Norfolk/Williamsburg Attraction Discounts and Travel Advice

There is a website for planning a vacation.
http://www.colonialwilliamsburg.com/do/special-events/spr...

Colonial Williamsburg is like a shorter version of the National Mall, where there is a long blocked off area and lots of activities at certain times happening along all of it. When we went in June last year (100+ degrees!) it was a bit disappointing in the there was so much that the kids wanted to do and they were all overlapping or at different ends of the 'walk' so that you were literally rushing if not jogging to get to the next thing.

Technically you are supposed to buy tickets, but I have been there twice, and have found that if I just walk around and look at the activities outside, that no one has stopped and asked for proof of a ticket. We did buy tickets last year because the kids wanted to go see a chat with George Washington. (That guy was good! ) So to buy those tickets, you have to have the main tickets. There is also a carriage ride that you can take, but that can be pricey. There is also a ghost walk you can take, that I wanted to do, but my kids were young so I didn't.

When you buy tickets to Williamsburg, you can then get a discount to Jamestown. Since your kids ARE history buffs, I would try to do at least one of the living museums.

Bush Gardens is also about 2 exits from Williamsburg. That can be pricey, but if you are looking for a bit of 'non historical' fun, its right there too. ($30 a ticket)

Instead of Monticello, you might be able to do Mount Vernon. It is about 15miles (1 hour in DC traffic) outside of DC.

I lived in Williamsburg for several years in graduate school (Go Tribe!). So, no, you have not allotted yourselves enough time to do all of that. Colonial Williamsburg in 3 hours? Not happening, especially if you want to see any of the campus, which I would highly recommend.

When I was living in Richmond, we did Williamsburg as a day trip (meaning around 5 or 6 hours there) and seemed to always "miss something". Jamestown is interesting, but very small and not nearly as cool as you would think. That you could easily do in a couple of hours.

Monticello is beautiful, but Charlottesville is NOWHERE near where you are heading.

Norfolk is a military town, so 3 hours is plenty. There's really a lot to do there, but if you are focusing on the historical "stuff", you're fine with 1/2 a day there.

Just a thought...
1/2 day in Norfolk is plenty
1 day in W'burg
1/2 Jamestown Settlement
scratch Monticello
leave PLENTY of time for DC. Every time you turn around there is something interesting to see/do. Figure out which of the museums you would like to absolutely see and get those tickets ahead of time.

Remember... you cannot see it all in one trip. Really, you can't. Pick a few things and explore them completely and then come back again!!

When you go to Williamsburg... eat at the Cheese Shop. Their sandwiches are to die for! I still crave them a decade later!!

My niece lives in Williamsburg and we are there about twice a year. colonial Williamsburg takes way more than a couple of hours. You can walk around the town without paying the entrance fee but you don't get to see the demonstrations and such - which is what the kid really want to see. My kids were hardly interested in Jamestown as you can cover the settlement in about an hour. The inside museum is beautiful but not hands on and the kids got very bored very quickly. You don't say how old your kids are but in Portsmouth (right next to Nofolk) there's a Children's museum that is fabulous. We went recently with my niece and her family and there was stuff to interest my teens and her toddler & preschooler. We were there for 4+ hours and it was very reasonably priced (big discounts for teachers, standard discounts for AAA members).

I agree with Krista that you can save Monticello for another time. There's SOOO much to do in Wash DC that I would not take time away from DC for these other small things.

Finally - consider a day at Busch Gardens (in Willaimsburg) or Kings Dominion (between Richmond & DC). While I love history sometimes I jsut want hurtle downhill at crazy speeds or check out some entertainment. Busch Gardens can be expensive but there are discounts to be found online and it's a park for all ages. Kings Dominion has more thrill rides and is better s uited to older kids (10+) but is less expensive that Busch GArdens. Another option in Williamsburg is the Great Wolf Lodge - it's not cheap but you can spend two days in the indoor waterpark for one night of lodging.

You will have fun no matter what you do!

