Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C.: Travel tips, parade, fireworks, bloom watch

LOCATION: Washington, D.C.

BY: Jen Leo,

DATE: Thursday, March 4, 2010

DETAILS:

If you are thinking about going to Washington, D.C. ,to see the cherry blossoms, plan a whole holiday around it. The city organizes three weekends of events, March 27 through April 11, with fireworks, a family day, a gala dinner cruise, Japanese street festival, cultural performances, a festival parade and more. Hotels have rates starting at $99 per night during the festival on Washington.org , and the National Cherry Blossom Festival has its own website packed with visitor info.

Here are a few basics to get you started:

When:

March 27: This is the best weekend for family travel. March 27 is called Family Day. There are lots of activities for children at the National Building, plus the festival's opening ceremony with live entertainment.

April 3: Fireworks show on the Southwest Waterfront,  with a lantern-lighting ceremony the next day.

April 10: The National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade

For more events and detailed information, visit the National Cherry Blossom Festival Events page.

Hotel deals: On Twitter, @washingtondc pointed me to three hotel deals at the St. Gregory, Beacon and Hotel Rouge, with rates starting at $114 per night. That sounds great, but if I wanted to go on the last weekend to see the parade, I had to test some dates to see what it would cost me. Hotel stays between Friday and Monday, I found, were often cheaper than stays Thursday to Sunday. Here's what I liked for April 9-12.

> The Liaison Capitol Hill, an Affinia Hotel offered a weekend special of 30% off for three-night stays. So April 9-12 came to $375, pre-tax, instead of the regular $537. After taxes, the three nights in a room with a king bed for two people totaled $444.

Or you could create your own Cherry Blossom Festival package. (I added the parade seating for $17 per person, plus taxes and fees.)

* One room for three nights at the Liaison Capitol Hill, an Affinia Hotel
* Two all-day Metro passes
* A live cherry blossom branch to take home
* A bag of goodies from Art and Soul restaurant to enjoy picnic style
* Artisan chocolates
* National Cherry Blossom Festival - parade grandstand seating
April 10, 2010 - two tickets per person included.

My total hotel and festival package came to $631, including taxes. (Checking prices by phone was easier than on the Web.) In the end, I would rather purchase the hotel room and festival seats a la carte to save money. There are many more hotel-package options available on the Washington.org website. Just look for the big "Flower Power" feature. If you are interested in adding extras, such as grandstand parade seating or the festival's gala dinner cruise, refer to that website to see what your options are.

How to get to the blossoms: The maps page has a variety of transportation information for getting to the cherry blossoms in the Tidal Basin area, including the fastest taxi route, where to park, Metro maps and more.

When will they bloom? The National Park Service Chief Horticulturalist Rob DeFeo predicted the peak bloom period will be April 3 through 8. You can also find information on the National Cherry Blossom Festival "Bloom Watch" page.

More info: National Cherry Blossom Festival; National Park Service: Cherry Blossom Festival; Google Images for "cherry blossoms in washington d.c."