I think your plan is fine, but the parking and shuttle system at CW works so well that spending the night on-site isn't really required if you want to save some money. We regularly drive down from Richmond, about an hour and a quarter away, and are in the reconstruction very quickly _after_ we get our tickets.

Ticket sales are grossly inefficient. There are many options, and the staff seem to feel it necessary to explain them all to everyone, even those who have studied and made their choices in advance. They badly need an express line for that.

Be sure not to miss the museums while you are there. The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller is a wonderful museum of folk art and furniture, but it has extensive collections of toys and model trains that are fun for kids.

Going off season is a good idea. I would be tempted to spend the weekend in Washington and the weekdays in Williamsburg/Jamestown.

Two other things you might consider while in the area are the car ferry across the James River, which takes you to the peanut capital of the US if I am not mistaken and not a heck of a lot else, but if your kids haven't ridden a ferry, it is thrilling-ish.

The other would be to see one of the James River plantations between Williamsburgh and Richmond. I am partial to Shirley, still a working plantation. The owners live upstairs, and you tour the downstairs and auxiliary buildings. It has been in one branch or another of the same family since the 17th century, and the house itself, built roughly 1725, has only been painted inside about 6 times in the last 275 years, a good reminder when you feel the "need" to redecorate your house. Fun farm animals on the grounds, and a good place for kids to learn about life across much of the last three centuries. Good civil war history as well.

I agree that it might work out best to visit Williamburg during the week and Washington during the weekend.
You indicate that you want to visit CW, Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown. Are you aware that there are two "Jamestowns"? There is the actual site of the settlement which is administered by the National Park Service and it is referred to as Historic Jamestowne. Then there is a re-created settlement with re-enactors called Jamestown Settlement. While I have heard that Jamestown Settlement is great for kids, I would urge you not to miss Historic Jamestown. At Historic Jamestowne, be sure to allow time for a visit to the Glasshouse where you can see glass blown as it was in those pre-colonial days and the site of the on-going archeological dig. There's also a Junior Ranger program that your 10-year-old might enjoy which will allow him to receive an Historic Jamestowne Junior Ranger patch. For more details on Historic Jamestowne, see: www.nps.gov/jame
As for the weather, I would certainly bring umbrellas or some sort of raingear. You are likely to encounter cold, rainy weather.

I think you're trying to cover a lot in only 2 days -esp since Williamsburg won;t be open late due to early nightfall. You may need more like 2.5 days. I would check opening days/times for November - and if possible do Wllmbg during the week and DC on weekend to avoid worst of traffic in both places

As I tell everyone who visits Colonial Williamsburg, you should absolutely, without a doubt, start your visit at the Visitors Center where you'll see the short film, A Story of a Patriot.

Trust me, it's worth the hour to visit the center & see the movie. It really sets the mood and when you visit the historic area, your children will recognize many of buildings from the movie. In my vast experience with CW, kids love that connection!

Enjoy!

That week seems to be a pretty quiet one in the 'burg. I checked on the William & Mary website to see if there were any sports going on that week for the boys to watch but it looks like all the teams are in conference tournaments. They might enjoy walking around the campus which is right across the street from CW.

Hallow scream at Busch Gardens will have ended and Christmas town won't have started. I would make sure to bring the 10 yo to the Yorktown Victory Center since he is interested in the Revolutionary War. You might look at fun places to stay to provide a little more entertainment for the boys. Great Wolf Lodge has an indoor water park that even your 20 yo might enjoy. You'll have to drive to CW but it will take you 10 min. Kingsmill resort has indoor basketball and an indoor pool and fun game room plus a par 3 golf course. Kingsmill offers a shuttle to CW whch is 10 min away. Both should offer good rates at that time of year.

I know you have a lot to see in a few days but you might also consider stopping to see the Marine Corps museum in Quantico just off I95. The Uvar-Hazy companion museum to the Air and Space museum is right next to Dulles and worth a visit.

