| What is the least busy time to travel through Washington, DC on Christmas day? I am hoping to get from my relatives house in Baltimore to Central Virginia by about 8 to 9 o'clock PM on Christmas day. Approximately what time should I leave to make it there with the Christmas traffic? I am going to be going to Lynchburg, Virginia. Washington, D.C. - 4 Answers People's Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions : Answer 1 : Traffic will be relatively light around Washington, DC on Christmas Day. You will probably not experience any major delays, no matter what time you go through or past DC. The reason is simple: virtually everyone is already where they want to be by that day. The day before or after there will be traffic, but not so much on Christmas Day. It's hard to say exactly what time you should leave, since "Central Virginia" is a large area. I'd say that it shouldn't take more than an hour and a half to get from Baltimore to just south of the Beltway in Virginia. UPDATE Mapquest says it should take a bit over 4 hours to go from Baltimore to Lynchburg. I'd round it up to 5 hours, allowing time for a rest stop. So, you probably want to leave Baltimore around 3:00pm. Answer 2 : the holidays often experience heavy and unexpected midday traffic. The Christmas day rush usually starts at about 9 or 10 a.m. and extends as far south as Fredericksburg and that is on dry pavement. The rush can go into the early afternoon. You may actually make better time early in the day December 24. The holiday rush usually doesn't hit until late morning and continues until late evening. Christmas eve traffic usually drops off after about 8 p.m. Answer 3 : The city itself tends to be eerily quiet on christmas day. The surrounding highways may have some traffic but if it's like previous years you can drive through DC without barely seeing anyone on christmas day. It's a bit spooky. Oh and don't go through any red lights (like I've done - it's very tempting since no one is around), BUT the camera's still work on christmas day and they will still send you a ticket :) Answer 4 : I would think that once you clear Washington it would be smooth sailing from there, and from Baltimore, I would presume you would take I-95 to the Beltway to I-66 to US 29, and then take 29 all the way down to Lynchburg. Traveling through the District itself is not recommended, since you're going to be stuck at a lot of traffic lights. Do you know how long it takes for you to get from Baltimore to roughly Manassas on a typical day? I would use that to figure out how long your trip would take that far with traffic, and then once you clear Prince William County on US 29, the rest of the trip should go smoothly with little to no delays, so whatever Google or MapQuest tells you for time there is probably fairly accurate. Just remember that whatever time you schedule for it, work in an hour or two for restroom and meal breaks. Don't try to do the whole trip in one sitting. |
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