Where to Stay w Family Visiting Norfolk Area

Hi %26amp; Thnx for your replies.

My wife %26amp; our 3 boys (15,10 %26amp; 5) are planning a 4 day visit this July to the area. We plan on one day at Williamsburg, one day in Norfolk, one day to VA Beach %26amp; the last day is open.

1. Is this too aggressive or too large an area to cover?

2. If not, I was thinking of staying central to those 3 places, like maybe Norfolk. I see Norfolk is a big Military town %26amp; that may not appeal to us. Can we find a nice part of town to get a hotel ($150 price range)? We love the water %26amp; boating so a hotel with a water view sounds nice.

Maybe we stay in Portsmouth, Hampton or Newport News instead??

Thnx Again,

Where to Stay w Family Visiting Norfolk Area

That 4th day is the key. I recommend you stay in either Williamsburg or Virginia Beach assuming that 4th day will be at one of those cities. Staying in Norfolk is not as central as it sounds since a day trip to Williamsburg will take you almost to the beach in order to make the interstate connection.

Out of curiosity, what is your interest in Norfolk since you don%26#39;t seem interested in the military? Nauticus (museum of all things water and weather) and Battleship Wisconsin are both at the waterfront, and are must-sees. Chrysler Museum has art and photography. You can also take a harbor tour and see submarines and naval ships from the water. In other words, many of the attractions in Norfolk are military-related.

In Portsmouth there are 2 fine waterfront hotels, and the Old Town is lovely for walking, enjoying fine restaurants and antique shops. There%26#39;s a Children%26#39;s Museum your 2 younger ones would enjoy, but the teenager is out of luck.

Hampton doesn%26#39;t have much in the way of accommodations.

Newport News has some good hotels, but if you%26#39;re looking to check in, walk around town, enjoy a vacation-y feel, NN isn%26#39;t it.

At VB you would be able to walk along the boardwalk, up and down Atlantic, people-watch, pop into shops and restaurants, ride the Wave, just do things right near the hotel without having to get back in your car to drive somewhere else.

I hope I%26#39;m not confusing the issue. Maybe if you tell me what kinds of things you%26#39;re looking to do, I can be more helpful.

Welcome to the forum.

Where to Stay w Family Visiting Norfolk Area

Consider 2 days in Williamsburg, you can see W%26#39;burg, Jamestown, Yorktown, and maybe Mariners Museum in Newport News (30 min from W%26#39;burg or about 15 min from Yorktown) it%26#39;s a great place if you like ships and nautical history, they have been part of the USS Monitor recovery effort and have a fantastic exhibit, for more info go to www.mariner.org

Then spend 2 days at the oceanfront to enjoy Va Beach, the boardwalk, beach music, and you can drive 20-30 min to the downntown Norfolk waterfront and see working vessels, take a sailboat ride (American Rover), tour the Naval Base on the Victory Rover and board the USS Wisconsin Battleship, and all w/in a few blocks. You can also take a ferry (people, no cars) ride to downtown Portsmouth. During the summer our traffic can be awful (especially at the tunnels), so you won%26#39;t want to be driving back and forth from Va Beach/Norfolk to W%26#39;burg/Newport News if you can prevent it. Enjoy your time in the area.

Dear Wendymath,

We really dont have any specific desires to stay in Norfolk, we just want to see williamsburg and see some other cool sights in the area (we also love the water/bays/ocean - I am a big sailing / boating fan). It seems like there is some cool nautical stuff in Norfolk that we would enjoy like the battleship %26amp; a museum and maybe rent a sailboat??

Then VA beach looks nice also so we thought'; lets stay in the middle of Williamsburg %26amp; VA Beach';, but if it really doesnt have a vacation (away from the business of the city) feel, it may not be right for us. So Where would yoy receommend we stay if we want to hit williamsburg, some nautical stuff %26amp; VA Beach?

Thnx

Dear goneagain2,

Thnx for your ideas, That might just work out fine , 2 days in wlmsburg %26amp; 2 days at VA beach.

How long is the car drive from williamsburg to VA beach anyway?

I thought it was about an hour, but I may be wrong with the traffic you referred to.

thnx

The drivetime between W%26#39;burg and Norfolk should be an hour but it isn%26#39;t during the summer, and it can be unpleasant....stop and go, hot, you know what I mean. Sounds like you really like boating/water so check out these websites for a good picture of Norfolk

www.norfolkvisitor.com/norfolkattractions/ this will provide you photos of the waterfront and list water activities

www.festevents.org then click events and look for events taking place during your vacation. Festevents is the organization that schedules events in the Norfolk area and they do a wonderful job.

