Relax on sandy beaches, dine at unique restaurants, stroll along the scenic Virginia Beach Boardwalk and explore local attractions in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Kids will love the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center and the Military Aviation Museum. Best things to do in Virginia Beach for couples include the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, the Adam Thoroughgood House and a romantic picnic on the ocean's edge. There are many great places to stay but we love The Historic Cavalier Hotel and Beach Club for its unique decor and easy beach access.
Go for a stroll along the Virginia Beach Boardwalk
The Virginia Beach Boardwalk is the heart and soul of the area and provides a range of fun entertainment and activities for visitors and locals alike. Stretching for three miles along the oceanfront, the boardwalk has an energetic mix of restaurants, shops, entertainment, and laid-back beach vibes. The boardwalk features a separate bike path with vendors offering bike and surrey rentals, making it ideal for strolling, rollerblading, and biking. The boardwalk is also a center for performing arts, including live musical acts, summer concerts, and a range of nautical sculptures such as the famous bronze statute of King Neptune.
Visit the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art
The Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art is dedicated to encouraging and fostering the exploration and understanding of contemporary and modern art. Located at 2200 Parks Avenue, the museum is housed in an award-winning building designed by Boston architect E. Verner Johnson and boasts over 6,000 square feet of exhibition space. The museum features a range of ever-changing exhibitions spanning a variety of art forms and genres, from painting, drawing, and sculpture, to photography, video, and glass.
Explore First Landing State Park
Named after the landing of the first English colonists in 1607, First Landing State Park is a beautiful oasis in the heart of Virginia Beach, and it is the region’s most-visited state park. Built in the early 1930s, the park is a National Natural Landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
It offers an array of recreational and educational activities, including over 20 miles of hiking and biking trails and uninterrupted views over Chesapeake Bay.
A variety of diverse habitats ranging from maritime forests and lush lagoons to marshy cypress swamps serve as the home to myriad fauna and flora. Meanwhile, the visitor-friendly Chesapeake Bay Center features historical and educational exhibits, as well as a pavilion and amphitheater that can be rented for special events.
Take the kids to The Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center
Located just south of Rudee Inlet, the The Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center is home to over 12,000 animals representing over 700 species. The animals are cared for in a variety of habitats, including the Bay & Ocean Pavilion, which features animals from oceanic marine environments, and the Marsh Pavilion, which hosts a variety of river and marsh creatures.
Head to oceanfront Grommet Island Park
Grommet Island Park is a place in Virginia Beach, Virginia that was designed for everybody. The first park of its kind in the United States, this unique playground and park is a 100-percent accessible oceanfront park.
Go biking in False Cape State Park
The former home of Native Americans, False Cape State Park is situated between Back Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, and it is one the last remaining undeveloped areas along the Atlantic coast. The park is home to a diverse range of wild and untamed ecosystems and offers excellent outdoor activities such as hiking and biking opportunities through various trails, kayaking trips, beach combing, and camping.
See WWI and WWII aircraft at the Military Aviation Museum
The Military Aviation Museum is located at the Virginia Beach Airport and is home to one of the largest collections of World War I and World War II military aircrafts in the world. Spanning a vast complex of four hangars and an exclusive museum space for the collection’s non-flying pieces, this fascinating living history museum grew from a passion for World War-era aircraft. It features an impressive selection of meticulously restored aviation treasures.
Head to Blue Seafood and Spirits for fresh seafood
Located on Upton Drive in Virginia Beach, Blue Seafood and Spirits is a chef-owned and operated restaurant dedicated to serving high quality, fresh seafood accompanied by a range of signature cocktails, wines, and beers.
Play at Ocean Breeze Waterpark
Ocean Breeze Waterpark is a family-friendly water park and entertainment center in the heart of Virginia Beach. The Caribbean-themed Park features more than 30 exciting rides and exhilarating water slides, river adventures, a pirate ship, and a massive wave pool, as well as other fun attractions.
Start your day with a breakfast at The Bee and The Biscuit
The Bee and The Biscuit is a delightful Virginia Beach restaurant housed within a 1919 cottage in the city's Pungo district, opened in 2016 by restaurateur Karen Johnson. The restaurant serves up breakfast and lunch entrees throughout the week, known for its delicious fare crafted with locally-sourced farm ingredients.
Learn about bird migratory movements at the Atlantic Wildfowl Heritage Museum
The Atlantic Wildfowl Heritage Museum is a small museum dedicated to showcasing the history and migratory patterns of Atlantic Wildfowl that pass through Eastern Virginia. Located in the historic de Witt Cottage on the Virginia Beach oceanfront, the museum is home to a variety of exhibits and displays showcasing wildfowl and shorebirds and their migratory movements, as well as an array of artworks with this particular subject matter, from contemporary lifelike carvings to traditional decoys.
