Virginian Serendipity
7I’m planning tentatively a vacation. In fact, I booked a rental car last night, and I was searching for a destination and hotel before I got tired and went to bed. When I awoke to this deal, I thought to myself, “Huh. Maybe I should book a hotel and not just sleep in the rental car.”
I’d like to stay on a remote, tropical island and enjoy a quiet beach on an ocean, but given constraints, I’m thinking Virginia Beach in early April.
Is there anyone who would care to share what Virginia Beach is like in early April?
/image Virginia Beach
- 7 comments, 31 replies
- Comment
I will be heading there next week for work. I am there once or twice a month. I love VB. It is smaller and cleaner than Ocean City, MD. Things are still slow at this time of the year. Norfolk has some good things to do and is only 30 min away.
Where are you thinking of staying? On the beach? I ask because I know of a hotel between VA Beach and Norfolk that is beautiful and very cheap for some unknown reason and is a hidden gem. I use to stay there until my work said I had to use their AMEX travel and stay at a hotel 2x the price - corporate intelligence?
@mfladd I might be asking for the name of that hotel. The year before last I took my kids for a quick beach trip during the summer- the boardwalk entertainment was really fun. The hotel was something like $200 though. Fortunately it was just one night.
@sammydog01 Of course. It is very nice. I have to stay right on the beach now because of work rules - bummer right?
You will be hard pressed to find a decent hotel right at the beach for less than $200. The hotel I mentioned is only 15-20 min from the beach.
@mfladd Thanks for the reply! It’s good to hear things will probably still be slow. I am looking at places near the beach, but not necessarily on the beach. I don’t mind staying in dumps, assuming there aren’t bugs in the bed, or used needles strewn about the parking lot. The places I’ve been looking at range from about $60-80 per night.
/image Oscar the grouch garbage can
@eonfifty Hmmmm…I don’t know about that range near the beach. Let me check.
@eonfifty Ok, there seem to be more than I thought. If you can wait I can ask when I am down there to see if anyone has any preferences.
The place I was talking about runs $112 and soooooo worth it - but it is a little ways from the beach.
@mfladd I would appreciate that. If i go, it will be the weekend after Easter.
What do you like about the place you like to stay?
/image weekend at the beach
@eonfifty I just like that it is different. It’s all brick and every room is done in a historical theme and impeccably clean. It doesn’t feel like you are in a hotel.
@mfladd Ahh. I shall avoid such a place. Such places tend to be small and filled with irreplaceable items one of which I will inevitably break.
/image bull in a China shop
@eonfifty
/youtube mythbusters bull in a China shop
@eonfifty honestly no it isn’t. It’s like new mixed with history. Hard to explain the hotel. But I will see what info I can get you on beach hotels so you can keep your toes near the sand.
@mfladd
/image thanks!
I would suggest NOT staying on the other side of the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel. Too much traffic certain times of the day and can double the commute time to the beach (I used to live in the area). Williamsburg is about an hour from the area if you are looking further afield for stuff to do besides the beach.
@Kidsandliz I will heed that advice. I don’t think I’ll make it far from the beach though. I’m going to make an effort to stay only in places where it’s practical to wear flip flops.
/image flip flops
I spent four years in Norfolk so I know a bit about Va Beach. It’s typically not particularly warm yet so I doubt you’ll be hitting the beach but there is still a lot of interesting stuff to do. The boardwalk, I suggest Abbey Road for a beer (you might see my name up on the wall for beers around the world… if the restaurant is still there.) take a boat tour of the Naval Station Norfolk. If you’ve got the time you could make a day trip to Williamsburg, Va if you like history.
@Targaryen Have you been to Freemason Abbey Restaurant in Norfolk? It’s a very old renovated church full of stained glass windows. I love going there when I am in town.
@mfladd I never even knew about that. Next time I get there it’ll be on my list.
I’ve always loved going to Chincoteague any time of year. If you like outdoors stuff, I’d check it out.
@Seeds We went either there or Asateague [whichever is closer to Salisbury, MD] in October one year, and had a great time alone on the miles-long white sand beaches.
It was in the 80’s out, but the sea breezes actually made it kind of chilly, so the sunburns were limited to faces and hands, and no one really got wet XC for feet, but with a little bonfire [may not be legal now- this was decades ago] and wild ponies to watch, it was a very good and relaxing day.
@PhysAssist Assateague is a nature preserve just off Chincoteague, so it may have been both. I think you can still have a fire, but you need to pay for a permit.
@PhysAssist @Seeds Assateague is closer to Salisbury. The difference is they are the same land/beach - Assateague/MD side, Chincoteague/VA side.
Scratch that. @seeds is right. Both are islands but connected. Assateague is both MD and VA. And I live here - ugh!
@mfladd Haha to be fair, I stayed on Chincoteague every year for at least a week from when I was 8 until I was 16, then finally went back again last year.
@Seeds Nice! Did it bring back all the nice memories of childhood? As a local, we always go to Assateague when going to the beach instead of OC. Quiet, with much fewer people. There is the MD state park beach, and then the National Park Beach. The state park portion has more amenities, but the federal beach portion has even less people. The kids are looking forward to getting back to the beach now.
Yes, Virginian here, the weather will not be bathing suit and splash in the water hot, but it will be fine to be outside. Unless it rains. I gate rain, and it has been a very rainy winter & spring. Do you tent camp? First Landing State Park camping (or cabins) is the hidden gem. Beachfront, nice secluded sites. I love it!
@Pamtha Ooooo, thanks for that one!
@Pamtha Yes! I haven’t gone camping in years. That would be a fine idea.
/image camping is in tents
I made it to the beach. Thanks for the helpful replies.
@eonfifty Sweet! Sorry, I couldn’t get down there last week to give you more info. I am heading down this week. Where did you end up staying?
@mfladd Inland, by Mount Trashmore Park. I didn’t arrive until 3am, and I didn’t have a reservation anywhere. Most cheap places were closed, so I went with a cheap and reliable chain.
The beach was awesome!
/image awesome beach
@mfladd I forgot to ask you - do you know of a pizza shop near the beach that used to be a church? The woman who rented me my car said she got married there years ago, before it became a pizza place. I told her I’d get a picture of it for her.
/image pizza church
@eonfifty @mfladd this place perhaps?
http://www.coastalvirginiamag.com/May-June-2017/Pizza-Chapel-Restaurant-Review/
@RiotDemon That must be it. I went by that address, but didn’t see anything that resembled a church - must have just been a chapel in a regular storefront.
/image not a photo op
@eonfifty I was really hoping for a church building instead of a strip mall plaza.
@RiotDemon Me too. Oh well.
/image shrug
@eonfifty I actually don’t. But the pizza shop down close to the Hilton Oceanfront is good. Also go get breakfast at the Pocahontas Pancake House!
p.s. don’t forget a breakfast sandwich at Duck Donuts.
@eonfifty @mfladd We have a Duck Donuts!
It’s maybe gonna snow tomorrow. Glad you got here for the good weather!