Decide if your are more interested in Norfolk, if so, stay at the Marriott Waterside, right downtown overlooking the waterfront and then you can visit the Va Beach oceanfront area OR if you prefer the sunny beach activities a bit more, stay in Va Beach and visit Norfolk. Traffic between Norfolk and Va Beach is fine, on 20-30 min., just try to avoid rush hours. The entire area has alot ot offer, enjoy your time here.

I like goneagain%26#39;s idea to split your stay, 2 days in each city. You%26#39;re right - it%26#39;s an hour%26#39;s drive from Wmsburg to VB or to Norfolk. It%26#39;s 20 minutes between VB and Norfolk. Of course, that hour is assuming you%26#39;re not in rush hour traffic. As long as you are driving early in the morning, before 3 p.m., or after 7 p.m., you should be ok.

Obviously anywhere along the boardwalk in VB will give you a vacation-y feel. The two main roads that parallel the ocean are Atlantic and Pacific, and that%26#39;s where the hotels are (a few like the Alomar are on numbered side streets). Odd-numbered hotels on Atlantic are oceanfront.

In Williamsburg there are only a few places that are walking distance to the colonial area: Williamsburg Inn (pricey), Williamsburg Lodge, Colonial Houses, Hospitality House, Governor%26#39;s Inn, The Woodlands. (Honestly, when I go to Williamsburg, I am not paying attention to the hotels since I don%26#39;t need to stay there. I%26#39;ll get Zoey1996 to recommend something for you.) But even if you stay somewhere on Richmond Road, the drive to the historical area is short and there is plenty of parking. Your kids might really enjoy staying at Great Wolf Lodge - it%26#39;s a good-looking log resort with an indoor water park. www.greatwolflodge.com/Locations/Williamsburg

I am not having any luck finding sailboats to rent. Every marina I%26#39;ve looked into has charter boats, and they rent slips, and they welcome transient boaters, but no sailboat rentals. It%26#39;s possible some small marinas on a river might, but I%26#39;ve never heard of any. In VB, you can still join a head boat, or do a cruise like on the Rudee Rocket or Rudee Flipper or a sunset cruise; or cruise Broad Bay on Virginia%26#39;s Jewel. If I find anything, I%26#39;ll get back to you.

I like the Woodlands for families. It%26#39;s right next to the Visitors Center for the Historic Triangle (Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown), so it%26#39;s very convenient to either walk into Colonial Williamsburg, or to take a CW shuttle bus into the Historic Area. CW often has specials, such as free length of stay tickets, so that can help with the costs.

Great Wolf Lodge is a self-contained resort/waterpark. In the summer, I would much rather be outdoors than in an indoors waterpark, but that%26#39;s me. I like the idea of two nights in Williamsburg and two nights in Virginia Beach. The drive from Williamsburg to VB is about an hour, unless there is traffic or an accident. Then it can stretch to two or three hours.

Whatever you decide, have a great time!

When you say ';visit Williamsburg';, are you referring to the historic area? What about Busch Gardens, Water Country USA, and outlet shopping - these are also huge reasons that people visit Williamsburg.

I would suggest staying at one of the hotels downtown Williamsburg, (hospitality house is nice and reasonalbe) for a couple of days. Depending when you are coming will decide the best course of action. Plan on 1 day for the colonial tour/visiting of Williamsburg. Busch Gardens/Water Country another day. Check with local hotels (via AAA) for combo packages that are ';play and Stays';. Wolf Lodge is OK for smaller kids, the teen will not be impressed. If possible and feasible, take in Jamestown and Yorktown while in Williamsburg area. Patriot Passes can be purchased and that includes bus transports to almost all the city.

Sailboat rentals are almost nearly impossible to find. Virginia Beach is about 45 minutes away. Travel past Rush hour on week days 7-9 am and 4-6 pm

to make the better time through the tunnels. Norfolk has a lot of options, Suggest the Carrie B tour boat if you want an interesting tour of the waterfront, American Rover for a larger group sailboat experience and/or the Victory Rover for bases and battleship group tours. All are reasonable. Va. Beach in peak time is pricey, so check for discounts. One block off of Atlantic (pacific ave.) is cheaper, but no ocean View. For a larger family, check out Condo rentals. (turtle Cay and Barclay) They have Kitchen facilities and more room to move about for about the same price as a hotel room. Teen will love Va. Beach. Check with before booking for local events. Avoid booking Sand Soccer weekend, no beach access that weekend. Most weekends feature live music and family activities along the board walk and Atlantic Ave.