<p>We will be staying in Williamsburg from June 22 to 29. Along with DH and me, we are bringing our three kids (14-year-old girl, and boys who will be 17 and almost 20). We already have a hotel (timeshare condo), but that’s all I’ve figured out. I did look online and find out there’s a flex pass ($178 for adults; $138 for kids 17 and under). It includes admission to the following for any 7-day period:</p>
<pre><code>Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area and museums
Historic Jamestowne
Jamestown Settlement
Yorktown Battlefield
Yorktown Victory Center
Busch Gardens®
BONUS! Water Country USA® included between May 19 and September 3
</code></pre>
<p>For those of you who know the area, does this seem like a good idea? What are must-see attractions in the area? Are there any particular restaurants we should try?</p>
<p>I’m excited about spending time in Colonial Williamsburg, because I LOVE Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts. Being tourists will be fun, since up in Maine we usually just see all the visitors having fun while we’re working!</p>
<p>I live within an hour of Williamsburg so have been there many times and have been to all of the places on your list . Sounds like a great vacation and the flex plan sounds like a great deal since you will be there for a whole week. We just had a nice lunch at Le Yaca at Christmastime.It is not cheap but has decent prices at lunch time. The Mariners’ Museum in nearby Newport News is also very interesting (if you don’t get the flex pass and are looking for other things to do). Norfolk and Virginia Beach are also within about an hour or so.Have fun!</p>
<p>Not sure if you have seen that thread, mainelonghorn, but there’s some information there that may be helpful. The flexplan sounds like a pretty good deal for a family. Williamsburg is a great place to visit. As I said in the above thread, it’s one of my favorite spots. If you love Sturbridge, you will adore Williamsburg. So much better! Have fun!</p>
<p>Maine: What a plan…you’ll have a great time. We did this trip 3x, bringing along the D’s two cousins (1M + 1F). The hi-lite of the trip for the kids was the Hubba-Hubba Highway @ Water Country.</p>
<p>If I could obtain the license to sell frozen margarita’s & daquiri’s along The Highway I could retire!!</p>
<p>That is a good old thread ,alwaysamom, with lots of good suggestions. I also like the Colonial restaurants and Williamsburg Inn . We just like to walk around the colonial area and stop at some of the shops in town . The plantations are also interesting. You will have a great vacation, MaineLonghorn, and Busch Gardens and Water Country USA will be a good contrast to all the historic stuff. The flex plan does really sound like your best bet if you know for sure you will want to be doing most of things that are covered by the pass. Hope you have a great time with your family!</p>
<p>Same here, sevmom. I love just walking down Duke of Gloucester and looking at the beautiful architecture, dropping into the colonial shops (the soap that they have in the CW hotels is sold there -it’s great!), then wandering down to Merchant’s Square. When our girls were young, the toy store and the candy shop were two ‘must visit’ places. I always enjoyed going into the drug store and having a cold drink at the little soda fountain at the back. Sadly, that’s gone now. Just sitting on one of the benches there and enjoying the people-watching is fun! </p>
<p>Mainelonghorn, take a walk through the William and Mary campus if you have a chance. It’s very pretty.</p>
<p>My favorite restaurants in Williamsburg are Le Yaca and The Fat Canary. Excellent but pricey, send the kids to The Crust and go on a date night!</p>
<p>The Fat Canary = wonderful! We also like The Blue Talon and Food for Thought. The latter is much less expensive but really cool. You should also try the original Green Leafe, a pub with a huge beer selection and good bar food across from the W&M football stadium. An excellent if confusing lunch spot is the Cheese Shop in CW. I don’t know if your kids would enjoy it, but dh and I liked touring the Williamsburg Winery.</p>
<p>Williamsburg could be stinking hot in late June, so Water Country is a great idea. Lots of excellent thrill rides at Busch Gardens. Now that our 3 girls are adults, though, their favorite destination is the shopping outlets on Richmond Road. I really like the Dewitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum in CW.</p>
<p>For a bizarre experience, you might want to visit the Yankee Candle Village on Richmond Road. It’s way more than candles - reminds me of Disneyland without the rides. There’s a nearby Ripley’s Believe It or Not museum, which we’ve never seen but is probably pretty bizarre too.</p>
<p>I second all of the suggestions so far, especially to try Food for Thought on Richmond Road. We ate there at least once every time we visited or picked up D at W&M (has good selections for vegetarians).</p>
<p>We didn’t do a Ghost Tour until her senior year, and wished we had done others…</p>
<p>Yes, Wmsburg can be very hot in June. If you can, visit Sno-to-Go, amazing shaved ice creations. It’s also down Richmond Road, kind of across from some of the outlets.</p>
<p>We stopped at Sno-to-Go because I had seen some reviews online and tried the shaved ice but wished I had just stuck with the regular shaved ice instead of the shaved ice/ ice cream type combo. Would be great on a hot day!</p>
<p>definitely recommend sno-to-go… it’s not open on sundays. Also recommend you eat at one of the colonial restaurants for dinner one night, where all the staff is in costume. There’s also go-karts and a Pirate’s Cove minigolf, if your kids are into those. I also recommend you take Colonial Parkway when traveling between Williamsburg/Jamestown/Yorktown… it’s a very nice scenic drive.</p>
<p>If you get off the highway at exit 238, make sure you turn the right way our you might end up explaining yourselves to some guys with automatic weapons, lol. They are probably used to lost tourists though.</p>
<p>One thing to say is your schedule is a Friday to Friday and if you are driving BEWARE! 95 becomes a human parking lot after 1 pm during the summer months, and it stays that way until about 7 pm. So time it properly to get passed Stafford (exit 139) by 2 at the latest.</p>
<p>Don’t forget to check Groupon.com - occasionally they have deals in the Williamsburg area. Look under “Virginia - Richmond or Hampton Roads.” I’ve gotten Groupons in W’burg for go-karts, movies & Pita Pit for my S at W&M.</p>
<p>I also like the Decorative Arts Museum, though my guys are not as wild about it as I am.</p>
<p>I second the cautions about I-95S traffic on a Friday in June (lots of vacationers headed to the beach on a Friday) & the summer heat/humidity in W’burg. Plan accordingly.</p>
<p>soccerguy: LOL about the men with guns at Camp Perry. :)</p>
<p>We liked eating lunch at the restaurants on premises since the prices tended to be significantly lower than dinner. Food wasn’t quite as good as I had remembered it from my honeymoon and also 15 years ago, but we still had a nice time when we were there Nov/Dec. We went to Yorktown since it was historic & H is a history buff. We spent most of the time with the kids at Williamsburg. Also loved Monticello & Mt. Vernon. Our D even enjoyed making bricks with the mud there. The kids also played colonial games. We liked drinking the authentic colonial chocolate–was very thick & different.</p>
<p>We drove up from Williamsburg to DC early in the day, so avoided nearly all the traffic & had a pleasant drive. Ended up at Potamac Mills Mall for outlet shopping but it wasn’t as great as the Goodwill bargains some are finding on CC. :)</p>
<p>We LOVE Williamsburg, especially some of the night tours.</p>
Have fun!</p>
I always enjoyed going into the drug store and having a cold drink at the little soda fountain at the back. Sadly, that’s gone now. Just sitting on one of the benches there and enjoying the people-watching is fun! </p>