Washington, DC- best time to go and tips on budget

[skmommy]

This may not be the best place to post this and may need to be moved, but it is mainly where I post and where I rely on all of you for the best advice so I hope it is ok.

I am planning a trip to Washington, DC for next year, late spring/early summer. I want to avoid crowds as much as possible so I have vetoed the spring break (1st week of April). Any opinions about which of the following 2 weeks would be better (crowds/weather/cost differences)? We can go either May 18-25 (want to avoid Memorial Day Wknd) or June 2-10.

I have searched and read a lot of the old threads on DC and found some really great advice, but any tips are always welcome. We will probably do a townhouse rental through HomeAway or VRBO to help with costs. Thanks for all the help

 

[Poohforyou]

I would go with the week in May. With late spring/early summer you'll have more humidity although nothing compared to July and August. Also June is a very popular month for school trips so things will be more crowded.

 

[Swimalie]

I would go with the week in May. With late spring/early summer you'll have more humidity although nothing compared to July and August. Also June is a very popular month for school trips so things will be more crowded.

I agree. Right now, mid-May, it's getting in to the 70's most days and low humidity. Although, we do get some rain this time of year but you can always stick with the indoor attractions during the rain days.

 

[clori]

Personally unless the 1st week of April is Cherry Blossom festival I think that would be fine. We went over April vacation (April 16-23) which is a very common North East vacation week. We did not find anything that crowded. For instance our ticket for the congressional Capitol tour said to be there 45 minutes out for security etc. We had two people in front of us in line for security then about 5 inside in the line to get actual tickets. The only real line we had was 2 out of 8 of us went early to the Bureau of Engraving to get tickets since we couldn't do that ahead of time. We only used the tourmobile at Arlington National Cemetary but even there we always got on the first shuttle we saw.

My tip is to check your senator/rep's website to see what tickets you can get ahead of time as well as checking out National Park Service to see what you can get ahead of time (timed tickets to National Archives, Washington Monument). Tickets from NPS do cost $1.50 each. I also purchased tickets to Ford's Theater ahead of time. I would also recommend being walking distance to the metro which was extremely easy to use.

 

[skmommy]

Thanks for all the help! Next year is the Centennial Celebration of the gift of the trees and the National Cherry Blossom Festival website says it will be an "epic 5-week spectacular, from March 20 – April 27, 2012" so I figured we would be better off skipping that timeframe. I would have liked to have gone over spring break, but we really try to avoid the crowds if possible. I will definitely check out the congressional websites to request the tickets that they can provide.