Celticharper

My DH will be on a business trip to Annapolis the first week in March so he is taking me along, he knows I have always wanted to see Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown. He will be working the three full days that we are in Williamsburg so I will be on my own. I know that there are shuttles that travel between the main historic sites, but they don't start till the end of March. Since my DH will have our rental car I will be depending on the local buses. Is it possible to get to Yorktown and Jamestown Settlement by public transportation? Will I be limited to the city of Williamsbug itself?

We just made our reservations last night so I'm still in the planning stages researching what I want to do and see, so if anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate them. Any "must sees" that were your favorite? Any special surprises that you found that you hadn't heard about till your arrival? Thank in advance.

longhorn55

Here's the link to the Williamsburg Area Transport.
http://www.williamsburgtransport.com/

It has a trip planner feature that uses Google Maps to tell you which buses you need to take to your destination. I did a quick check and it appears that you can get from Williamsburg to Historic Jamestowne using the bus.

I suggest you take a look at the Colonial Williamsburg website (www.history.org) to see what's going on there during your visit. There are always special programs, both daytime and evening, that are worth going to. Likewise, take a look at the National Park Service websites for Historic Jamestowne and Yorktown Battlefield:
www.nps.gov/jame
www.nps.gov/york

Celticharper

Thank you longhorn55 I have visited the CW site to pick the programs that I wanted to attend, they all look so interesting. I will easily be able to overfill three days and nights it seems.

Wow that transport site helps a lot, according to that I should be able to visit all three sites by bus, the other site that I had visited only referenced the free shuttle between sites so I was nervous that regular buses wouldn't do the same routes. I'll print out all the routes to have as a handy reference.

I just love it when people who have experienced a place share their own special finds. No amount of research equals the tips that someone familiar with an area can give.

Thank you for your help

obxgirl

Celicharper, where are you staying in Wmburg? As you've noted, the really convenient bus service among the various places of interest isn't running off season. That's stinky.

There is a bus that runs from the Transportation Center (Amtrak) near Colonial Wmburg to Jamestown Settlement. It's called, (I think) the Surry/Jamestown Connector. It runs infrequently (every 2-3 hours) so factor that it to your plans.

I don't know of any other public transportation between JT and Yorktown this time of year.

Not trying to pry too much here, but what is your DH doing during the day that he needs the rental car? Couldn't you grab it one day to visit JT and Yorktown? You could cover both places nicely in one day and see Col Wmbug the other two days you are in town.

Celticharper

We are staying at the Hampton Inn Central in Williamsburg, this trip was planned as a business trip first then knowing I have always wanted to see Williamsburg, DH asked me to join him, so the planning for me is still in the initial stages.

I may be able to use the car but I am not sure yet so I wanted to find the public transportation options first. My husband will be working in Annapolis, I don't know his schedule yet and often he works very long hours often leaving a power plant or such after 8 or 9 in the evening.
Your suggestion of seeing Yorktown & Jamestown in one day sounds perfect, if possible that is what I wanted to do, but I'll have to play it by ear to see if I can have use of the car.

Daniel_Williams

Celticharper,

If you're without car, you may enjoy exploring the William & Mary campus (one of the oldest US universities) as well since it's directly adjacent Colonial Williamsburg. As a student there many years ago, on a nice day, I would take my studies and read sometimes on Duke of Gloucester street in Colonial Williamsburg (I'm one of these odd people that work better when there IS background noise ).

Enjoy, Daniel

Celticharper

Thanks for the suggestion, I used to live in Cambridge MA so I spent a lot of time walking the Harvard campus just to get around town, so I think I would like to wander the campus.