What's the likelihood of getting on a White House tour?

October 28, 2013 8:44 AM

Good news: White House tours are being offered again. Bad news: availability is so limited that tours can't be confirmed until two weeks beforehand.

I've just booked a weekend trip to Washington D.C. in December (before the holidays) and requested a White House tour through my congressperson's office. But with no clear picture on availability, I'm wondering how to proceed with planning the rest of the trip.

Have you requested a White House tour in the past, and were you actually scheduled for a tour? How far in advance did you book? Bonus question: If you've been on the White House tour, is it worth scheduling a weekend trip around? Traveling to D.C. is reasonably convenient and affordable for me, so I'm considering just trying again for a date six months in the future, since apparently more notice increases the chances of actually getting on a tour.

I know it's impossible to determine this for certain, but any insight so I can finalize the rest of my plans would be great. Thanks!

posted by serialcomma to Travel & Transportation around Washington, DC (3 answers total)

If it were me, I'd probably plan a low-key weekend where nothing else much really needed to be planned in advance. Decide you're going to DC either way, get your hotel etc taken care of, and play the rest by ear. There are TONS of other things to see and do that don't require advance reservations.
posted by Sara C. at 8:53 AM on October 28, 2013 [4 favorites]

I went in November 2011 and began the process with our congressperson in August. I'll share with you part of the email we got when we checked in a month later wondering what was happening:

The White House does not inform us of their decision on tour requests until approximately 2-3 weeks before the requested date; this is due to the fact that the President’s schedule can change dramatically in a fairly short period of time, so they do not make the decision far in advance to prevent disappointments.

They confirmed our tour almost exactly 2 weeks prior to the weekend. It was absolutely worthwhile. I'd even go back to see the holiday decorations that should be up when you're visiting. The tour is self-guided, so you can spend as much or as little time as you want looking at something. The staff in the rooms are incredibly knowledgeable about the pieces in their room. It was one of my favorite things we did that weekend, and I used to live in the D.C. area, and I've done a ton of the tourist-y things.

I think it took us about 2.5 hours to complete the tour, and we scheduled for Saturday morning so we had the rest of the day. While we were planning, we picked a bunch of things we all wanted to do so we could slot something else in if the tour fell through.
posted by gladly at 9:53 AM on October 28, 2013 [1 favorite]

We went in 2011. I requested the tour on February 22nd. We were approved on July 25th for a August 5th tour. I was asked to call two weeks beforehand to confirm the status of our tour as well, so the "two weeks notice" thing seems standard.

The best part of the tour is walking up to the White House and realizing that we were actually getting to go inside, as well as getting to see the East Room. We were able stand in the same spot where President Obama stood when giving the speech announcing Bin Laden's death. The Secret Service folks doing security for the tour also seemed happy to make conversation with visitors.

It was a fun detour for a trip that we had already planned, but you should also plan to visit other sites in DC just in case. Luckily there are many other things to see nearby.
posted by kathryn at 10:23 AM on October 28, 2013