Group Tours to Williamsburg Virginia

Sticks & Stones, Buried Bones

The itinerary below is only suggestion.  For a more customized tour to match your group's wants and needs, feel free to browse our group tour attractions, shopping, dining and lodging options OR contact one of our local tour services - no one knows the ins and outs of the Historic Triangle better than they do!  Should you have any questions or comments about this itinerary or simply want to start planning your trip, please contact us via email at Vivian Bunting, or call 800-368-6511.

 You may download a printable version (PDF) of this tour by clicking here.
Vivian Bunting
Consumer Sales Manager, Tourism

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Day One


12:30 - 2:30 pm     
Guided tour of Historic Jamestowne
Begun in 1994 as a 10 year project with the hopes of finding some evidence of the original 1607 James Fort, for over two centuries thought lost to river shoreline erosion, this project is still going strong. Today, archaeologists have rediscovered much of the fortification and have recovered over a million artifacts that tell the true story of Jamestown. Historic Jamestowne is a National Park Service site co-administered by Preservation Virginia.  Founded in May 1607, some 13 years before the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth, Jamestown served as the capital of Virginia throughout the 17th century and saw the establishment of the language, customs, laws and government practiced in our nation today.


3 - 5 pm
Guided tour of Jamestown Settlement
At Jamestown Settlement, comprehensive gallery exhibits describe world events and social and economic conditions that led to the English colonization of America and the formation of the Virginia Company that sponsored Jamestown with a goal of earning its investors a profit.  Learn about the land and lifestyle of Algonquian-speaking tribes in coastal Virginia under the powerful leader Powhatan and about the culture of the first documented Africans in Virginia.  Outdoor living-history areas bring the 17th century to life -- the re-created Powhatan Indian Village, re-created James Fort, Riverfront Discovery Area, and full-size replicas of the three ships, Susan Constant, Discovery and Godspeed, that transported the original Jamestown colonists to Virginia in 1607. 


5:30 pm
Check-in at Williamsburg Accommodations
Check into your Williamsburg accommodations.  Dinner on your own this evening and optional shopping.
 

Day Two


7:45 am        
Breakfast at your Williamsburg Accommodations

8:45 am
Depart for a full-day of touring

9 am - 12 pm         
Guided tour of Colonial Williamsburg's Historic Area
From 1699 to 1780, Williamsburg was the political, social and cultural capital of Britain's largest, wealthiest and most populous colony. Colonial Williamsburg encompasses more than 500 buildings and 90 acres of magnificent gardens.  In the shops, taverns, government buildings, homes and streets George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, George Mason and other Virginia Patriots debated the ideas – liberty, independence, and personal freedoms -- that led to the founding of American democracy.  Interaction with costumed interpreters of varied age, race, and social position provides a first-hand view of life when the town was the capitol of the Virginia colony.

12 - 2 pm                
Lunch on own and shopping in Merchants Square
Located adjacent to Colonial Williamsburg's Historic Area, Merchants Square is an 18th-century style retail village with more than 40 shops and restaurants. The shops at Merchants Square offer everything from traditional and designer clothing to handmade candies, antique quilts, folk art and a variety of exclusive Williamsburg reproductions. The restaurants on Merchants Square offer choices from a quick sandwich to the freshest seafood, steaks or contemporary American regional cooking.

2 - 5 pm
Visit the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center and Bassett Hall

5:30 pm
Dinner in a Colonial Tavern & Optional Shopping
Taverns were not only an integral part of colonial life in America, but were also a necessity.  The modes of travel and transportation of the day mandated the location of a tavern every few miles on the main thoroughfares, where tired and hungry travelers could find food and drink and a bed or floor upon which to sleep.  Each of the operating taverns located in Colonial Williamsburg's Historic Area is inspired by a different style of colonial-era cooking.  
 

Day Three


7:45 am    
Breakfast at your Williamsburg Accommodations

8:45 am
Depart for a full-day of touring

9:15 - 11 am          
Guided tour of Yorktown including the Moore House and Nelson House
Yorktown witnessed the last major battle of the American Revolutionary War, a 10-day siege and where General Washington successfully surrounded and defeated the British army.  See the Moore House, where on October 18, 1781,  officers from both sides met to negotiate the surrender terms for Cornwallis's army.  And, visit the Nelson House, home of Thomas Nelson, Jr. (1738-89), Yorktown's most famous son and one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Nelson's devotion to the patriot cause during the American Revolution contributed significantly to the creation of the United States.  The Nelson House is one of the finest examples of early Georgian architecture in Virginia. 

