1 1/2 days in Williamsburg - suggestions?

[cindermom]

We are driving up to Williamsburg after our DW trip but we only have our travel day (driving up from Savannah) and then one full day. Our travel day is July 4th and it sounds like there is a lot going on that day. I guess we are wondering if we should just get a 2 day pass for Williamsburg or if there will be time to see Jamestown also. My "kids" are all older (15,20 and 22) so we can be very flexible. Thanks for any advice!

 

[SorcererDonald16]

I went to college in Williamsburg, so I have plenty of advice! More than I care to have, actually.

You have quite a few options. First, there's Busch Gardens Williamsburg (now called BG Europe) if you're not already burned out on theme parks. I sure wouldn't want to go there right after Disney, but just in case you didn't know, I thought I'd mention that.

In Colonial Williamsburg (CW), you can take a variety of tours and the like. If you're pressed for time, you can just walk around. You won't get in some "tour only" buildings, but there's plenty to see down and around Duke of Gloucester Street (called DoG Street by the college crowd). It's going to be packed at that time though. I'm pretty sure there's some kind of fireworks display that night on DoG street, so you could see that at the least on your travel day. And may I suggest the Cheese Shop on DoG Street for good sandwiches for lunch (the baked ham is especially yummy), and Aroma's coffee shop/cafe on the street behind it has great desserts and smoothies. Barnes & Noble is there as well, and they have their standard cafe. Wythe Candy Shop is expensive but has some great, hard to find candy.

Jamestown you have 2 options. What you think is the real Jamestown and then the real Jamestown. The Jamestown with the ship replicas, fort, American Indian village and the like is great to visit, but it's not actually Jamestown. Jamestown (the real one) is found on Jamestown Island, a little ways past the replica up Jamestown Road. I believe it closes at dusk or dark, and it's run by the National Park Service, if memory serves me. I haven't been to the island in a while, but it's not expensive and last time you could see the archaeological dig of the real fort (which some of my professors worked on). Plus there's displays, a church, and remains of various buildings. There's a visitor's center there as well. If forced to choose, I'd go to the actual site. It's neat to see the replicas, and to feel like you're there, but it's much more interesting to me to know I'm standing where it all happened. As for the replica, I'm not sure what's open and what's not at the moment. They're sprucing a lot of things up and building things for the big (or maybe I should say huge) 400th celebration next year.

It really all depends on what interests you. I suggest you look at the following sites and then go from there:

Jamestown Island

Jamestown Settlement

Colonial Williamsburg

If you get a chance, drop by the College of William & Mary's Wren Building for a quick tour. It's the "oldest educational building in continuous use" in the United States. Thomas Jefferson and others took classes there. I was lucky enough to have a class there my senior year (hated the class, loved the building ). Not sure if it's open for tours in July, but it can't hurt to ask. It's the main building visible from the shops' end of Duke of Gloucester Street. Wren Building W&M's the 2nd oldest university in the U.S. behind Harvard, so it's neat to look around that front section of campus (what students and alum call "Old Campus;" the newer, tackier section from the 70s or so is "New Campus," and most people hate it, LOL).

Hope this helps a bit. There are plenty of restaurants on Richmond Road as well. Off the top of my head, there's Ruby Tuesday, Olive Garden, Friendly's, Outback, Chilis, and Kyoto (a Japanese steakhouse). There's also the Williamsburg Pottery up the road if you like crafty kinds of things and want to stop in on your way out. Have fun, and let me know if you have any more questions!

 

[padisneyfan]

Next to WDW, Williamsburg is one of our favorite places to visit. We go to 2x year having just been there this month. Colonial Williamsburg have started this new program called Revolutionary City, so every afternoon for 2 hours a portion of Duke of Glouster street is blocked off and only people with admission tickets can get in that area. Yes you can just walk around the town, but the true experience of Williamsburg is going into the buildings and learning about colonial live through the interpreters which can only be done with an admission ticket. I've been there in July and the crowd are big so I can just imagine what the 4th of July would be like. Maybe you should just stop by and start to walk around and if it looks managable then buy a ticket. I'm not sure is you can only get on the bus from the visitor center with an admission ticket, but you can walk over from the visitor center.

Nancy

 

[cindermom]

Thank you for the great suggestions, SorcererDonald16 and padisneyfan. We definitely will not try to fit Busch Garden in. The DW and Universal part of the trip are for my 15 and 20 yo and the Williamsburg (and then DC) are for my 22 yo DS, who is getting his teaching degree (high school history teacher).

I love your suggestion SorcererDonald16 to go to the actual Jamestown. In all of my research, I don't think anyone else has mentioned that. Plus, I think we could fit that in nicely and still have plenty of time to see Colonial Williamsburg. I was worried that my son would be disappointed not to have time to go to Jamestown but I know he would be much more excited to see (or stand on as you said) the actual location. We will definitely try the sandwiches in The cheese shop and my daughter and I would love a smoothie from Aromas. Your suggestions are very helpful. I am a bit overwhelmed planning this part of the trip. Will we be sorry if we do not reserve a meal in one of the taverns? All of the books recommend doing that but I think they will be very busy and crowded.

padisneyfan, I had not even thought about how crowded it would be on the 4th of July. We just thought it would be a cool place to be. We were originally going to be in Savannah on the 4th but this sounded so much better.

We are staying outside of town in a Holiday Inn express with a rental car. I am hoping that it is not a problem to park in town and get around?

Thanks again!!! If you ever need info on Washington or Oregon, please let me know.

 

[padisneyfan]

The easiest place to find a parking place will be the visitors center.

Also the Peanut Shop in Merchant square which will be behind the Christmas shop in Merchant Square has the best peanuts and alot of free samples.

If you son is into History he will love Williamsburg. Yorktowne is also close to Jamestown.

Have a wonderful trip.

Nancy