"Ships 'n Shores" - Adult Tour
Destinations:
Jamestown, Yorktown, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Hampton Charles City County and Richmond
Five Days/Four Nights
Call us today at 800.378.1571 or request information.
Day 1 - Jamestown
1:00pm
Meet your Colonial Connections Tour Manager at Historic Jamestowne
1:00pm-2:30pm
Guided tour of Historic Jamestowne focusing on the voyage from England to the New World
A National Park Service site, Historic Jamestowne offers a wealth of activities for exploring the first permanent English settlement in North America. Overlooking the scenic James River, Historic Jamestowne boasts the only remaining 17th-century above ground structure – the church tower - and reconstructed 17th-century Jamestown Memorial Church. See the original site of the 1607 James Fort and more than 1,000 artifacts at the Archaearium, a museum of Archaeology.
3:00pm-5:00pm
Guided tour of Jamestown Settlement
Connect with the experiences of the 17th-century colonists as you explore Jamestown Settlement, the recreation of the first permanent English settlement in America. Tour indoor galleries, talk with costumed interpreters, and visit the re-created James Fort and Powhatan Indian village. Board full-size replicas of the Susan Constant, Discovery and Godspeed - the three ships that brought settlers to Virginia in 1607.
5:30pm
Check-in to your Williamsburg hotel (includes round-trip baggage handling)
Choose from limited to full-service properties with exterior or interior corridors, indoor or outdoor pools, with deluxe continental breakfast or full breakfast buffet, priced from budget and moderate to deluxe.
7:00pm
Dinner at Captain George’s Seafood Restaurant
Captain George’s legendary buffet has been heralded up and down the East Coast as one of the best collections of fresh seafood and regional cuisine available. Featuring a 70 item all-you-can-eat seafood buffet including Alaskan Snow Crab legs, steamed shrimp, Oysters Rockefeller, scallops, prime rib, and fresh broiled fish, along with a wide array of salads, entrees and desserts prepared fresh daily – there’s something for everyone.
8:30pm
Return to the hotel. Colonial Connections Tour Manager departs.
Day 2 - Yorktown
7:30am
Deluxe Continental breakfast at your Williamsburg hotel
8:30am
Depart for a full day of touring with your Colonial Connections Tour Manager
9:00am-11:00am
Guided walking tour at the York River State Park
The park offers visitors an opportunity to experience the environment of a coastal estuary. This park is known for its rare and delicate environment, where freshwater and saltwater meet to create a habitat rich in marine and plant life.
11:00am
Depart for Yorktown
11:30am
Boxed lunch provided at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown
12:00pm-1:00pm
Guided tour of the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown
Today’s tour will focus on the artifacts excavated from the Betsy, a British supply ship sunk in the York River in 1781. The objects, including regimental buttons that led to the identity of the ship, barrel parts, musket balls, furniture hardware and dining utensils, are on long-term loan from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.
1:30pm-4:00pm
Visit the Watermen’s Museum
The Watermen’s Museum mission is to preserve the heritage of the watermen and women of the Chesapeake Bay, interpret their culture and contribution to the region, and to preserve and enhance the environment of the Chesapeake Bay. Enjoy an experiential study of the Virginia Indian Maritime Heritage with on-water exploration in kayaks.
4:30pm
Dinner at the Riverwalk Restaurant
The Riverwalk Restaurant offers waterfront dining on the shores of the York River in historic Yorktown. The menus offered take full advantage of the wide variety of seafood available in the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean. Lamb, poultry and beef are also well-represented and are prepared with both traditional and contemporary recipes.
6:00pm-8:00pm
Discovery Lab at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science in Gloucester Point, VA
Discovery Labs provide fun, family-friendly experiences and lifelong learning. Each lab focuses on a specific topic through a series of stations that provide hands-on activities. Participants look through microscopes, observe live animals, partake in crafts and games, and view research posters. Both VIMS faculty and students participate as speakers, sharing their research with the general public in an intimate setting. Or enjoy a Sunset Cruise aboard the Schooner Alliance in Yorktown. Enjoy a relaxing sunset cruise aboard the Schooner Alliance named for the French and American Alliance that was instrumental in winning the war of Independence in 1781. The Alliance sails the majestic York River and Chesapeake Bay.
8:30pm
Return to the hotel. Colonial Connections Tour Manager departs.
Day 3 - Virginia Beach
7:00am
Deluxe Continental breakfast at your Williamsburg hotel
7:45am
Depart for Virginia Beach with your Colonial Connections Tour Manager
9:00am-12:00pm
Visit the Cape Henry Lighthouse and enjoy a Kayak Tour at First Landing State Park
The Old Cape Henry Lighthouse was built in 1792. It started to crack in 1870 and was replaced with the new Cape Henry Lighthouse only 357 feet away, which is an active aid to navigation and operated by the U.S. Coast Guard. The Old Cape Henry Lighthouse is maintained by the APVA and is a National Historic Landmark, serving as the official symbol for the City of Virginia Beach. Originally built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, First Landing State Park is located near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay close to the spot where Captain John Smith landed in 1607 on his way to establishing the first permanent English settlement at Jamestown. With beaches along the Bay, First Landing is Virginia's most popular state park, attracting over a million visitors each year. The park preserves and interprets a unique part of the Chesapeake.