11:15 am - 12:15 pm             
Guided tour of the Yorktown Victory Center
Gain a new appreciation and understanding of our nation's beginnings at the Yorktown Victory Center where America's evolution from colonial status to nationhood is chronicled through a unique blend of timeline, thematic exhibits and outdoor living history areas that emphasizes the experiences of ordinary people.  An outdoor re-created 1780s farm provides a look at how many Americans lived in the early years of our nation. 

12:15 pm
Depart for Williamsburg

12:45 - 2 pm
Lunch on own in Merchants Square

2:15 - 4 pm
Visit Great Hopes Plantation -- Colonial Williamsburg
 Experience everyday rural life in the 1770s at Great Hopes Plantation.  From harvesting crops, grinding corn for food, tending to the animals, sawing wood for new construction or carrying water from the well, this hands-on history lesson is one you'll not soon forget.  From the political unrest to the daily routines, Great Hopes Plantations tells the story of how our nation began.

 4 pm
Return to accommodations to relax before dinner

5:30 pm
Dinner on own in New Town
 New Town is Williamsburg's vibrant 365-acre community where people play, work and live. There are more than 170 shops and restaurants .  Dining choices include Buon Amici, Center Street Grill, Green Leafe Cafe, and Panera Bread.    
 

Day Four


7 am                                            
Breakfast at your Williamsburg Accommodations

7:45 am
Depart for Virginia Beach

9 - 10:30 am          
Visit the Adam Thoroughgood House
Adam Thoroughgood (1604-1640) arrived in Virginia in 1621 as an indentured servant.  He became a community leader, a member of the House of Burgesses at Jamestown, and was granted a land parcel in 1636.  One of the oldest homes in Virginia, this medieval English-style cottage sits on 4 1/2 acres of lawn and garden overlooking the Lynnhaven River. It was built around 1680 by one of Adam Thoroughgood's grandsons and the interior features exposed wood beams and whitewashed walls.  Although the current furnishings did not belong to the Thoroughgoods, they are original to the period and reflect the family's English ancestry.

11 am - 12:30 pm
Visit Lynnhaven House
The Lynnhaven House is located on five and a half acres of land which includes a small woods and gardens of herbs, vegetables, flax, cotton, peanuts, and tobacco. Based on dendrochronology testing, the wood for the house was cut in the fall of 1724, thus the house was probably constructed in 1725. The house was restored in the 1970's and is 80-85% original. Lynnhaven House offers its guests much more than a display of architecture and decorative arts. Within its walls and on its grounds, household skills and the various crafts that produced the early lifestyle are still practiced.

12:30 pm
Depart for Hampton and enjoy a gourmet boxed lunch 

1:30 pm
Visit the Hampton Carousel
Built in 1920, the carousel is completely restored to its original beauty and is housed in its own weather-protected pavilion on the city's downtown waterfront. It is one of only 170 antique wooden merry-go-rounds still existing in the U.S.

2 - 4:30 pm
Cruise aboard the Miss Hampton II
This double-decked tour boat offers daily narrated cruises of the Hampton Roads harbor and Chesapeake Bay. As you enter the Hampton Roads Harbor, you will sail the waters of Captain John Smith and the first Jamestown settlers.  The tour continues past historic Fort Monroe and the Old Point Comfort Lighthouse, the oldest continuously operating lighthouse in America.  After an awe-inspiring view of the Chesapeake Bay the cruise will stop for a 30-minute guided walking tour of the Civil War Island Fortress of Fort Wool.  Afterwards, get an in-depth view of the massive warships at the Norfolk Naval Base. The return trip features a narrative of the famous Battle of the Ironclads: The Monitor and the Merrimac.

5 pm
Dinner on own in downtown Hampton
 

Day Five


7 am
Breakfast at your Williamsburg Accommodations

8:45 am
Depart for Norfolk

10 - 11:30 am
Visit the Hunter House Victorian Museum
It is the end of an era, the gracious and elegant Victorian Era. It is a time when children amuse themselves outside with croquet and inside with parlor card games. As gentlemen and fathers spend their days in business establishments downtown, mothers and wives preside over the affairs of the home. Additionally, they interest themselves in gardening and handicrafts. We invite you to experience this by-gone era with a visit to the Hunter House Victorian Museum where you will be transported to a simpler and more gracious time.

