Our Frugal Family Road Trip To Virginia

What a fun and frugal family adventure!  We used the President’s Day school break to take a road trip down to Virginia and visited Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown Settlement, Virginia Beach, and Norfolk.  We also spent some time with my brother-in-law and his wife in Washington, D.C.  The trip was perfect: a nice respite from the snow with lots of educational fun and minimal expense.

Travel Expenses

This year’s road trip cost a bit more than last year’s visit to Washington D.C. for $300.  The main difference was having to pay for hotel rooms and admission fees.  However, this week-long family vacation still cost well under $1,000, for a family of seven!  One of the ways that we kept costs low was by finding deals on our hotels – there was a promotion for 20% off your room if you stayed at least two days.

We chose hotels with continental breakfast, so everyone started off the day with bellies filled up on free food.

As we did last year, we brought tons of food with us.  Two large coolers easily fit in our big bus.  We snacked a lot while adventuring during the day on cheese sticks, homemade Chex mix, nuts, raisins, fruit, and granola bars.  For dinner, we usually relied on deli meat and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, as well as a big batch of chicken salad for wraps with lettuce and tomato.

There was one drive-thru stop for cheeseburgers and a nice dinner at an all-you-can-eat buffet.  We were even able to find a Groupon deal for that restaurant.

Washington D.C. is a super-frugal trip because most of the museums and monuments were free to visit.  The same was not true for this trip, but the admission fees were much less than something like an amusement park.

We were able to save money and did not have to deal with any crowds because we traveled during an off-peak time of the year.

Colonial Williamsburg

I had never been to Colonial Williamsburg before and was very impressed.  There are people everywhere dressed as if they just arrived from the 18th century.  They really know their stuff!  I asked so many questions and the responses were so interesting and informative.  The trade shops were probably some of our favorite stops, such as watching the blacksmith make items or having the chance to handle a real musket.  There were live sheep wandering in pens and real fires in the homes.  The Governor’s Palace was quite extravagant and intimidating (the entrance walls are filled with weapons).  There are two art museums which were nice during some rainy weather.  We even watched part of a trial at the courthouse before the unruly twins forced us to move on.

There is so much to see and do at Colonial Jamestown.  You don’t technically need an admission pass to walk around the area.  However, you won’t be able to enter into any of the buildings without a pass.  Also, the pass provides you access to their pretty convenient (and stroller friendly) shuttle bus.  I would recommend paying a bit more for a three-day pass, so you have time to take in everything.  Also, make sure to check out the daily schedule to learn about special presentations going on each day.

Tip: You are allowed to bring food and drinks into Colonial Williamsburg, but there are not too many places to snack, especially if there is inclement weather.  They do not allow anything, even a lollipop, into the historical buildings.

Jamestown

There are actually two Jamestown destinations.  First, there is Historic Jamestowne.  This is the actual site of the settlement and an active archaeological dig.  There isn’t a very exciting or interactive attraction, but it is amazing to peer down into an uncovered kitchen that was used hundreds of years ago.  It is a very interesting stop, but there isn’t too much for young children.

There is also the Jamestown Settlement and Museum which provides more interactive activities for kids.  It consists of a recreated James Fort and Native American village.  It is quite authentic.  In the village, they used oyster shells to remove hair from the skin of a deer.  There were musket and cooking demonstrations in the Fort.  The kids even had a chance to try on some armor.  The Fort is on the water and you have a chance to board some replica ships.

Virginia Beach

Our beach day didn’t turn out so well.  We weren’t exactly expecting to soak up the sun and go swimming in the ocean in late February, but it was unseasonably cold and windy.  What did we do?  Grab our winter coats and go looking for seashells of course!  The kids did find some shells and enjoyed a playground for a little while.  We also enjoyed watching some dolphins from our ocean view room.  This was the day that we all went out for the dinner buffet.  There was an added bonus in that the room had a very large bathtub.  The kids had a blast making tons of bubbles and playing in there.  We also enjoyed a nice indoor pool all to ourselves.

Norfolk

The weather continued to cause problems for us by soaking the city in a cold, steady rain when we visited Norfolk.  Fortunately, there is a wonderful “Nauticus” museum in Norfolk that kept the family very entertained for a whole day.  The museum has all sorts of fun and interesting things to see and do.  We were able to pet live sharks, watch 3D movies (included in the admission), build an mini-underwater robot, try out the controls in a full-size underwater, play a giant battleship game, and check out all sorts of exhibits about ships, the military, and underwater creatures.  The museum is attached to the Battleship Wisconsin and your admission also includes an opportunity to board this giant ship and check out everything from the massive guns to sleeping quarters.

We had hoped to take a boat tour around the harbor.  It is supposed to be the best way to see all of the ships in the naval base.  Unfortunately, the boat tours do not start until March 1.  This excursion will have to wait until next time.  

I’ve read how planning and looking forward to a vacation might be more exciting than the actual trip.  After it’s over, most people are then dreading the return to work and the doldrums of ordinary routines.  The post-vacation blues can only be worse if you’re now struggling to pay off large credit card balances.  Our frugal vacations have provided us with an escape and fun memories without derailing our efforts to pay off debt and reach financial semi-independence.  It just takes some creative planning and flexibility, instead of just defaulting to the more-expensive vacation options.

Have you taken any fun family trips this winter?