Williamsburg, Virginia

Is it possible to travel to Williamsburg and not have one of these pictures?



With snow on the ground, thought we could all enjoy seeing a beautiful flower from one of the many gardens there. This is just one of the many benefits of traveling.



Tips/facts for traveling to Williamsburg
Food is scarce and expensive, take your own (pack a picnic and leave in your car). Water is a must (bring the small bottles, though less than standard 8 or 9 oz.
You are unable to take any water bottle into the buildings with you when your tour, thus the small bottle that can be put in your purse/travel bag, and or consumed and pitched prior to entering is a must. The food being scarce is a bit of a timing issue. The few eateries in the historic area close up shop EARLY...some as early as 2, so our thought of touring while others ate, eatting later didn't work. One can't even find a place inside to cool off with a cool drink in the historic area. Many places require reservations, and even then people wait in lines. The down side to food in your car means extra walking on your part to get back to it. And by all means, if your traveling with a pet, make other arrangements for the cat or dog; as it's not wise to leave them unattended in the heat.

You must be organized, scheduled and know well ahead of time what you want to do and see, and where things are located.
I personally dislike being scheduled on vacation, I go on vacation to relax and like to do things spontaneously. That mode at Williamsburg simply will not work. I purchased our tickets ahead of time on line...great idea, right? Well, not really. Though you can decide what type of a ticket you want and pay ahead it does not mean you don't wait in line for your ticket. Having purchased tickets on line for several other vacation areas as we were traveling, this was a big surprise. Most encourage you to print your ticket ahead. Williamsburg doesn't permit that. You must pick up your ticket in a will call arrangment; however will call is the same line as those buying the tickets who've not yet decided what type of ticket they want. Futher complication, there are only 3 locations through Williamsburg where the one person maned booth's exist, to pick up your tickets.........AND thats where you get the maps to show you were the booths are located. We lucked out in that we walked down a street where one such booth was. But, the person ahead of us had many questions and we waited in line 20 minutes to pick up the tickets we had already purchased. The only way to avoid this is to lodge right in the Williamsburg vacinity, a few of those hotels provide the tickets in house. We were traveling Marriott facilities due to points earned off site.

My last major tip for traveling to Williamsburg is, you MUST go early. We purposely took our time arriving, feeling those with the young children would go early and leave early and we'd be able to tour more leisurely. The flaw in that plan is, Williamsburg shuts down early, and there are many events and happenings that only take place once a day, in the morning. So, you must join the herd and fight the crowds if you want to experience these events.
*I don't think it's a place well suited for small children in stroolers or babies, seems everyone is miserable in those situations. Parents have to lug kids in and out of the strollers as they can't go in the buildings in them, that makes the kids irritable and while they're being irritable the rest of tour group are unable to hear the guides. Kids 3rd grade and up probably actually get something out of it.
**Comparing this last trip to one hubby and I took there years ago, I don't believe it's a nice as it used to be. You must wait everywhere for a guided tour now, previously you could tour some of the areas on your own. The tours are very robotish and you're not really given time to look, and enjoy.

I probably would not go again, nor do I recommend it as relaxed vacation destination. I believe it is well suited for large school groups who get special considerations when traveling as an educational-school trip.
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However, if at the end of the day you want a quiet, peaceful adult atompshere to enjoy a nice drink, I highly recommend The Williamsburg Hotel. Be sure and take your traveling visa though, it's pricey!