12 - 1 pm
Lunch on own at the Pagoda Garden and Restaurant in the Freemason Harbor
The Marine Observation Tower a.k.a the Pagoda was built in 1989.  It was a gift to the Commonwealth of Virginia and the City of Norfolk from the Taiwan Provincial Government.  The materials for the tower were manufactured in Taiwan and shipped to Norfolk for meticulous assembly by Taiwanese artisans.  The Pagoda is the centerpiece of the Garden and it is home to an art gallery and restaurant that serves American and Pacific Rim cuisine.

1:30 - 3 pm
Visit the Hermitage Museum and Gardens
The Hermitage Museum & Gardens, formerly home to the Sloane family, is an early 20th century Arts-and-Crafts estate located on the shore of the Lafayette River in Norfolk, Virginia. Featuring a nationally recognized art collection spanning 5,000 years, the Hermitage is home to the arts. Contemporary exhibition galleries, a Visual Arts Studio, working artist studios, and 12 acres of gardens and grounds offer art and culture to the community, as envisioned by the Sloanes.

3:30 - 5 pm
Guided tour of Olde Towne Portsmouth
Portsmouth is a quaint seaport city that has managed to hold on to its 18th and 19th-century history and charm for more than 250 years. Still standing is the original downtown intersection that the city's founder, Col. William Crawford, dedicated to public use -- one corner each for a church, a market, a courthouse, and a jail. In fact, Trinity Episcopal Church on the southwest corner -- founded in 1762 -- still rings its bells across the street from the 1846 Courthouse that now serves as a museum. With six districts listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places, Portsmouth is a history lover's paradise and boasts the largest number of historic homes and buildings.

5 pm
Dinner on own in Portsmouth
 

Day Six


7:30 am
Breakfast at your Williamsburg Accommodations

8:30 am
Check out and load luggage

9:30 - 10:30 am
Guided tour of the Virginia State Capitol Building
The Capitol of Virginia was moved to Richmond during the American Revolutionary War and has remained the capitol since 1780 and it houses the oldest legislative body in the United States, the Virginia General Assembly. It is one of only 12 state capitols in the United States to not have an external dome. Thomas Jefferson is credited with the architectural design of the Virginia State Capitol building, which was modeled after the Maison Carree at Nimes in southern France, an ancient Roman temple. 

10:45 - 11:15 am
Riding tour of Monument Avenue
One of America's most beautiful boulevards, tree-lined Monument Avenue is the only street in the United States that is a National Historic Landmark. After the Civil War, statues were erected on Monument Avenue to honor Confederate heroes. These include Confederate President Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, commander of the Confederate Army, General "Stonewall" Jackson and General J.E.B. Stuart. 

11:30 am - 1 pm
Visit the Virginia Center for Architecture
The Virginia Center for Architecture is dedicated to developing the understanding of architecture and its influence on our lives, our communities, and our world.  In 2003, the Virginia Center for Architecture Foundation, facing a golden anniversary and a new century, purchased the landmark Tudor-Revival mansion designed by John Russell Pope, one of America's major architects. This new museum on Monument Avenue, serving the Commonwealth, expands exponentially the Foundation's ability to provide exhibitions and programs to educate and entertain Virginians and visitors, and transforms it from its beginnings as a scholarship fund to a public cultural institution.

1 pm
Depart for return home

For more information, contact Vivian Bunting, Consumer Sales Manager, Tourism.

The above itinerary is only suggestion.  For a more customized tour to match your group's wants and needs, feel free to browse our group tour attractions, shopping, dining and lodging options OR contact one of our local tour services - no one knows the ins and outs of the Historic Triangle better than they do!  Should you have any questions or comments about this itinerary or simply want to start planning your trip, please contact us via email at Vivian Bunting, or call 800-368-6511.

We strive to keep all information accurate and updated.  If you notice any mistakes or changes, please contact Joanna Skrabala, Manager, Tourism & Interactive Programs, via email or call 800-368-6511.