I've lived in the Virginia Beach area, and I've also since made a trip similar to yours with my kids. In my opinion, you're not leaving nearly enough time for Williamsburg, especially if your kids are history buffs. My kids LOVED Williamsburg! We spent from morning until night there last trip, and could easily have spent another day. There are so many live demonstrations and hands-on things to do. There's a super fun option available to kids there - you can rent them a colonial costume for the day. I recall it being a bit pricey, but it was one of the highlights of my kids' trip. With the costume comes an activity of some kind. My daughter had a letter from a "relative" asking her to get an ad printed in the newspaper, which meant she got to go to the printer's shop and help print the ad. Then she got to go work in the colonial garden. My son got to participate in a militia drill with a wooden sword. Because the kids were in costume, the reenactors talked to them a lot more, and got them involved in their demonstrations. We also learned about colonial cooking, had hot chocolate in a chocolate shop (since patriotic colonists don't drink tea), played colonial lawn games, did crafts, toured the governor's mansion... We were there three years ago and my kids still talk about it. They also ask when we're going back. You really should spend at least one full day there if you can. We did not do Yorktown or Jamestown on that trip. There used to be a pass you could get for Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown together that would save you some money. I'll bet you could find the details on the Colonial Williamsburg website.

If you do the combined pass, I'd recommend spending a night in Williamsburg so you have time for all of it. Check hotel rates - the Colonial Williamsburg affiliated ones are pricey, but often include admission. The plain old chain hotels in the area are reasonable, but don't include tickets. Run the numbers and see - for us it made more $$ sense to stay at the local Best Western.

As for Nauticus and the battleship Wisconsin, yes, it's expensive, but my kids also still talk about that. But for us the Wisconsin is extra special, because my husband served aboard her during the first Gulf War. You can do Nauticus in three hours. Personally, if I had to choose between using the time there or in Williamsburg, I'd go for Williamsburg.

Bon voyage!

We live near DC and still haven't done all there is to do here. We go up several times per year and do the tourist thing. We LOVE the city, but there is SO much to do that it would take weeks to hit it all. My kids are also huge history buffs and we thought they would love Madame Tussaud's...not so much. They thought it was cool, but I'd recommend to do that when you don't have to carry coats all the way through. You may or may not need them in April.

We do Williamsburg/Busch Gardens/Water Country USA every Memorial Day weekend. We give each place it's own full day.Skip the mansion at Colonial Williamsburg. We spent way too long in line there and missed a lot of the other fun stuff, so we'll go back this year and do the other demonstratsions and such.

We haven't done the battlefields down there, but those are day trips for us being 2-3 hours away, so I hope to get down to those this spring.

In short, no, I don't think you're leaving enough time. Can you come back another time to do the things you miss this time instead of squeezing it all in?

And I get my tickets on the Busch Gardens website. The 7 day hopper pass for Colonial Williamsburg, Busch Gardens, and Water Country USA is VERY affordable this month. It's good to use anytime during the season and includes parking.

Another tip: if you dont buy tix in W'burg its ok! Mt Vernon Garden & Estates also has reenactments & ppl dressed up in colonial garb & demos etc. if possible leave & come back & picnic with your meal there... The small-ish cafeteria is very crowded, overpriced & ling lines & no seating when busy! Def skip Monticello this time since when you tour the house you cant touch snything!
Boring for kids..
DC if time/$$ allows do the tourbus thing. If time only alliws for Nat Mall, Lincoln Memorial...longer walk to Air & Space Museum, Natural History, American History & Museum of the American Indian: has the better cafe to eat & some suthentic cuidin whereas the others are overpriced & bleck food. Or do the vendor thing outside with hotdogs.. Used to be a good not expensive food court @ Old Post Office Pavillion on Pennsylvania Ave.
As for Norfold def do Wisconsin maybe skip Nauticus this time & try have meal & Doumar's or ice cream cone, supposedly where the cone was invented.
Good Luck & have fun!
Pammy

Charlottesville is nowhere near Williamsburg, Norfolk or DC! So personally, I'd skip that one. My kids LOVED Jamestown and Williamsburg. We never bought the tickets for Williamsburg. Like others said, there's plenty to see that's FREE! The living history museum at Jamestown (the settlement) IS Jamestown, isn't it? I don't know what else there is to see there if you don't go to the settlement. Anyway, it's small, but we went when my girls were 7 and 9, and they LOVED it!! They helped carve a tree into a canoe (well, they worked on, obviously didn't finish) and ran in and out of all the teepees. There are replicas of the boats in the water that you can walk all around. It's really, really neat. You can do the whole thing in a couple of hours. Worth the money, in my opinion. And since Williamsburg will be free you can pay for Jamestown?

