First visit to Virginia
 

We (me and my wife) are coming from the UK to Virginia for 2 weeks at the end of July / early August. It is our first visit to Virginia and we are staying in the Williamsburg area. Any recommendations on the 'not to be missed' things to do / see while in the area (historic or otherwise)? All help appreciated.

Many thanks

You'll find a lot of historical things to see around Williamsburg -- don't skip nearby Jamestown. I also personally like the boat tour of the naval shipyard in Norfolk -- it's only an hour or two, and you can see some pretty impressive aircraft carriers and the like (from your boat). My mom took a lunch cruise and complained they hardly were told anything about what they saw; I took a cheaper, non-lunch cruise and felt that it was very informative.

I assume you'll have a car, and with two weeks you'll have plenty of time to wander. Definitely go to Charlottesville: Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello, is there, and the University of Virginia. There are also a lot of good wineries nearby. Charlottesville is near the mountains, and you could easily spend a day on Skyline Drive, part of the Blue Ridge Parkway, very scenic.

Are you at all interested in the beach? Virginia Beach is an easy drive..if you got tired of Williamsburg you could actually drive down to the Outer Banks of North Carolina which would afford a seashore experience probably unlike what you are used to.

If you like wine at all there probably 25 or more wineries in & around Charlottesville. Skyline Drive would also be well worth a few days of meandering.

If you are into country/bluegrass music check out Floyd, VA. This is a very cool music scene

www.floydvirginia.com

If you enjoy biking, the New River Trail near Galax, Virginia is wonderful.

dcr.state.va.us/state_parks/new.shtml

Do a day trip to Richmond.

Welcome to the USA. We are glad to have you visit. Next year come to North Carolina!

Agree that Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown and Monticello (in Charlottesville) are must-sees. I would add Yorktown, which is co-located, roughly, with CW and Jamestown: the mapped battlefield walk, and accompanying recorded narrative, are very interesting. It will be beastly hot, of course--wear sunscreen, and bring water.
Enjoy!

I will second/third the recommendation for Charlottesville, Monticello and the gorgeous Skyline Drive.

If you aren't afraid of crowds, and you want to see the beach, walking down the boardwalk at Virginia Beach is fun, with all the saltwater taffy shops, etc. But the crowds and traffic will be crazy at that time.

You would enjoy the areas near Charlottesville, VA and the Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park, as has already been mentioned. If you could stomach the drive, I would definitely recommend the Outer Banks in North Carolina over Virginia Beach any day. Also, in case you have not already been warned, you are picking the hottest, most humid time of year to visit the area, and since you are from the UK, it is likely to be somewhat of a shock. Don't plan on being outside during the height of the day unless you are on the beach or in the mountains!

andy - Where are you staying and what are your interests? Outdoors, museums, history, cities? Have you been anywhere else in the US? Are you planning on traveling up to DC at all?
Just to get you started:
When you are in Colonial Williamsburg, think of it as part of British history as well as US. It was the British colonial capitol.
It will be hot and chances are that you will experience some of our exciting summer storms.
A search of Williamsburg will give you more info and we'll be happy to fill in gaps.

Yes, visit Yorktown, part of British history too and very near by Williamsburg.

In about an hour and a half you can drive from Williamsburg and go across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. Definitely worth a visit as an engineering marvel but it is also a very scenic drive. See the CBBT webpage: http://www.cbbt.com/

On the north side of the CBBT is a Virginia state park called Kiptopeke: http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/kip.shtml
I haven't been there but the website mentions it as a stop on the bird migration route. But maybe the migration doesn't get there until August.

There will be horse racing at Colonial Downs. The Virginia Derby is July 19th. Pretty sure this is a thoroughbreds meet, racing on the flats with an emphasis on turf racing (like Euro tracks and unlike other USA tracks).

Thanks for all the great responses. We are going to be staying the Greensprings Vacation Resort, Williamsburg. Our main interests for this trip are to see the history, scenery, generally relax and enjoy some good food and wine!

Ideally, we are going to try a trip up to DC as well, although haven't finalised this yet.

We are still very much in the 'planning' stages, so all suggestions welcomed.

Thanks,
Andy

Andy,

Concerning the DC portion of your trip, there is a lot of good advice on this board about lodging, sights to see, restaurants, etc. In case it has not already been suggested to you, please consider getting rid of the rental car once you arrive in DC and find lodgings either downtown and/or near a metro station. You really do not want to be driving in DC as a visitor!
As for the timing on driving from Williamsburg to DC, avoid Sunday anytime after lunch or you are likely to run into a lot of traffic on Interstate 95 as other people try to head home from their weekends. Also, if you are traveling on a week day, try to depart soon after breakfast in order to avoid any afternoon rush hour traffic on your way into town. Although you will be traveling "against traffic" so to speak, there is really no getting out of the massive amounts of traffic in both directions from about 3 pm until 7:30 pm.
Since you like good scenery and good wine, I would reinforce my earlier recommendation that you head for the Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Park (mountains) at some point in your trip, and then visit some of the vineyards in the vicinity, especially in the area to the west of Charlottesville and east of the park. An added benefit of this part of Virginia for you is that there are many historical monuments and sites to visit. Virginia wines have "come a long way baby" in the last 5-10 years and you will be pleasantly surprised!