My hubby and I want to take a 5 day/4 night getaway to Virigina. We love learning about history, seeing natural beauty, and I especially love shopping (not ';mall'; but boutique type). Do you have any recommendations of where to stay, where to visit, and any other helpful hints?
August 2008 Virgina Trip Help?
I recommend staying in the Tidewater area of Virginia, I particularly recommend Newport News (www.newport-news.org) It is culturally rich the things you mentioned- history, nature, shopping. It is also centrally located to Williamsburg (www.williamsburg.com), Norfolk (www.norfolkcvb.com) %26amp; VA Beach (www.vabeach.com), etc, which are also highly popular for those things as well.
As for where to stay, I would recommend the Point Plaza or Holiday Inn %26amp; Suites in Newport News. I can personally say they are very nice hotels, with full-service restaurants, indoor pools, etc. Both of them offer rooms AND suites. And I know the Point Plaza sells discount tickets to a lot of the surrounding attractions. They are also just a quick jump off the interstate for easy access.
Also, another thing that could be very helpful in your decision is Virginia%26#39;s overall tourism site (www.virginia.org). You can search by region, by packages %26amp; specials, %26amp; by subject, such as history, outdoor activities, etc. I live in Virginia, but I still use it all the time for planning fun things with my family!
Have fun! I am partial to the Tidewater area because I live here, but really I know if you choose it, you will not be disappointed!
August 2008 Virgina Trip Help?
I also forgot one tip in my previous post - just plan your interstate driving times outside of basic rush hours, %26amp; you should have an easy time.
You may want to consider staying somewhere in the Shenandoah Valley area; from Winchester to Luray, Front Royal, Manassas, Middleburg, Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, etc. You would be close to Shenandoah National Park where you could stay in one of the lodges and hike on trails at elevations from 3,000 to 4,000 feet (at Hawksbill Mountain) where it will be cooler in August (than the flatlands) especially in the evening. There are a series of caves/caverns in the Valley (Luray, Shenandoah, etc). There are a number of wineries in and near the Valley as well as a number of battlefields of the War Between the States (First and Second Manassas, New Market, Cedar Creek and to the east Fredericksburg, The Wilderness, Chancellorsville). Plus there are a number of super Inns and B%26amp;Bs (the Inn at Vaucluse Spring, near Winchester, is our favorite and Mosby%26#39;s in Paris, Va is very nice also). Depending on the size of the town, you will find a number of interesting shops and restaurants.
But you also can%26#39;t go wrong visiting the Jamestown, Williamsburg, Newport News area. Much to see and do there.
Forgot to mention Thomas Jefferson%26#39;s home, Monticello, in Charlottesville. They have a very interesting tour of the home.
Those were the two general sides I was going to mention. Mountains and historic presidents estates or water (you could do ocean or river, harbor etc....different areas) and historic museums and plantations.
Ask more questions as you fine tune what you imagine to be a nice trip for you.
You could use your 4/5 days to make a loop. You did not say if you were flying into the area or driving, but here are a few suggestions based upon some possible starting points.
1- Washington Dulles Airport (it%26#39;s in Virginia) - Begin your stay in Leesburg, a historic and quaint town 15 minutes from the airport. If you have never been before, travel into Washington for a day (about an hour if you leave after rush). Stay in Leesburg again then head southwest on Routes 15 and 29 towards Charlottesville. This will take about 2 hours. Visit Thomas Jefferson%26#39;s home of Monticello and see the shops and restaurants of Charlottesville, the home of UVA. Stay another day and then travel west and north through the mountains back up towards Front Royal. On this leg of the trip you can see the Blue Ridge Parkway, mountains and caverns. From Front Royal, head back east towards Dulles.
2 - Richmond as starting point - Many places to stay, eat and shop in this city. Lots of history (Museum of the Confederacy, Patrick Henry%26#39;s speech, Tredagar Ironworks, Hollywood Cemetary. Other sights include Virginia Museum (great collection of Fabrege eggs), Maymont Park (historic house and unique gardens on the James River. From here, head east to Williamsburg. Tons to do there! Visit Jamestown and then loop back up along Route 5 seeing the many plantations along the James River. This will take you back to Richmond.
3 - Norfolk - As stated previously, there%26#39;s lots to do there and you could incorporate Williamsburg.
Enjoy!
Thanks so much for all the great suggestions, I%26#39;m getting excited to visit! I%26#39;m actually planning to fly, as it would be a day and a half drive both ways otherwise. Also, we are on a somewhat tight budget, so money saving ideas are great as well! Thank you!
If in Richmond visit the State Capitol building(free tour) - they do a really nice tour of the Capitol. It is very close to the Museum of the Confederacy and the Confederate White House - both worth your time. Also on the waterfront there is a Civil War Museum, and a really nice waterfront walk along the river.
Also in Richmond - Maymont Park, the grounds are free but their is a fee to tour the house. The grounds are very nice - gardens, ponds, small zoo and farm area, VERY nice exhibit hall. Onley charge is for the house itself.
The Civil War sites are one of my favorite visits. Hall of Valor and NewMarket battlefield are both good. But of course for history - you cant beat Williamsburg/Jamestown/Yorktown.
If you make it to the Norfolk/Va Beach area, here are a couple of things to consider: In Norfolk, the downtown area has many great restaurants, battleship USS Wisconsin (free), you can take a $1 ferry ride from downtown Norf waterfront to downtown Portsmouth and visit the shops and restaurants there also (waterfront is one of the best features of the area), Colley Ave area (5 min fm downtown) full of restaurants and interesting local shops; Va Beach, oceanfront has 2 1/2 mi nice wide boardwalk for walking (free), bike (rentals), 5 min from tourist area is First Landing State Park with 20+ miles of beautiful hiking trails w/ bald cypress trees and beach areas (cheap too, only a parking fee about $4 for all day). Hope this helps. Enjoy your visit.
Oops...I meant to say the Ashby Inn in Paris, VA not the Mosby....my wife had to correct me.
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