Check back with us as your plans begin to ge.

I am not sure reason why you want to be within walking distance: this Kingsmill resort is not well known but is very nice and is a short drive. Link to google map below and link to resort below.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Norfolk,+VA&daddr=1010+Kingsmill+Road,+Williamsburg,+VA+23185+(Kingsmill+Resort+and+Spa)&hl=en&geocode=%3BFYFCOAIdj0Nu-yFUaA83yBvYZykTV4yzFIiwiTG_LHi9fPrh8A&mra=ls&sll=38.063575,-77.083045&sspn=1.913722,4.00177&ie=UTF8&z=11

http://www.kingsmill.com/

Great information all-thank you. I wanted to stay nearby, partly for the historic setting, evening walks, etc. and partly because my wife has a foot injury and can't walk more than a couple hours at a time-she can make it back to the hotel or sit and read/knit someplace nice while the rest of us continue on. It seemed the Lodge has been recommended on this forum often for its convenient location(any comments on the Gov. Inn?).

The waterparks sound great and I am sure we might over-saturate on the history but I would lean towards more history-type fun on our short visit, like the glassblowing place.

I was thinking of renting a car either to get down to CW or to travel around the triangle(catching both Jamestowns) but would like to learn more about the shuttle. Can I get by without a car this time of year? Car rental costs are less than Amtrak prices from DC.

We will be sure to add the CW video at the beginning -have a tendency to skip those things and hit the road running -so thanks for the encouragement. We will have 2.5 days. The plantation visit, even if we only drive by (nice location map online)is a good inclusion- hadn't heard about that before. Looks like Hwy 5 is a nice drive. Finalizing flights/reservations next couple of days. Will be back when I know more. Thanks, can't do this sort of thing without you all.

I would choose DC for weekends and Wbg for weekdays as well, because for both locations, that's when the prices are the lowest, and the crowds smaller.

CW has shuttle buses circling the historic area right up until about 9 or 10 pm, so should your wife need to get anywhere other than by foot, there should be minimal problems.

For 4 of you traveling, I would definitely rent a car to go to WBG ... additionally, rates in local hotels will not be much lower (Jan & Feb the lowest) than they will be at that time, so I'd suggest something on Bypass Rd (I like the Quality Inn) or on Richmond Rd but not too far west. It will take only a few minutes to drive to CW or the Colonial Parkway from there.

Take in some of the evening programs at CW. They cost extra but are worth it imho.

Early welcome to the Historic Triangle! We live in Yorktown, so I'm not familiar with how the hotels/motels are. Only my house! =]

As someone has already mentioned, there are two "Jamestown" and two main historic locations in Yorktown. My personal preference is for the actual Jamestown Settlement over the recreated area. That's just my own opinion. If you go to the Jamestown Settlement ($10 pp), that ticket will also get you into the battle fields at Yorktown. Both of these places need quite a bit of time as they also include historical drives. A reason I would personally suggest a rental car for the area. Although there are shuttles that will move you between the areas, I like having more control and ability to stop and check out an area along the way. The Colonial Parkway has tons of historic markers for various events. Also already mentioned....kids LOVE the ferry at Jamestown. It's free too, so that's a plus.

I would suggest making sure you bring some snacks/drinks with you around the Historical Triangle. For example at Jamestown Settlement there is only a soda machine and a little cafe (when it's open). Umbrellas, rain coats and rain boots may be needed! =] Warm clothes too as it's already getting cold here. Well, at least cold for us!

Last note. If you don't already know for DC, I would highly suggest looking into getting passes for the Metro while you're there. They are fairly cheap and GREAT for moving around the city.

We stayed at the Lodge in March, and while it wasn't cheap, even with the deal we got (check CW's website for packages), we loved it. Pretty hotel, good service, excellent food options in the lounge, and a wonderful breakfast, not to mention the location. No, you may not NEED to be in walking distance, but it's a great advantage if you think anyone is suddenly going to want to go back to the room. We were travelling with an octogenarian and a four-year-old and the convenience couldn't be beat.