I have not been to Norfolk since I was 8, when we toured a battleship. I was bored out of my mind. But your kids may like that sort of thing. If it was me, I'd skip that too, and drive straight up to DC after Williamsburg/Jamestown. Just my opinion. So much to do and see here! Definitely go to Mount Vernon!!!

For a back up plan, if you get rained out (Williamsburg/Jamestown is no fun in the rain) there's a really cool science museum in Richmond. You could always hit that on your way up 95.

Don't know of any coupons/discounts. Remember that most of the stuff in DC is free (not Mount Vernon), so that's nice. One thing I recommend - go up to the rooftop at the W Hotel. You get the BEST views of DC from up there! I took my nephews up there and we ordered 6 lemonades and one grilled cheese (I felt bad being a restaurant and just "looking" over their balcony) - it cost $55! So, not cheap, but worth it, to me. It was funny though, the kids were starving and I told them "We'll get something from the street vendors when we go back down!"

Have a wonderful trip!!!

We have been there many times and IMO, the Jamestown settlement is the BEST part of the entire area, especially for children your ages. Even the 6 year old will love it and will get to participate in every aspect. Everything is hands on, and since it's a smaller overall area than Colonial Williamsburg, there is more opportunity for doing lots of things without lots of walking and waiting in lines. I would NOT miss the Jamestown Settlement/living museum if I were you.

Don't bother buying tickets to Colonial Wburg, especially if you don't plan to be there the entire day or longer. You can see almost everything without the tickets--being outside and all of the "shops" are free and you only need the ticket to get into the Governors Palace and maybe one or two other buildings that your kids probably won't find as interesting as all of the things that will be free anyway. If you have the opportunity, eat dinner or an evening appetizer (pub cheese and crusty bread) at the Kings Arms tavern--it will be the highlight of your kids time there... drinking "ale" out of pewter mugs and watching the historic party/pub games as the entertainer goes from table to table showing old card and dice tricks, etc.

We live outside of DC and have done this trip many times with our boys... they never tire of it. In DC, stick to the national mall, monuments and the big museums (air and space, natural history and american history) They won't be let down. You can spend 1/2 to a full day in each museum and still not see it all, and it's all FREE

As a local......Nauticus will take about 3 hours to do Nauticus and the Wisconsin. I believe you can do just the Wisconsin. I haven't been very impressed with Nauticus. There isn't too much in Norfolk to do. Doumar's BBQ and Cones is a great place to stop (featured on Food Networks Diners, DriveIns and Dives). They aren't far from Nauticus. Other than the mall (which is upscale) there really isn't anything in downtown Norfolk to do other than Nauticus.

As for Colonial Williamsburg....Don't get the tickets. As others have said you can walk around for free. The admission tickets allow you to get into some of the houses/displays/shows/ etc. There is so much going on that I doubt you would miss going in them if you are just spending a few hours. Personally, I would spend more time there as there is A LOT to do there.

Jamestown--You can get into the glass blowing shop for free. We have taken my kids to just that (ages 5 and 7) every year. They really enjoy it. The kids can draw something for the glass blowers to make, put it on a board with their name and address on the back. If the blowers choose the picture, they will make it and mail it to you. (this can take about an hour to watch as you get engrossed in it pretty quickly) I toured the settlement when I was about 12 and really enjoyed it, but it is expensive for what you get

Busch Gardens---People have suggested Busch Gardens. Before you buy the tickets online or anywhere, make sure they are open before you come. They open for spring break here (which is the 1st week of April) but are only open on the weekends for a while until they open for the summer. Wendy's in Williamsburg generally has coupons for $5 or $10 off one day admissions. There are 2 sections for smaller children (sesame place..sesame street themed and Land of the Dragons). Depending on how tall your 6 year old is they may not be able to ride many of the rides. I think 42" allows them to ride most everything 52" to ride the "big" coasters (griffon, Verbolten, etc)

http://seaworldparks.com/en/buschgardens-williamsburg/Par...

They do have coupon books in Williamsburg and Yorktown. We just recently went there for hubby's Viet Nam Reunion. I checked online and there are several places if you put in "Williamsburg" you can order tickets online, or just get coupons for money off several eating places, etc. If you use Restaurant.com you can buy some passes to restaurants that save money as well.
Grandma N. in Md.