We want to Visit DC from june 30th to about july 2nd, is this a good time?

Question

Will this be a good time being so close to the 4th of July? I'd like to drive in and stay at a hotel there. Is it a rough drive?

Answer 1

Yes! I live here, but be forewarned it will be PACKED with people. Lets not go there about going to see the fireworks. Utilize public transportation as much as possible...

Answer 2

I live in Northern VA and work in the District. This is a good time to visit DC because a lot of locals will be out of town because the week of the 4th has a holiday in there and a lot of federal employees plan to take that week off and only use 4 vacation days.

The problem is that a lot of out of towners come to visit the area during that time as well.

Driving in DC isn't like NYC. You should be OK. Plan your route ahead of time. Be advised that some local highways are HOVonly during certain times of day, like I-66. So be careful. Also if you have EZ-Pass or Smart-Tag you'll have an easy time with many of the toll roads like I-267.

Staying at a hotel is a good option. Try to choose one with good Metro access and have the hotel people give you the best options for Metro farecards. Sometimes an all-day pass is the best option, sometimes paying individual fares is better. But know that you will have a hastle if you try to park at a Metro station. You need a Smart trip card to get out of most garages.

Good luck.

Answer 3

In some ways it's an excellent time. There is a lot going on in DC, which means lots of stuff for you to do. The best, in my opinion is the Smithsonian's Folklife festival on the Mall. Also many free concerts and the like.

But it's also one of the busiest time for tourists. If you are going to drive in your best bet may be to stay in the suburbs and take metro in. Normally, though, I don't recommend that - since the communte in by metro is a little time consuming from many places. If you do this try to stay in the Rosslyn or Crystal City areas, since they are close to downtown. You could stay at a downtown hotel - check online, there are bunches, but make sure you check about parking, some hotels don't have any, others charge a lot of money for it.

About rough drive, it depends from where. The traffic in DC is very bad, but a little better on the weekend.

Answer 4

Is it a rough drive from WHERE? It'll be a busy time in DC so close to July 4th. Whether that makes it a good time to go or not is up to you. If you haven't made hotell reservations yet, you may be out of luck.

Answer 5

It is pretty likely to be hot and humid at that time. And it will be fairly crowded as well, just before July 4th (maybe not as much because July 4 is in the middle of the week this year but it's always crowded then). Also, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival will be taking place - it's usually quite interesting but also exceedingly crowded. The website for that is:
http://www.folklife.si.edu/festival/2007/index.html.

Driving and especially parking in DC is never easy. And parking is also likely to be expensive as well.

Answer 6

Just remember it's a few days before July 4. My in-laws were in DC on July 4th about 2 years ago and said they would never do it again. Way too many people...

Answer 7

It'll probably be hot and humid, but not too bad as far as 4th of July crowds go. The tourists are here all summer long. Be sure to check out the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival on the Mall:

http://www.folklife.si.edu/center/festival.html

Answer 8

Yes, late June is a good time to visit. It's warm, way warm, but not yet hot, like it will be in late July and August. It's not a "rough" drive at all.