My brother and I are thinking about bringing our families to Virginia Beach for a vacation this summer. Between us we have 5 kids, ranging from 1 year to 13 years old. I don’t know much about the area (except that it’s approximately the same distance for both of us to travel…)
We’re probably looking at 3 - 4 days. We’d like to go to Busch Gardens one day.
What are some good areas to look at in terms of accommodations? We might look at renting a house for all of us; or else we’d be talking hotels. We’d probably be best staying somewhere near the beach.
Anyone familiar with the area? Any information would be appreciated.
Not really sure what sort of information to tell you, as I’ve lived around there but didn’t really spend much of my time at VA Beach growing up. Busch Gardens is about an hour or so away from the beach though as it’s closer to Williamsburg, but it is a nice fun theme park, especially if you love the Europe Theme- it’s an easy way to kill an entire day almost and fun for the whole family, another thing to consider nearby would be Water Country USA, as it’s the “sister” water-park near Busch Gardens (again an hour away from VA Beach), but I was never a Water Country fan as much as I was a BG fan. Also fun in that part of town is Colonial Williamsburg, the Jamestown Colony, and the Yorktown Battlegrounds. People can easily spend a weekend on those locations alone. But again, VA Beach is what you’re after and that’s about 50+ miles further down from that.
VA Beach itself isn’t too bad, it’s got a nice boardwalk, and tons of restaurants, shops, and odds and ends (mini-golf, haunted houses, wax museums, etc). So if you’re looking at places to stay, getting a spot right up on the boardwalk (basically on the beachfront hotels) would probably be the best “prime” location, but I know nothing about how timeshares and such things work. But it’s easy to spend an afternoon shopping and walking up and down the boardwalk, especially towards the evenings/night when it’s cooler. Often as well you can check online, there are outdoor concerts, movies, or such being played on the boardwalk. As well as lots of other lil’ things around the area- it might do you well to check around and see what weeks the different festivals and such are being held as you can sync up with a festival and visit that for a day. (Over 100 Virginia Beach Attractions and Things To Do).
For the dorky Kid like me, I loved going to the aquariumnearby, which is really close to VA beach- maybe like 10-20 mins from the start of boardwalk.
Also other places to visit: Norfolk is really close by to VA Beach and has TONS of stuff there also in the veins of shopping at the Waterfront, as well as things like the Nauticusmuseum, really cool if you have an aspiring sailor or naval history buff in the group. There’s also the Harborfront Baseball stadium near by and you can catch a minor league game there (The Tidewater Tides) if you have some sports fans in the group- that’s again in Norfolk.
Also, if you want another museum, there’s one in Hampton- the VA Air and Space Museum, another really cool place if you’ve got an Air force nut or just a kid who REALLY REALLY loves model airplanes in your group. (which is about 20 miles or so from Norfolk basically the halfway point between Norfolk and Williamsburg for Busch Gardens).
Also, if you’ve looking for cheaper and easier things to do- Mt. Trashmore is nearby and is a great picnic location, and has a nice playground for the littler kids but may not hold the 13 year old’s attention (Though it does have a skate park nearby it), and it’s an excellent location for kite flying. It’s a nice location though to go for an afternoon picnic, and it’s free I believe.
Hope that helps, and you should really just look around the net to find more information on the Waterfront/Harborfront as well as the VA beach boardwalk events, as they vary almost every weekend out there, and try to find a nice event/time that works for you.
-R
If your family is outdoorsy, there are lots of other options, too. I like hiking, camping and picnicking in First Landing State Park (great for photography, too). There are guided kayak tours of some of the water trails, and “kayak with the dolphins” tours. Check out the Eastern Shore for some of those. http://www.tidewateradventures.com/
I-64 to Busch Gardens is congested, and problems with the tunnels can lead to miles of traffic backups. I’d still go to Busch Gardens though, it’s a nice park especially if you like scenery and coasters.
Virginia Beach is pretty nice, but I like Nags Head just as well. Virginia Beach is a big city with much of the usual pluses and minuses of a big city. The only place I’ve ever been solicited by a drug dealer was in Va Beach late one night when I was walking back to my motel a few blocks from the oceanfront. But for the most part law enforcement does a good job, especially near the oceanfront. I like the boardwalk, its several miles long. Bring your bikes. During the summer there are usually free concerts along the boardwalk. The aquarium is worth seeing too, it’s only a few miles away.