The whole "two Jamestowns" is confusing and I think that Bride has switched the names, which is something the locals may do but is confusing for visitors.
To make it clear:
National Park Service Sites: 1) Historic Jamestowne (www.nps.gov/jame) and 2) Yorktown Battlefield (www.nps/gov/york) The admission fee ($10 per person for those 16 years and older) covers admission to both parks.

Living History Museums: 1) Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center (www.historyisfun.org) Admission fees charged for all over the age of 6 years and vary by the park visited.

Also note that the indoor waterpark at Great Wolf Lodge is available only for guests who stay there.

longhorn55 is correct. Jamestown Settlement is run by a foundation associated with the VIrginia state gov't. The other JT is National Park Service. Both are worth visiting but if time allows for only one, I'd opt for JT Settlement which will be more engaging for a 10 YO.

However you arrange your schedule between DC and Wmbg, do not plan to leave the DC or Dulles area after 2:30 or 3:00 in the afternoon and not on Friday if you can help it. Crazy traffic congestion. Best bet is to leave DC early in the morning.

Don't know why Wmburg is being advertised as cold and rainy in November b/c it isn't especially either one. Average temps are going to be in the 60s daytime and 40s at night. Plenty of sun. But it could be colder and it could be raining. Or it could be 85.

I second the motion for the ferry ride which takes you to Surry and back across the James River. The ride at sunset is stunning. About 20 minutes each way. Surry is a small cross roads of a southern town. The Surrey House restaurant, reopened, is worth a visit for very

We're flip-flopping about where to stay as well. We'll be just a couple traveling together. We originally booked at the Governor's Inn but upgraded to the Woodlands because its further from the railroad tracks (light sleepers). We asked for a quiet room. We got 3 nights for $366 including taxes.

Can't decide whether it's worth it to spring an extra $75+/night to upgrade to the Williamsburg Lodge over the Woodlands. Any thoughts? Will be canceling our Hampton reservations for the area & stay at a CW property.

We did once stay at a quaint house in the historic area on our honeymoon & also have stayed at a chain hotel/motel at the edge of CW.

We'll be there 11/28-12/1. We plan to have a car & drive from Norfolk airport & then up to a meeting at Crystal City.

We stayed in one of the historic houses which was great for a family (We were in Orlando Bloom's kitchen). If you stay in one of the houses you're guests of the lodge and get all of those amenities and it's really worth it. They treat you so nicely there and the breakfast just can't be beat.

Thanks for those thoughts. As I recall, the house we stayed in was very cozy and you had to be careful not to hit your head when you were upstairs on the steep sides of the roof. Have never stayed in the lodge yet, nor woodlands (it didn't even exist the last time we were at CW).

The Lodge is worth the upgrade, in my opinion. The rooms are fantastic and the location is much more convenient.

(And the breakfast buffet? Incredible.)

Colonial Williamsburg has some small Inns that are right in the heart of the historic area. The rooms have period furniture but also modern amenities. Check on the official web-site. For colonial atmosphere, especially at night, they can't be beat.

http://www.colonialwilliamsburg.com/visit/hotels/index.cfm

Thanks Gekko for the link.

Bob56, click on Gekko's link and then "Colonial Houses" on the left of the site and you will see exactly what I mean. IMO that is the best way to maximize your experience. You will be smack in the heart of the colonial area.

One other option is Diamond Resorts International. They have a group of timeshares about a 5-10 drive from CW where you can get a rental for a few days at a very reasonable price- much less than 2 rooms elsewhere. You do not have to do the sales tour. We did that once when traveling with my son's family and it worked out well. It was a quite luxurious 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment that slept up to six. It came complete with a full kitchen, jacuzzi, etc.