24 hours in Virginia Beach? Only? Those are the questions that popped into my head when I looked at the itinerary that Virginia Tourism had sent me. But looking back I think that this was some strategic thinking on their part because that short time was enough of a taste to make me want to jump on the next plane and head back down.
Gorgeous sunrise on Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach has all the things that I look for in a destination: Beaches (it’s in the name), food, fun local culture, friendly people, and natural beauty. It’s a city that is understandably busy during the summer months but I think it’s a great year round destination.
Getting to Virginia Beach
Getting from Toronto to Virginia Beach is quite easy. For those who like the feel of the wind rushing through their hair, it’s a quick 12 hour drive. While I love a good road trip I knew we’d only have 24 hours in Virginia Beach and I couldn’t wait to get started, so we chose to fly. Unfortunately there aren’t any direct flights from Toronto but there are daily flights with a number of airports offering connections. We flew through New York’s LaGuardia airport. I was a bit worried since LaGuardia is notorious for delays but we had no problems at all. One word of advice: If you’re flying into LaGuardia from Toronto try to get a window seat on the left side of the aircraft, the views of Manhattan are stunning.
There isn’t an airport in Virginia Beach itself so you have to fly into Norfolk International Airport in neighbouring Norfolk and then make a 25 minute drive over to Virginia Beach. We left Toronto at 7:10AM and were having lunch around 12:45PM. Our 24 hours in Virginia Beach was off to a very good start!
Day 1
Lunch
As I mentioned we made it into Virginia Beach around 12:45PM and the first thing we did was have lunch at at Commune. This restaurant is in the ViBe Creative District of Virginia Beach. Here you’ll find a lot of artists and locally owned businesses such as restaurants, coffee shops, distilleries and more.
The Virginia Beach location of Commune
The menu at Commune is made up of locally sourced (within 100 miles), in-season ingredients and is Virginia Beach’s first farmer-owned restaurant. Kevin Jamison is the owner of this eatery and their menu depends on whatever can be sourced from his suppliers and his own farm. This means that the menu changes with the seasons and even sometimes day by day. Apart from their creative dishes, Commune also makes their own baked goods, kombucha, and sodas.
They are so enthusiastic about working with local producers that they have their suppliers listed on their menu so you can see where everything comes from. From the grains, to the eggs, to their meat and seafood, you can find the source for all of it. If they can’t find a farm growing it within 100 miles of the restaurant it won’t be on the menu so don’t expect house made lemonade or avocado toast.
Since we were in Virginia we started with local oysters and we were blown away. In 24 years of marriage I’ve never known my wife to willingly eat oysters. She tried one and after that I had to practically fight her for a taste. They were so fresh and so, for lack of a better description, clean tasting. We also had their Pimento Cheese and Pickle Board, Winter Heirloom Grit Bowl and the Beef On Weck which was one of their daily specials.
Explore the Virginia Beach Boardwalk
After lunch we headed over to the Virginia Beach Boardwalk, which you can’t visit the city without experiencing. It’s 28 feet wide and stretches for 3 miles along the oceanfront with a separated bike and walking path. Walking along, you’ll find a number of hotels, restaurants, art installations and museums.
The summer months are when the boardwalk, and Virginia Beach itself, really comes alive. The beach is filled with people and there are live shows and activities happening at different stages all the way down. Atlantic Fun Park is in full swing with its Ferris wheel and other rides. We visited in early October and to me it was the perfect time. The beach wasn’t busy at all, it was easy to get a spot in any of the restaurants and the weather was still very warm.
Some must see attractions on the Virginia Beach Boardwalk
Neptune Park
Neptune park is home to the boardwalk’s most famous resident, King Neptune himself! This massive, 34 foot tall statue is quite a sight to behold and is even more impressive at sunrise or sunset. The statue depicts King Neptune holding his trident in one hand and a turtle in the other as he towers over a rock base that’s adorned with sea creatures such as various fishes, octopuses and dolphins.
