Spend five nights on the Atlantic in Virginia Beach, take the “Taste of the Market” tour at the Virginia Beach Farmers Market, and visit the Virginia Aquarium and Maritime Center followed by a narrated Dolphin watching cruise. Attend events celebrating America's military might by air and sea and learn about the area’s maritime history at the Virginia Beach Surf and Rescue Museum.
Day
1 Arrive in Virginia
Arrive in Norfolk today and transfer to your hotel. Tonight, meet your tour manager at 6:00 p.m. for a welcome dinner.
Meal: D
Day
2 Virginia’s Tasty Eastern Shore
Depart Norfolk this morning and take the memorable drive across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge for a food tour of Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Begin with a visit to an aqua farm to see how Virginia clams are grown and harvested while on a VIP ‘behind the scenes’ tour. In the historic village of Cape Charles, enjoy a relaxing lunch of locally farmed seafood and homemade desserts while overlooking the bay.
A stop at a local winery offers a tour and tasting highlighted by a variety of local cheese, charcuterie, seafood, and of course more wine while relaxing in beautiful vineyards. Arrive in Virginia Beach, the state’s largest city which boasts the world’s longest boardwalk flanking miles of pristine, sandy beaches.
Meals: B, L
Day
3 Military Aviation Museum, Taste of the Market and Surf & Rescue Museum
The day starts at the Military Aviation Museum, home to one of the world’s largest private collection of vintage WWI and WWII military aircraft. Each have been beautifully restored to their original condition and many are still flown during flight demonstrations. Then, stop at the Virginia Beach Farmers Market for a “Taste of the Market” tour. Learn the story of agriculture in Virginia Beach while visiting and sampling delights with the local merchants.
In the afternoon, stop at the Virginia Beach Surf and Rescue Museum and learn about the area’s maritime history, superstorms, shipwrecks and much more. Be sure to explore the Virginia Beach Boardwalk and say hello to the King Neptune statue watching over the sea.
Meals: B, L
Day
4 Virginia Aquarium & Dolphin Watching Cruise
After breakfast spend the morning with the creatures at the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Center, along with the over 350 hands-on exhibits. Afterward, enjoy and Dolphin Watching cruise to see the largest population of bottlenose dolphins on the East Coast. In the afternoon visit the Atlantic Wildfowl Heritage Museum, located in the historic 1895 DeWitt Cottage. Watch the volunteer carver create waterfowl artwork right before your eyes.
The day comes to an end with a Virginia style barbeque dinner served at Beach Bully’s BBQ, a family-run restaurant since 1986. Enjoy slow roasted beef and pork, hush puppies, local vegetables, mac & cheese and plenty of local beers.
Meals: B, D
Day
5 Norfolk Botanical Garden and the Virginia International Tattoo
We begin the day at the Norfolk Botanical Garden and climb aboard the tram for a narrated tour of Coastal Virginia’s premier horticultural attraction. After an included lunch, the General Douglas MacArthur Memorial tells the story of the man and also pays tribute to the many men and women who served with him. Attend the “Hullabaloo,” a pre-Tattoo event with tasty foods, craft beers, music, dance and drill performances, photo-ops and an audience-judged piping competition.
Tonight, we have reserved seats to the Virginia International Tattoo. This awe-inspiring musical spectacle is part parade, part theatre and sometimes, part circus. It is highly regarded as one of the world’s great tattoos.
Meals: B, L
Day
6 Nauticus National Maritime Center, NATO Parade of Nations and Norfolk Naval Base
Begin the day at Nauticus National Maritime Center, a premier maritime science museum to learn about undersea life and ocean exploration. You can also take a self-guided tour of the battleship
Wisconsin, the largest and last battleship built by the U.S. Navy. Walk the huge, expansive main deck and explore the second deck to see the berthing units, post office and dental office. Just steps away from Nauticus are our reserved seats for the Norfolk NATO Parade of Nations.
This annual event features high school bands, U.S. and international military bands and colorful floats which represent each of the 28 NATO Member nations. This afternoon, we board the Victory Rover for a Norfolk Harbor cruise which is your front row seat to the naval fleet! See destroyers, submarines, and other vessels while taking in the sights of the harbor. Tonight, gather for a farewell dinner with your traveling companions at Captain George’s, home of the legendary seafood buffet.
Meals: B, D
Day
7 Travel Home
After breakfast a group transfer takes you
to the Norfolk International Airport for flights out after 12:00 p.m.
Meal: B