virginia beach visit
 

will be in virginia beach in early july and am at a loss for things to do, besides laying on the beach. Is it still possible to tour the naval base? If I stay away from the beach (2-3 miles) will I have trouble getting to the boardwalk and parking? Are there any shows in VB? What other things do you all suggest. Don't worry about my likes and dislikes. will be 3 adults. Thanks George

Hey George. You can indeed tour the naval base. The best way would be to head into downtown Norfolk and pick up a tour boat and see it from the water. You can also walk through the USS Wisconsin as it's sitting right there in downtown as a museum. The hotels at the oceanfront tend to be overpriced for what you get outside of an oceanview. A few of the nicer ones would be the Hilton on 31st street and the Courtyard Marriot. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of lodging options 2-3 miles away. There is a fairly new Hilton Garden Inn at the newer Virginia Beach Town Center, which is about 10 miles inland. Parking would indeed be a pain as most of the lots charge in excess of $10. If you do park, the munincipal lots should be a tad cheaper than the private lots. Another cheaper option would be to stay on the bay side. The Virginia Beach Resort and Conf Center is right on the Chesapeake Bay with a nice beach. You just won't have the boardwalk or the waves. Some of the better seafood restaurants are right there too including Bubba's, Chick's, and Dockside Inn. As far as shows, you're probably limited to anything that may be at Virginia Beach Amphitheater. The Virginia Marine Science Museum is actually very nice and is worth visiting.

Ken

Thanks for the info. As for the naval base, is it still possible to tour the base by bus, with the sailors as guides?

If you are into history, Historic Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown are great.

Still looking further for info about Virginia Beach and the Norfolk area. Does anyone know if it is possible to tour the Oceana Naval Air Station? What about the park located there?
What else is there worth seeing in the Hampton Roads area for 3 adults?

As montereybob said, you are close to Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown, which all are interesting places very close to VB, you could spend a day at each of these. And if you haven't been across the bay bridge or up to the delmarva that would be an interesting side trip or go south along route 17 and follow the road that goes along the intercoastal water way through the swamps.

>>As for the naval base, is it still possible to tour the base by bus, with the sailors as guides?<<

Yes, you can tour the base in Norfolk. Info is here:

https://www.cnic.navy.mil/norfolksta...ours/index.htm

You can also tour Oceana. Google Oceana Naval Air Station and the info is at the home page.

I don't believe there are any tours at Oceana. However, there are some good place to watch the jets take off and land. One place is off of Potters Rd, which runs parrellel to 1-264 off of First Colonial. Another location is a parking area off of London Bridge Road near International Pkwy. It's labeled as an Observation Park, but it's just a small area to pull over and watch the jets come in for landing. As far as what else there is to do, that would depend on what you guys are interested in. Fishing, Golfing, Hiking?

The USS Wisconsin is in Norfolk and can be toured.
If you want to stay in VA beach, the best place is the oceanfront. There is a nice boardwalk to walk on and there is entertainment on the street every night.
The Hilton and the Marriotts are the nicest properties,but some of the less expensive hotels are okay too. We stayed with soccer teams so I can tell you that the Ramada is nice, but no outdoor pool. The Quality Inn Oceanfront is older, but still kept nice and clean and has a very nice oceanfront pool. The Holiday Inn Sunspree was not as nice as it used to be, but okay.
Definitely in the area, there are many historic places to visit. If you are determined to tour the base, call them and ask them. You will hear the jets going over the oceanfront. You don't always see them, but you can hear them!

>>I don't believe there are any tours at Oceana.<<

ken, is that something quite recent? My husband took his relatives there last summer and their website shows tours current for 2009:

https://www.cnic.navy.mil/Oceana/Abo...tion/index.htm

Fodor's also has it listed too for things to do in the Hampton Roads area. Not that their listings are always the most up to date (sorry fodor's).

I stand corrected. Good find, obxgirl. I never realized you could tour Oceana.

No big, ken. Things often change on the spur of the moment!