Visit the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge aboard the Blue Goose Tram
The Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge is a freshwater refuge encompassing approximately 8,000 acres bordering the Back Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The wildlife refuge consists of barrier islands featuring large impoundments used by wintering wildfowl, ocean beach, ponds, freshwater marshes, maritime forests, and large sand dunes. The peaceful habitats found throughout the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge can be reached by the beach, the boardwalk overlook, bikes, and marsh trails.Take a tour aboard the Blue Goose Tram.
Stop for lunch at Terrapin
Just a short walk from the famous boardwalk of Virginia Beach, Terrapin offers diners an intimate dining experience with a menu of award-winning contemporary American Cuisine made from seasonal, farm-fresh ingredients.
Grab a bag of fresh bagels for a picnic lunch at The Bagel Baker
The Bagel Baker is a friendly bagel and coffee shop located in the Great Neck area of Virginia Beach. Established in 2011, this family-owned and operated bakery brings a taste of New York to Virginia Beach with freshly baked bagels with delicious toppings, breakfast sandwiches, soups, salads, and home-brewed coffee.
Spend an afternoon sunbathing at the secluded Sandbridge Beach
Sandbridge Beach is a beautiful beach paradise and secluded hideaway just 15 miles south of the main resort area of Virginia Beach where you can escape the crowds. Stretching for five miles along the coastline and featuring pristine sand dunes and waving sea oats, this seaside oasis is home to breathtaking natural landscapes and a diverse range of wildlife.
Go kayaking on Lake Lawson
The Lake Lawson/Lake Smith Natural Area, a natural preserve situated in the Bayside Borough, boasts over 12,000 feet of shoreline and a variety of diverse habitats. The area offers locals and visitors alike a range of fun water-based and beach activities, including fishing, boating, canoeing, kayaking, and paddle boating.
Go on one of the Rudee Flipper Dolphin Tours
Explore the Virginia Beach coastline and see dolphins in their natural habitat on a fun-filled cruise aboard the Rudee Flipper. Renowned as one of the longest running and most experienced dolphin cruise companies in the region, Rudee Tours offers unforgettable tours that allow you to experience the beauty of the coastline and watch dolphins frolicking in the bay.
Go fishing at Little Island Park
Situated just north of Back Bay Wildlife Refuge in Sandbridge, Little Island Park is a lovely beach park that provides the public with a variety of outdoor activities. The park is home to a 400-foot fishing pier, which is a great place to surf, as well as a pristine beach where visitors can swim, beach comb, and fish. There are also sheltered picnic and barbecue sites throughout the park for family fun days in the sun. The brackish lake of Back Bay is ideal for kayaking, canoeing, fishing, and crabbing, while lighted tennis, basketball, and volleyball courts provide extra entertainment for more energetic individuals.
Take a guided tour of the Tarnished Truth Distilling Company
Founded in 2013 by two Virginia natives, Josh Canada and Andrew Yancey, Tarnished Truth Distilling Company in Virginia Beach boasts the title of being the first “in-hotel distillery” in the United States. The distillery is located inside The Historic Cavalier Hotel & Beach Club and uses both new and old distilling techniques for crafting a great selection of locally crafted and award-winning gin, vodka, rye whiskey, bourbon, and other types of small-batch specialty spirits. Take a guided tour of the distillery or sample some Tarnished Truth’s spirits in the tasting room.
Climb the Cape Henry Lighthouse (must be 42 inches tall)
Originally built back in 1792 and now a National Historic Landmark, Cape Henry Lighthouse began to crack in 1870, leading it to be replaced just 357 feet away by the new Cape Henry Lighthouse.
Visit the playgrounds in Mount Trashmore Park
Mount Trashmore Park totals approximately 165 acres of Virginia Beach and is made up of multi-use paths, a vert ramp and skate park, two playgrounds, two lakes, and two man-made mountains.
Pet animals and climb treehouses at Hunt Club Farm
A unique family owned and operated farm, Hunt Club Farm in Virginia Beach, Virginia spans across more than thirty acres and offers fun for people of all ages. The Petting Farm offers kids a chance to pet pigs, llamas, donkeys, cows, chickens, and goats, while the BirdWalk Aviary provides an opportunity to visit with more than 500 parakeets. There’s also the TreeWalk Adventure, an in-air playground made up of treehouses connected by wooden and netted bridges. Hunt Club Farm also hosts a seasonal Farm Market from April to December, a Pumpkin Patch during the fall, and a holiday market in December.
Address: Hunt Club Farm, 2388 London Bridge Rd, Virginia Beach, VA 23456, 757-427-9520
Play in go-karts at Motor World
Motor World boasts itself as “your place to race in Virginia Beach.” This fun-filled destination attraction features more than a dozen different style go-karts for guests to choose from and over ten go-kart tracks, including the European-style race track called the Adult Speed Track. There’s also a year-round Splat Zone with a shooting range, inflatable bunkers, and paintball fields. A place for the entire family to enjoy, Motor World also includes miniature golf, a variety of thrill rides, bumper boats, the Skycoaster, a climbing wall, and much more. For younger visitors, there’s the Kiddie City theme park.
Address: Motor World, 700 S Birdneck Rd, Virginia Beach, VA 23451, 757-422-6419
