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Things to Do in SE VA Locations
Area Guide (separate document)
Below you'll find:
Things to Do (Tripadvisor)
SE VA:
1. Eastern Shore
2. Greater Richmond
3. Middle Peninsula
4. Northern Neck
5. Peninsula
6. South Side
7. To do outside SE VA within 7 hr driving distance
8. To do beyond 7 hr driving distance w/ direct flights
Things to Do (Tripadvisor)
SE VA:
6.25.21 in TA #'d order for traveler favorites in VA.
On the left is the "traveler favorites" rating for VA.
On the right is the "Traveler Favorite" for the city/county.
I am excluding some items that wouldn't be considered attractions by most, i.e. the Bay Bridge tunnel and anything rated <4/5.
Cities/Counties are listed in alphabetical order within region.
For cities/counties listed by region go to the bottom of my SE VA page.
(Ranks as of 6.25.21; by their mention I am not endorsing visits to all areas below for all people, but many have had positive experiences; for instance, you won't find me at the White House for the Confederacy, while someone that is really into history, a civil war reenactor, or otherwise might like it):
Greater Richmond
Hanover County:
Henrico County:
#10 Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden
#178 Mid-Lothian Mines Park #1 4.5/5
#253. Robious Landing Park #2 4.5/5
Richmond:
#4 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
#21 Virginia Capitol Building
#45 White House of the Confederacy (see caveat above)
#108 Science Museum of Virginia
#109 St. John's Episcopal Church
#141 Virginia Museum of History & Culture
#145 Virginia Holocaust Museum
(Glen Allen) #210 Lavender Fields Herb Farm #3 (GA) 4.5/5
#214. Agecroft Hall & Gardens #9 4.5/5
#215 American Civil War Museum- Historic Tredegar #20 4/5
#218 Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site #14 4.5/5
#221. T. Tyler Potterfield Memorial Bridge #38 4.5/5
Gloucester Point Beach Park #3 4/5
The Gloucester Museum of History #5 4/5
That Damn Mary Brewing Company #2 5/5 (see caveat above)
Bridgewaters Salon & Spa #3 5/5
The Swamp Paintball Park #4 5/5
West Point
No Limits Skydiving 4.5/5
King George County (Northern Neck):
Dahlgren Railroad Heritage Trail
Lancaster County (Northern Neck):
Peninsula
Hampton:
#24 Fort Monroe's Casemate Museum #1
#46 Virginia Air & Space Science Center #2 (pictured above)
#57 Fort Monroe National Monument #4
#127 Sandy Bottom Nature Park #6
#243. Hampton Coliseum #9 4/5 Arena
Newport News (Peninsula):
#32 The Mariners' Museum & Park #1 5/5
#48 Virginia Living Museum #2 4.5/5
#162 Newport News Park #4 4.5/5
#226 U.S. Army Transportation Museum #5 4.5/5
Poquoson
Messick Point Public Boat Ramp (4.8/5 on Google Maps)
Williamsburg (Peninsula):
#22 Jamestown-Scotland Ferry (free)
#27 Governor's Palace
#28 Busch Gardens Williamsburg
#80 Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center
#96 Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum
#98 Bruton Parish Episcopal Church
#102 The College of William and Mary
#166 Colonial Williamsburg Capitol Building #10
#181 Williamsburg Premium Outlets #23 4/5
#209 George Wythe House #8 5/5
#219 Waller Mill Park #22 4.5/5
#220 Alewerks Brewing Company #16 4.5/5
#236. DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum #7 4.5/5
#241. Great Wolf Lodge Williamsburg #37 4/5 Water Park
Yorktown (Peninsula):
#51 American Revolution Museum at Yorktown #1
#133 Colonial National Historic Park #6
#199 Yorktown Beach #3 4.5/5
South Side
Chesapeake:
Isle of Wight County (includes Smithfield)
St. Luke's Historic Church & Museum #1
Isle of Wight County Museum #3
Smithfield and Isle of Wight Visitor Center #5
Norfolk:
#8 Battleship Wisconsin at Nauticus #1
#20 Norfolk Botanical Garden #2
