The most anticipated event of the century is just a week away. The travel experts at our sister site Kayak.com have come up with the following tips for being in Washington D.C. and in the center of all the action. If you’re planning on going, keep these helpful hints in mind (and have fun):

1. While flights to Regan and Dulles might be booked, consider flying into alternative airports, such as Baltimore. Kayak.com searches all alternative airports to make your trip to D.C. possible at an affordable price.

2. Flexibility can save travelers hundreds of dollars. Consider an early morning or late evening flight. Arrive the day of inauguration or a few days prior to avoid rush hour prices and delays. Use Kayak.com’s Flexible Search to compare dates and fares up to three days before and three days after desired travel dates.

3. Compare hotels using Kayak.com’s Map View which displays hotels on a Google Map. Choose a landmark, such as the National Mall, to see the exact distance from the hotel to the destination where festivities are occurring.

4. Hotels in the city are mostly booked, but since Kayak.com only shows users hotels with availability, consumers won’t waste time researching hotels that don’t actually have rooms available. Travelers should also consider staying outside of DC. The area’s metro system makes nearby towns easily accessible to all the action. Kayak.com enables users to search for hotels in proximity to landmarks or neighborhoods. The Custom Address feature allows users to input an address, such as a Metro stop, and view available hotels in proximity to that station. In Virginia, consider the towns of Crystal City, Arlington, McLean, and Alexandria. In Maryland, consider Bethesda, Chevy Chase or College Park. Further, use this feature to head to one of the inaugural balls or events a few days prior and enjoy the experience of a lifetime. Whether it’s the Lincoln 2.0 Ball on January 18th or attending the Joint Congressional Inaugural Committee program on the 20th, Kayak.com can help you find your way.

5. The new presidential administration will be much more environmentally focused, so rent a fuel efficient car to embrace the trend – and save dollars. Kayak.com makes this possible through their Miles Per Gallon (MPG) filter and Fuel Cost Calculator tools on the results page of a rental car search. The calculator estimates the total cost of gas for a trip and instantly adds this figure to the daily rate of each car option while the MPG filter allows users to set parameters for acceptable fuel efficiency. Plus, with the added fuel savings – and money savings – you won’t have to convince yourself to sneak away for some day trips to other patriotic places like: Mount Vernon in Alexandria, Virginia; US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland; or one of the area’s many wineries.