King Neptune statue on Virginia Beach at sunrise
Neptune Park is also the gateway to the annual Neptune Festival, the biggest festival in Virginia Beach. The entire event is free and spans 32 blocks along the boardwalk! It attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors and features a grand parade, music stages, sand sculpturing, food and wine tastings, arts and crafts showings and a whole lot more.
Museums
Along the boardwalk you’ll find museums that are housed in some historic buildings. The Virginia Beach Surf And Rescue Museum is in a two storey building that was built in 1903 and was once a coast guard station. There are tons of photographs and artifacts that show the history of the U.S. Life-Saving and Coast Guard Services.
The Atlantic Wildfowl Heritage Museum is housed in the De Witt Cottage, which was originally built in 1895 and is the oldest structure in Virginia Beach. The museum houses an impressive collection of paintings, carvings and other items about Virginia Beach’s history.
Virginia Beach Fishing Pier
The Virginia Beach Fishing Pier is also accessible from the boardwalk itself and it’s usually filled with anglers hoping to catch one of the many varieties of fish that inhabit the waters below. If you’re not into fishing you can grab a seat on one of the benches and take in the sights of surfers riding the waves or military jets flying by. This is the only place where you can literally see the entire boardwalk.
Dinner
Just so you know, if you ever spend time anywhere along the Virginia coast you have to eat as much seafood as possible. I think that’s a law, and if not it should be. With that in mind we headed over to The Atlantic on Pacific for dinner. The restaurant boasts a sleek, modern dining room with a large L-shaped bar. The shelves are painted in a beautiful rich blue and the colour theme continues throughout the dining room.
The most notable feature of the restaurant is the raw bar that occupies the back of the restaurant. At the raw bar diners can choose from a variety of freshly shucked oysters that come from near and far. Alongside the oysters, diners can enjoy crab legs, lobsters and peel-and-eat shrimp. The rest of the menu is made up of shareable plates, imaginative cocktails, and even traditional, non-seafood dishes like steak frites.
We wanted to try a little bit of everything but just didn’t have the belly space. Our waitress was very helpful and recommended a variety of dishes that gave us a nice overview of their menu. We had the ham and sweet potato biscuits, baked scallops, fried Carolina shrimp, roasted Virginia asparagus, local oysters, and their creme brulée to finish things up. All of the dishes were shareable and it’s like the waitress knew exactly what we were looking for because everything she suggested was absolutely delicious. I could’ve had at least 5 more of those scallop dishes, it was damn good!
Where to sleep
After dinner we headed over to the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Oceanfront which was our home for the night. As we walked in I was blown away at just how spacious the suite was. The bedroom contained a king sized bed, night stands, closet, two chairs and a dresser with a view overlooking the city. The other half of the suite was a dining table, desk, couch, mini kitchenette with coffee maker and a fabulous view of the Atlantic Ocean.
The hotel was right on the beach and overlooked the boardwalk. From our balcony we could see the King Neptune statue to the left and the Virginia Fishing Pier to our right. I loved the location because it seemed like it was smack dab in the middle of the boardwalk. Another thing that I really liked about this hotel is that every room had their own private balcony with an ocean view!
There were quite a few amenities that made our night here quite enjoyable such as the heated indoor pool and whirlpool, fitness center, free on-site parking and free Wi-Fi throughout. This hotel is perfect for families who want to spend some time on the beach because there is direct access. They also provide a free hot breakfast which can be a big saving for families. Some of the menu items for breakfast included toast, bagels, cereal, pancakes, scrambled eggs, turkey sausages, egg white omelette, pork sausages, and even biscuits and sausage gravy. This was a fantastic perk.
As we settled in, I couldn’t believe that half of our 24 hours in Virginia Beach were up. We had eaten, explored, met some friendly people and we still had the following morning to look forward to.
Day 2
The next day we woke up very early because I heard that the sunrises on Virginia Beach were spectacular and we didn’t want to miss that show. I could’ve sat out on the balcony to catch it but we decided to go down to the water’s edge and I was so glad we did. The morning was a bit cloudy but the water was warm enough to walk in. We got lucky that morning as the clouds cleared just enough for us to catch the sun rising up for the day. It was a fantastic show.