12:00pm
Depart for the Virginia Beach Boardwalk (lunch on own)
1:30pm-2:30pm
Visit the Old Coast Guard Station
Housed in a 1903 former Life-Saving Station, the museum tells the story of the men who served in the US Life-Saving Service and the US Coast Guard. Visitors to the museum galleries are given an insight into the early days of shipwrecks along the Virginia coast and the efforts of the life-savers at the stations.
2:45pm-5:00pm
Explore the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center
Enjoy one of the best aquariums and live animal habitats in the country at the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center. Check out hundreds of hands-on exhibits, outdoor aviary, nature trail, and marshlands. This afternoon a unique creek cruise (30 minutes) provides a glimpse of the last undeveloped salt marsh in Virginia Beach, the Owls Creek Salt Marsh.
5:30pm
Dinner at Rockafeller’s
Since 1989, Rockafeller’s Restaurant has been one of Virginia Beach’s favorite dining landmarks - well loved by locals and tourists alike for its casual elegance and simply fresh local fare. Year after year, customers flock from near and far to relax in rocking chairs on their covered decks for a taste of Rockafeller's legendary cuisine and to enjoy their beach cottage lifestyle on Rudee Inlet.
7:30pm
Depart for Williamsburg
8:45pm
Return to your hotel. Colonial Connections Tour Manager departs.
Day 4 - Norfolk, Hampton
7:00am
Deluxe Continental breakfast at your Williamsburg hotel
7:45am
Depart for Norfolk with your Colonial Connections Tour Manager
9:00am-10:00am
Guided tour of Naval Station Norfolk
Naval Station Norfolk is the largest naval base in the world and it’s also the oldest naval port in the United States offering guided tours. The base is situated near the site of the battle of the Monitor and Merrimac (CSS Virginia) and its home to more than 100 ships of the Atlantic Fleet. The complex is the combined home to the headquarters for Commander Naval Base Norfolk, as well as the Defense Department's largest supply center, and Naval Air Station Norfolk.
10:30pm-12:00pm
Visit Nauticus and the USS Wisconsin
Nauticus is the National Maritime Center in Norfolk, Virginia. The complex includes the Battleship Wisconsin, the Hampton Roads Naval Museum and the Norfolk Cruise Terminal. Nauticus has a maritime-themed science center with an aquarium, hands-on exhibits, interactive theaters, and a variety of educational programs. The Battleship Wisconsin BB-64 is one of the famous Iowa-class ships. It was commissioned on April 16, 1944 and reported for duty in the Pacific. It is one of the largest and last battleships ever built by the United States Navy. The main deck and sections of two upper decks are open for self-guided tours.
12:15pm-1:30pm
Lunch at the Pagoda Garden and Restaurant (on own)
The Marine Observation Tower aka 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.
1:30pm
Depart for Hampton
2:00pm-4:30pm
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, home to aircraft carriers, nuclear-powered submarines and various types of support ships. The return trip to Hampton features a captivating narrative of the famous Battle of the Ironclads: the Monitor and the Merrimac.
5:00pm
Depart for Williamsburg. Dinner and evening at leisure (on own)
6:00pm
Return to the hotel. Colonial Connections Tour Manager departs.
Day 5 - Charles City County, Richmond
7:00am
Deluxe Continental breakfast at your Williamsburg hotel. Colonial Connections Tour Manager rejoins group to facilitate check-out and baggage handling.
8:30am
Depart for Charles City County
9:00am-11:00am
Visit Shirley Plantation
Shirley tells the story of the Hill-Carter family, eye witnesses to 11 generations of American history. To this day, the 11th generation continues to own, operate, and work this grand southern plantation. Shirley Plantation is Virginia’s first plantation (1613) and one of the first economic engines of the New World. Today’s tour will focus on Shirley’s location on the James River and how the river changed history beginning in 1607 and continues to be one of the most influential rivers in America today.
11:00am
Depart for Richmond
11:30am
Lunch at Shockoe Slip (on own)
Known as The Slip (and The Bottom of the slip) by right of the area's nearness to the Great Turning Basin on the James River Canal, it was once a hub of the mercantile industry. Paper mills, iron works, tobacco warehouses, and factories stood like silent sentinels along the waterfront docks and watched the bustling commerce of the city. Today, The Slip, is a charming conglomeration of nightclubs, shops, apartments, hotels, and restaurants. While strolling along the quaint brick sidewalks amid renovated 19th century warehouses and buildings, you will almost be able to imagine you have been whisked back in time 150 years.
1:00pm
Depart for return home. Colonial Connections Tour Manager departs.
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