Now that our youngest is a year and a half old we can start considering a “real” family vacation. We want to save Disney until she’s old enough to remember it but we still want to take a vacation. I first heard about Virginia Beach last year and it sounds like the ideal place for a family vacation. Located in the southeastern corner of the state of Virginia it’s just 4 hours southeast of D.C. by car and a day’s drive or less for 2/3 of the population. It’s quite a bit farther for us living in the Pacific Northwest but it totally sounds worth it!
With excellent weather, plenty of kid-friendly activities and beautiful beaches, Virginia Beach is perfect for both relaxing and adventuring. Since vacations can be expensive, I always look for free or low-cost activities to mix in with our splurges. Throughout the summer Virginia Beach offers free oceanfront fireworks shows. These spectacular displays can be watched for free anywhere along the boardwalk. They also have a 3 day series of free concerts and a free Family Great Adventure series which includes an interactive adventure that ends with a family friendly movie on an inflatable screen on the beach!
For our splurges we’d probably pick from the following:
- Motor World: Paintball, mini golf, and go karts- need I say more? I think the hubs and I would probably have more fun than the kids.
- Ocean Breeze Water Park- From a giant wave pool to waterslides and rides, this is an all day adventure our whole family would enjoy. They even have a kiddie area.
- Surf Camp- Not only will you get lessons from a professional but you’ll have access to a professional photographer to capture it all. The event includes giveaways and ends with a party!
- Dolphin Tours- I had the opportunity a few years back to get up close to a dolphin and it was an awesome experience. I’d love for my kids to have the same opportunity. Of course I wouldn’t mind doing it again myself! This would be number one on my personal list.
But to truly love the moment, just spending quality time building sandcastles and playing at the beach is where it’s at for me. I can’t imagine a more relaxing and fun vacation than Virginia Beach. It has all of the makings for a perfect family vacation, don’t you think?
You can learn more at http://www.visitvirginiabeach.com/.