We'll be travelling to Washington DC in July and have heard that there are areas to avoid, the "bad" areas. However, we haven't heard where those parts of the city are located. Can anyone enlighten us? Thanks.

Tourist's areas in DC are relatively safe given its big city -- this would include the Mall, Georgetown, Dupont Circle, Adams Morgan etc. In general you need to take the same precautions that one would take in a big city anywhere. Are there areas you're thinking of going that you're concerend about?

Anywhere a tourist is going to end up is going to be safe. The only potential excpetion is a series of motels on New York Ave. I would avoid those.

The East side of the city tends to be a little rougher -- especially Northeast. However, there are lovely and interesting parts of both Northeast and Southeast -- just in general, you need to use more precaution there.

An old rule of thumb was to "Look at DC as a clock with North Capitol and South capitol Streets as the mid points - anything from 6 til 12 was good BUT anything from 12 to 6 was OFF LIMITS!

Both northeast and southeast are not really areas that you would want to be a tourist in. If a hotel/motel says NE New York Ave. then you would be better off at another hotel.

Yes, avoid the New York Avenue NE motels, but the if you follow advice not to venture east of the Capitol, you would miss Eastern Market, the Supreme Court, Folger Shakespeare library and other Capitol Hill attractions.

This is a bit of a loaded question and LN's "rule of thumb" makes no sense. Based on that approach, you couldn't go to the Supreme Court, Union Station, Eastern Market, almost anywhere on Capitol Hill, the Basilica, the Shrine, RFK Stadium, the Arboreteum, the new Baseball Stadium, the Military Barracks, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.

People in DC are touchy about this question because "bad" is often coded language for "Black." LN's rule of thumb means you avoid almost every predominately African American parts of the city.

With all due respect; there are more than a few areas in all areas (including NW, the largest sector)that are very bad neighborhoods and I would not recommend straying from the major government/mall areas NE, SW and SE of the Capitol. Generally, there is no reason for you to be driving there in the first place. Thus, here is another extremely good reason to use Metro & taxis so you can't wander too far afield. With the above caveats, another general rule was stay out of non-business/tourist areas east of 14th St. NW. However, the "new" downtown around the MCI center is quite hopping these days, but that qualifies in my caveat. Bottomline, don't do anything stupid, wandering around alone, especially at night - and that it a good rule for ANY city worldwide, from Paris to Honolulu.

Everyone has a different sense of what is safe and unsafe. I agree, generally, that if you stay in the neighborhoods where tourists end up, you are going to be fine. I just reject the suggestion that there are "very bad" neighborhoods throughout DC and using the arbitrary line of 14th Street.

I lived in DC for 8 yrs and often traveled by myself as a single woman and was never mugged or assaulted. Just as in any large city you need to use common sense about where you are and what time of day you are wandering about. I would agree that NY Ave area would probably not be a safe area to have a vehicle breakdown in the middle of the night but otherwise if you stick to the touristy areas you will be fine.

I have lived in the DC area all my 45 years so I have some experience. The farther you go southeast of the Capitol the rougher it gets. I would be wary once you get about Tenth Street, Southeast. Frankly, there's little to see this far from the Capitol anyway. Don't even think to cross the Anacostia River. As for going northeast from Capitol Hill, you are safe until you get too close to H Street. Most of Northeast Washington from H Street and points further north aren't the safest of neighborhoods but, except for the safe area around Catholic University and the other Catholic institutions near Michigan Avenue, there's not much to see that way anyway. Northwest DC is rather safe from 14th Streets and parts west but I would be a little leery of going anywhere to the east of Logan Circle. There's a lot of good news for DC these days. Crime is way down from the Marion Barry era of 1978-1998 although Mr. Barry has secured himself a city council seat from Anacostia's Ward Eight. Growth is exploding in the Logan Circle area with literally a dozen or so condo projects being developed along the 14th Street vicinity. Condos also are going up along Pennsylvania Avenue, between downtown and the Capitol. The neighborhoods in the vicinity of Howard University have experienced growth with more certainly to come. Unlike many other American cities, DC's future seems very bright indeed.

For the sake of accuracy, let me amend the assertion of condos along Pennsylvania Avenue (not accurate) with that of the new condos along Massachusetts Avenue, NW between the downtown and Capitol Hill.

OK, I'll admit to being a little prickly about this, but I've seen it some many times before when a poster's first (and in this case only) post is about ``bad areas,'' especially in DC.

I'm not criticizing the OP individually, but talk about planning your travel around fear.

You could ask this about literally every city worth visiting. Google ``crimes against tourists'' sometime and you'll see plenty of places struggling with this.

Yes, DC, like most big cities, has crime. However, tourists are rarely the targets.

Of course, if you're coming to buy drugs (you can get better deals on meth in the Midwest, I've heard) or cavort with working girls or boys, then all bets are off.

But if you want tips about great things to do, this is the place to ask.

That's my point, Repete. There are "bad areas" of every city in America, but people rarely ask about those in other cities.

MikeT,
Absolutely.

The Greyhound Bus Terminal is at:
1005 1ST ST NE.

Is it easy to get from here to the major tourist attractions? I read in a travel guide that the area around this bus terminal was unsafe after dark - is this true?

The Greyhound station is "behind" and to the side of Union Station, and is about 2 blocks from the main entrance to the trains and subway.

Once you get off the bus, either take a taxi or just walk along 1st NE south towards the train station. You should find plenty of people walking the same way.

The Greyhound Station is near one of the worst public housing projects in Washington. However, you're not far from Union Station and Capitol Hill. You'll be safe at most times of the day. I would be a little leery walking around in the pitch dark when there's little to no foot traffic.

I would agree with Shane's basic sentiment. During the day, it is okay. At night, you might consider taking a cab although it is only about three blocks from Union Station Metro. It is three blocks where little is going on and not much foot traffic at night. During the day, it is office buildings (including CNN's Washington office).