Vacation sugestions for Thanks Giving week. (Virginia Beach, Lynchburg: spring break, rent, hotels)

[Melbourne Family]

Ok I'm again after more advice please on vacation destinations. Since we have no family here to celebrate thanksgiving with (& we did the whole turkey thing last year for our first thanksgiving) we are thinking to go on a mini vacation this year. We are aware that this is a crazy time for driving/flying etc within the USA but we want to take the opportunity to do some more sightseeing. Looking at leaving Tuesday evening & returning Saturday to try & beat some of the traffic.

Any sugestions on where we should go????? If driving we don't want anywhere over 3 hours away. If flying it has to be cheap but not sure that will be possible over Thanksgiving.

We haven't as yet been to any of the Va towns listed below, would any of them be a good choice for a 4 night stay?

Virginia beach
Charlottesville
Williamsburg

Thanks for your help!

[LynchburgLover]

Definitely Williamsburg! They'll be starting the Christmas decorations and it's gorgeous. But it might be too late to get reservations in the Historic area.

[Melbourne Family]

LynchburgLover do you think traffic down to Williamsburg will be ok? I'll do a quick accom search & see what I can find. Thanks for the suggestion.

[LynchburgLover]

Traffic is always a pain!

Also, be sure to check the Williamsburg site to be sure which demonstrations are open during the season (the historic tours, carriage rides, blacksmithing, etc.) Depending on your budget, there's also Kingsmill Resort (golf, tennis). There's an interesting tour at the Budwiser plant.

Also be sure to check the restaurants and make reservations as far in advance as possible.

(If you are interested in a resort, there is The Boar's Head or Wintergreen in Charlottesville. Other than that and touring Monticello, there's not much for four days in Charlottesville.)

I just think there's more to do in Williamsburg than the others during the cooler weather. Save Virginia Beach for warmer days!

Good luck.

[MaNova]

Massanutten resort would make for a nice Thanksgiving retreat.
You can rent a cozy cottage or large chalet depending on your needs, and often times the owners offer holiday specials. You can enjoy the peace and serenity of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and have access to plenty of activites and amenities such as dining, miniature golf, hiking, and kayaking, to name a few. I hear they have a fabulous spa as well as an indoor water park that's open year round.

I am not planning on going away for TG, but after thinking about what Massanutten has to offer, it's tempting.

[irisheyes13]

Originally Posted by LynchburgLover

Definitely Williamsburg! They'll be starting the Christmas decorations and it's gorgeous. But it might be too late to get reservations in the Historic area.

I agree that Williamsburg is a great option! Much to do/see in the area and if you can avoid the high traffic times over the holiday, the drive should be reasonable.

[Melbourne Family]

Thanks for yoru suggestions, Williamsburg here we come!

Has anyone stayed at any of these Williamsburg hotels;

Springhill Suites by Marriott
Country Inn & Suites
Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites

Thanks again

[ACWhite]

Melbourne Family, if you don't want to do the long drive, Mt. Vernon was lovely around that time last year. The tour is interesting.

[Doppelganger69]

I also highly recommend Williamsburg. I went over spring break with child #1 (then 9) and then again later in the spring with #1 and #2 (then 5). They both loved it and we didn't even come close to seeing everything. The second time we took the shuttle bus from the Williamsburg Visitors' Center to see Jamestown as well, which was also very interesting and we could have spent more time there.

If it is possible, I recommend you stay on the Williamsburg property. It was very convenient for us and we saved the driving time from an off-site hotel. We also indulged in a convenient service I wouldn't have expected to use, but did: our souvenir purchases in the historic area were delivered straight from the shop to our hotel. Williamsburg's web site, history.org, often lists promotional rates, in which the hotel + admission rates are much cheaper than if you buy hotel and admission separately. As I recall, your younger child will have free admission to all the sites in the Historic Triangle (Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown).

We stayed at the Woodlands both times, which is adjacent to the Visitor's Center, but sometime I would like to stay in the Colonial Houses. That would be super-convenient and also give more of the historical flavor.

Finally, your daughters might be interested in renting or buying colonial garb. You can rent it in either the Visitors' Center or (if my info is still accurate) at the open-air market or the Mary Dickinson shop in the historic area. We added up the cost of renting over several days and decided to buy my daughter a costume that was on sale. She loved it!

Feel free to PM me with questions - I'm happy to share the details, and you've got me thinking of making another trip . . . .

[michgc]

I second or third the Williamsburg option. Four days is the perfect amount of time to spend there, as long as you are interested in Colonial America history. We, too, have stayed at The Woodlands on site, and found it to be a good family property. I don't know if your children/daughters are into American Girl dolls, but it might be fun to read the Felicity Series with them before going. It helps to bring the area to life. My 8-year old really enjoyed the stories, although we went to Williamsburg before she read them. I'd love to take her now and show her places that we read about.

One more note, it might be fun to take a tour of the College of William and Mary. It's a beautiful campus and is the second oldest college in the US (after Harvard). They probably wouldn't be giving tours that weekend, but it might be fun to check out a typical American college campus.