For others, talking political shop was distinctly beside the point. Ben Ginsberg, a Republican lawyer who served as national counsel for Mr. Romney’s campaign, left town with his family on Wednesday for what he called a “ski to sea” vacation — flying to California to visit San Francisco, Sonoma, Napa and Tahoe.

“Inaugurations are wonderful events when you have a role, are attending the ceremony or going to the parties,” he wrote in an e-mail. “If not, it means bad traffic.”

Russ Schriefer, one of Mr. Romney’s top strategists on his most recent presidential bid, left on Thursday for “four or five days of skiing” in Davos, Switzerland. His wife, a journalist, was already headed there for a conference, and he decided to tag along. Though the couple hosted an inauguration party four years ago for out-of-town friends, Mr. Schriefer said that this time, “the thrill is gone.”

“It’s sort of a nothing right now; it’s not getting the attention it got four years ago,” he said. “It feels like it’s going to come and it’s going to go, and unless you’re really paying attention, you’ll hardly know that it’s been here — other than staying away from downtown for a few days.”

Kevin Sheridan, who worked on Mr. Romney’s campaign and is now an executive vice president at JDA Frontline, said that during Mr. Obama’s first inauguration, he skipped the chilly temperatures of Washington for a trip to the Caribbean. This time, he and much of the Washington-based staff at his firm were taking a “well-timed” annual work retreat to Charleston, S.C., where they have another office.

“D.C. is a wonderful town,” he said. “D.C. with a few extra hundred thousand out-of-towners is not an easy place to navigate, and I figure I’m doing my little part to make a little extra space for those who are here to party.”

Still, Mr. Sheridan added: “I wish them luck. It’s a great moment for the country, but they don’t need me to be here for it.”