So I downloaded the ap and I guess I will just put in my order that day and assume a car will come. We'll plan to have them pick us up early I guess so we aren't late for dinner.

homepro01 I am glad to hear the Donovan is in a good location. I am planning to walk to the white house from there for our white house tour. It looks reasonably close. I wanted somewhere with a pool and I liked the rooftop pool there :) I'm excited to try the restaurant too. We did the tasting at Minibar last year, so I'm eager to see which is better!

Thanks!

Minibar is top notch! If you have a little time, try Fiola Mare on the Georgetown water front too. You are walking distance to the White House from the Donovan.

On the Uber app, it shows you cars in your area and the amount of time it will take to get to you. It really is very simple. Have fun!

Thanks homepro01 and thanks for the restaurant suggestion! I don't know if we'll have time this trip. We're going only for 2 nights and touring the capital and the white house plus the Pineapple and Pearls dinner. Maybe on the second day after our capital tour, we can try it :)

Happy to report back that we used Uber 6 times over our DC trip and it was wonderfully easy, very low cost, and our experiences were great on each trip. Thanks to everyone for the tips on how to do it. I highly recommend Uber to anyone who hasn't tried it!

beaglesdoitbetter, how was Pineapple and Pearls?

I'm glad that Uber worked out for you, I'm going to DC sometime this month, and will use it instead of a cab. I used Uber in NYC two weeks ago, my driver was there in 2 minutes, and he was terrific!

Pineapple and Pearls was wonderful! Even foods I don't normally like very much, like raw oyster and egg plant, made up some of my favorite dishes of the night!

The one thing I didn't like as much as Minibar was that we were at a table away from the kitchen so you couldn't see what they were doing. At Minibar, we were right overlooking where they were cooking so you got to see more and talk to the chef's. Pineapple and Pearls had bar seating as an option, and it was actually less expensive but I think it would have been more fun and if we go back we will probably do the bar seats (there's two areas of bar seats though, and I would want to make sure we could get one overlooking the kitchen).

Three of us got the non-alcoholic drink option instead of the alcohol one b/c at Minibar when I got the champagne pairing it was way too much to drink and I didn't like getting so tipsy that I couldn't enjoy the food as much. The mocktails weren't that great and weren't as good as the non-alcoholic pairing at Minibar (which my DH had when we were there). Although one of them, served in a coconut, was excellent.

At any rate, it was definitely worth it, and a great experience. I would go back for sure and sit at the bar (which also doesn't require a drink pairing so it would be better for us on both counts). Some of the foods and particularly the first desert were so good that I wanted to lick the plate :)

We also did the White House tour and it was awesome, esp. b/c there was a guy on our tour who knew someone who worked at the white house and he brought out Bo and Sunny so we got to pet them and meet them!

" who knew someone who worked at the white house and he brought out Bo and Sunny so we got to pet them and meet them!"

Now I am jealous!

Glad you had a good time.

We used Uber quite a bit last weekend in SF (wedding festivities.) When there were more than four of us in a group, we ordered an XL, which was a minivan. Our last driver was especially great--such a happy guy!