Naval Station Norfolk #6
Hampton Roads Naval Museum #7
MacArthur Memorial #8
Pagoda & Oriental Garden #9
#212 Children's Museum of Virginia #1 4.5/5
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum #3
Hoffler Creek Wildlife Preserve #4
Lightship Portsmouth Museum #5
The Railroad Museum of Virginia #6
#198 Riddick's Folly House Museum #1 5/5
Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge #2
Suffolk Seaboard Station Railroad Museum #3
Surry
#1 Virginia Beach Boardwalk #1 4.5/5
#30 Military Aviation Museum #4 5/5
#47 Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center #5 4.5/5
#52 First Landing State Park #6 4.5/5
#77 Tarnished Truth Distilling Company #7 5/5
#91 Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge #8 4.5/5
#134 Cape Henry Lighthouse #10 4.5/5
#172 Mount Trashmore Park #11 4.5/5
#183. King Neptune Statue on the Boardwalk #12 4.5/5
#191 False Cape State Park #14 4.5/5
For more to do within 7.5 hr driving distance (apx hrs drive from Newport News):
Delaware
Baltimore (direct flights)
New York (7 hrs drive to NYC; direct flights available to EWR, LGA, & JFK)
#1 in US The National 9/11 Memorial & Museum #2 Historic Site/Museum 4.5/5 7 hrs
North Carolina
#37 in US Biltmore #1 in Asheville - Historic Site/Museum 6.5 hrs -
Closest direct flight is to CLT >2 hrs away
Pennsylvania
#27. in US Eastern State Penitentiary #1 in Philadelphia 4.5/5 History Site/Museum 5.5 hrs
Direct flights available
Pittsburgh - 7 hrs - direct flights available
South Carolina
#24 in US Middleton Place #11 in Charleston (direct flights w/ Breeze) 4.5/5 7 hrs
#36 in US Broadway at the Beach (Myrtle Beach w/ indirect flights only #13) 4.5/5 5.5 hrs
Tennessee
#35 in US Titanic Museum Attraction 4.5/5 Specialty Museum 7.5 hrs
Washington DC
#14 in US Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History #3 4.5/5 3 hrs; direct flights available from ORF
West Virginia - indirect flights only
For more to do beyond 7 hr driving distance (with direct flights from SE VA (updated 10/11/21) out of RIC (Richmond) &/or ORF (Norfolk); PHF (Newport News) direct flights to CLT, PHL on AA, formerly ATL on Delta):
California:
Los Angeles
#4 The Getty Center 5/5 Specialty Museums
#12 USS Midway Museum 5/5 Specialty Museums
Colorado:
Denver
Connecticut:
Hartford
Florida:
Fort Lauderdale
Jacksonville
#9 Wynwood Walls 4.5/5 Points of Interest/Art Museums
Orlando
#3 The Wizarding World of Harry Potter 5/5 Amusement & Theme Parks (see caveat above)
Sarasota
Tampa
Georgia:
Atlanta
Illinois:
Chicago
#5 The Art Institute of Chicago 5/5 Art Museums
Louisiana:
New Orleans (direct on Breeze Airways - not daily)
#7 The National WWII Museum 5/5 Military Museums
#10 Fenway Park - 4.5/5 Arenas & Stadiums
Michigan:
Detroit
Minnesota:
Minneapolis
Nevada:
Las Vegas
#2 in US Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area 4.5/5 State Parks • National Parks
Ohio:
Cincinatti
Columbus (on Breeze)
Rhode Island:
Providence
Tenessee:
Nashville (direct on Southwest)
#8 Grand Ole Opry 4.5/5 Theaters
Texas:
Dallas/Fort Worth
Houston
No major direct flights from SE VA as of 10/11/21 from any international destination & the following major US cities:
Arizona:
no options (i.e. Phoenix which was an ORF-PHX route on Frontier & Tucson)
California:
Only direct options are Los Angeles & San Diego.
No direct options to:
San Francisco (or San Jose)
Kentucky:
Louisville
New Mexico:
no options (i.e. Albuquerque)
North Carolina:
Only direct option is Charlotte
Ohio:
Indianapolis
Oklahoma:
no options (i.e. Oklahoma City)
Oregon:
no options (i.e. Portland)
Tennessee:
Memphis
Texas:
Austin
El Paso
San Antonio
Washington:
no options (i.e. Seattle)
Wisconsin:
no options (i.e. Milwaukee)