Great News: If you’re visiting Washington D.C. most attractions are FREE!
But if you’re going to spend some money, make sure to take advantage of these military discounts:
Military Discounts at Museums in Washington D.C.
Smithsonian Art Museum, National Museum of Women in the Arts, National Air and Space Museum, National Archives, Library of Congress, National Museum of African Art
- Free
- $6 off admission ($15.95, regularly $21.95)
- 10% off admission
United States Holocaust Museum
- FYI – Typically general admission is obtained by waiting in line for a ticket that allows you to enter the museum at a set time, but with an active military ID you can get into the museum right away
Free Admission to Memorials & Landmarks in Washington D.C.
- Washington Monument
- Lincoln Memorial
- Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial
- Arlington National Cemetery
- Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall
- White House
- Capital Building
Military Discounts at Theaters in Washington D.C.
- Free on Saturday Mornings. Must make reservations beforehand
- Free performances at 6:00pm daily
- 50% off tickets to shows
- 20% off tickets
Military Discounts at Sporting Events in Washington D.C.
- Military discount off select seating – tickets as low as $7
- $30 tickets
Military Discounts at Entertainment & Events in Washington D.C.
- Free
- Free
- Tickets and discounted tickets are offered on bases
- $5 off lift tickets, $5 off packages, $5 off equipment
Military Discounts at Hotels in Washington D.C.
- All the major hotel brands (Hilton, Marriot, Best Western) have military discounts.
Travel Tips for Washington D.C.
If you are going to travel to DC for a couple of days and you are going to travel by Metro, I would recommend buying a Smart Trip card. It costs $2 but it saves you $1 every time you ride the metro. I visited DC and took the metro every day, saving me at least fourteen dollars. You can buy the Smart Trip card at any metro station. It comes preloaded with $8 so the total cost is $10.
If you are planning on taking a taxi I would HIGHLY recommend using a couple of new taxi services. Have you heard of UBER or LYFT? Right now they are giving away free rides up to $30. I used both here and DC and had a great experience. Here are the bonus sign up links
- Uber ($30) – Click here
- Lyft ($25) – Click here
Also, I would recommend buying the Entertainment Books and downloading the phone app. A lot of the local restaurants have buy-one-get-one-free meals. I used it all the time. Right now, Entertainment has a deal going on – Buy two books for $10.
- 2 Books for $10 + Free Shipping! Only at Entertainment.com! (Valid 7/21/14-7/27/14)
I also used Groupon and Living Social out here. They had some great deals on restaurants and entertainment ideas. Here are their links
- Find Today’s Daily Deal on the Best in Washington D.C.! (Groupon)
- Check out today’s local deal in Washington, D.C. (LivingSocial)