Very dramatic sunrise over Virginia Beach
Breakfast
Even though our hotel offered free breakfast we headed over to a cute little cafe called May’s Parlor. I’m a sucker for baked goods so when I heard that they serve freshly baked French pastries, breakfast sandwiches, and quiches I knew we had to eat there. You can’t miss this restaurant. It’s located almost at the corner of Pacific Avenue and 28th St in a cute little beach cottage. The bright yellow door, blue shutters and yellow flowers stood out in the cloudy morning.
Mays Parlor in Virginia Beach
The inside of the restaurant was just as cute as the outside. As you walk in you’re greeted with a marble counter packed with croissants, muffins, danishes, quiches, and cookies all making my mouth water. Their products range from sweet to savory and I was told that the secret to their croissants is European butter. I was so excited to dig in that I forgot to ask from which European country. The dining area featured one wall with a lemon themed wallpaper and a brick fireplace painted in black.
My wife ordered a sausage and Gouda quiche, I had a breakfast sandwich of bacon, egg and white cheddar on a house-made everything brioche bun with garlic aioli, and we split one of their famous cruffins. The cruffin is made by taking their hand-made croissant dough and baking it in a muffin pan. The result is a flaky, multilayered croissant that’s that made my taste buds sing with happiness. I am not a big fan of quiches but this one was definitely the most delicious one I’ve ever had. From the quiche to the BEC to the cruffin, May’s Parlor definitely delivered up some flavour bombs for breakfast.
Cape Henry Lighthouse
After breakfast we headed to one of the gift shops along the strip for some souvenirs and then headed back to the hotel to check out and head over to our last stop: The Cape Henry Lighthouse.
The lighthouse is situated on the grounds of Fort Story Military Base, a fully operational naval base. This means that visitors must show proper identification before being allowed in. Once you enter, you’re only allowed to go to the lighthouse and to a lookout overlooking a restricted beach. I have to say, it was a bit strange being told exactly where you can and cannot go, and what you’re allowed to photograph. They also made sure and let us know what would happen if you don’t follow those rules.
There are two lighthouses currently on the site. The first one was built in the 1790’s and its construction was the first federal project authorized by President George Washington after the Revolutionary War. This is the one that’s open to the public. It’s currently the fourth oldest lighthouse in the country. According to our guides, the decision to build the second lighthouse was made because there were some safety concerns about the first one.
At the base of the lighthouse we got a great view of Chesapeake Bay and the surrounding area. While we were there we saw a U.S. Navy submarine just off the coast. I’ve seen photos with aircraft carriers passing by and was hoping that we’d be able to see one. We climbed to the top of the lighthouse via an old spiral staircase and got an amazing 360 degree view of the entire Virginia Beach area and a better view of the new lighthouse.
The other area that visitors are allowed to visit is a lookout overlooking a restricted beach, and while we were there we were able to see dolphins playing in the surf.
Time to say goodbye
And just like that our 24 hours in Virginia Beach had come to an end. I really didn’t know what to expect when we landed but after exploring this ocean side city I can’t wait to come back for a longer time. There’s a lot of seafood to be eaten, street art to be appreciated, state parks to explore and nature to be absorbed. Of course the summer months are the busy times but you should consider visiting in off season as well. It’s quieter, there’s no problem finding a space on the beach, restaurants aren’t booked and hotel rooms are cheaper. All in all, our 24 hours in Virginia Beach were memorable and enjoyable, and we’ll be sure to visit again.
Disclaimer: Our stay in Virginia Beach was hosted but all opinions are 100% my own.
5 comments
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You hooked me at beach. Love the beach. I have never been to VA beach. But seems like a lot of good food and fun things to do there. I appreciate the tip you shared about sitting on the left side of the aircraft to get a better view of NYC. Thanks for sharing your time spent in Virginia beach.
That’s a very informative post. Loved the pictures too. Good job! x
Author
Thank you so much, I’m glad you liked it.
Those sunrise pictures!!! Totally worth waking up early for.
Author
I totally agree, it was beautiful! And the clouds added to the beauty.