One night, pre-Williamsburg
 

Greetings! I am traveling to Williamsburg with my wife and 2 children (8 and 5), staying at the Williamsburg Woodlands beginning June 25, followed by stops in Washington DC and Baltimore. We've now decided to add a night before we arrive in Williamsburg (June 24). Since we are coming from New Jersey, our options appear to be Virginia Beach or Norfolk if we use the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel, or Fredericksburg or Richmond if we use 95. Can anyone make a suggestion as to which is the better bet? Please include a hotel recommendation if you have one as well. Thanks in advance for the help!

If you haven't done the Eastern Shore route via the ferry, then definitely do that. Rather than stop in VA Beach I would stay in Chincoteague. VA B is a lot like the beaches you would see in Jersey. If you want some city life, Norfolk would probably be a better choice than Richmond because of the ages of your kids. Nauticus is a fun naval science museum withing walking distance of the downtown hotels. I believe there is a Marriott and a Hilton.There is also a nice mall in that downtown area. Look into taking a ferry over to Portsmouth to the Childrens' museum there. It is fantastic!

I agree with Birdie that beach towns are about the same as your NJ ones. The DelMarVa peninsula has a number of interesting things to see/do, such as Assateague/Chincoteague, maybe Crisfeld MD & a trip to Tangier Island. A train museum somewhere in Va (forget where). Rooms will be VERY pricy in VaBeach, so Norfolk area, or Hampton/Newport News. Agree about Nauticus, or the Hampton Air & Space Museum. You might want to stop at the parking area & giftshop/restaurant that is right on the Bay Bridge/Tunnel if it's open - watch some ships going over the tunnel.

If come down I-95, there's Kings Dominion, and of course Fredericksburg itself. I don't know about summertime, but the rest of the year hotel rates in the area between Fredericksburg and Richmond seem to have lower rates. Richmond or Petersburg might be a good place to stay & explore too.

I would also suggest Norfolk. As well as the museums mentioned, I suggest the river tour "Carrie B". It's a two-hour tour, the highlight is the navy base (the largest one in the world). Plus right now is a fantastic time to see the base, 4 aircraft carriers are inport. For a land-based tour of the base, the navy offers a bus tour. The MacArthur Memorial is also a nice to see place in downtown Norfolk. Hope this helps. -jvc

Thanks to all for your input. We've decided to go with Virginia Beach for one night, staying at the Days Inn Oceanfront. I'm usually pretty squeamish about Days Inns, but it's only for one night...

If you are going to VA beach, let me recommend a hotel change to the Quality Inn oceanfront..It is a quiet hotel with an oceanfront facing pool. It is clean (used to be a hilton)and you can walk to everything. I think the Days Inn is across the street from the beach. You may want to ask about this.