Williamsburg, Va. question.

[pierre smith]

My first cousin is visiting from South Africa and we'd like to meet them near Williamsburg, Va. around Jan. 3 and 4.

Which airport do you guys suggest flying in to? Significant places to visit, etc? Good motels?

Thanks,

[rv7boy]

Pierre,
I would say either Williamsburg/Jamestown (KJGG) or the larger Newport News/Williamsburg International (KPHF) would be good options. I've never flown into either but I did plan a business trip to fly there in October.

KJGG is smaller, privately owned, is closer to Williamsburg, has a little higher fuel price and has high marks on AirNav. I have visited there by car to get the feel of the place and it is well run and is clean...or it was a few years ago. I assume the new owners are maintaining the same level of service that the original owners established and maintained for so long. I believe they can arrange to have a rental car available to you, but you should call ahead to make sure.

The other choice is KPHF which is larger, farther away from Williamsburg but not a bad drive except during rush hour, is closer to more motels, and has two FBO's. The fuel price is a little less and both FBO's seem to have high marks. My impression is that Rick Aviation would be more accomodating to an RV than the other FBO, but that's just my impression. There are several rental car agencies available, but they are located in the terminal building. Again, calling ahead to the FBO would be appropriate.

Because my business trip was to the Hampton area, I had planned to fly in to KPHF and park my plane with Rick Aviation for a few days.

Pierre, I saw your post and thought I would respond. I am sure there are other pilots that have first hand experiences or there are those who live in the Williamsburg area. They would certainly have more reliable information than what I have provided. But for what it's worth, that's all I can offer.

Enjoy! Williamsburg is a rich historical experience.

[pierre smith]

Thanks Don

My cousin is a high-end attorney and is very interested in our history. Since we agreed to meet sorta half-way, my wife, ex-Naval officer, suggested Williamsburg since she had been stationed near there several years ago.

Best,

[ArVeeNiner]

Pierre:

I took the family twice to Williamsburg, most recently in April of this year. It is very cool for history buffs.

You have to do Colonial Williamsburg and the Jamestown historical site. There is another Jamestown attraction there but it's a recreation and NOT the actual site. You want the actual site which is run by the National Park Service.

Also, don't miss the Yorktown battlefield. VERY cool! Get on one of the tours put on by the Park Service.

All these places are a few minutes from each other.

Also, we stayed at the Hampton Inn at 718 Bypass Road. Nice, clean, reasonable, and free breakfast.

[jcaplins]

Since I live in the area, most of my experience is just doing touch and goes at the local airports. So I can’t really comment on where to stay and airport amenities.

Definitely visit Williamsburg and Jamestown. A short hop away is also the Petersburg National Battlefield. This is the civil war site that has “the crater” (made more famous by a scene in the movie: Cold Mountain) . Dinwiddie airport may be the best starting point for that site.

In Richmond, there are many civil war and slave related sites. The downtown slave trail and canal walk are nice. Hollywood cemetery is pretty impressive and hosts a few presidents, union and confederate.
Richmond, Chesterfield and Hanover airports are all fine airports to fly into; Chesterfield may be the most convenient.

Again, you would have to call around for car and hotels. If money was no object, I would suggest The Jefferson hotel in Richmond.

[humptybump]

I've landed at KJGG a few times for lunch - nice airport, easy. Plenty of tie-down space. Right Traffic for RWY 13.

People have have met me for lunch via car say it is easy to drive to from the general area and major roads.

[alpinelakespilot2000]

Pierre-

I spent a few very enjoyable years in Williamsburg as a grad student at William and Mary. It's a really nice place! My suggestion would be to NOT try to do too much and make life simple for yourself.

Fly into KJGG located right on the James River in Williamsburg then rent a car. The airport is about 2-3 miles outside the town's historic center.

The three "biggies" as mentioned above, are CW (Colonial Williamsburg), Yorktown Battlefield (the National Park Service site), and Jamestown Island (again, the National Park Service site). CW is a day in itself probably and also has lots of great little shops called "Merchant's Square" at one end for those who like shopping and/or don't like a full day of playing history buff. Both CW and Merchant's Square lie directly across the street from the historic William and Mary campus, the second oldest university in the US, and really nice to walk through. Jamestown Island is the site of the first English settlement in North America and really great for those who like archaelogy, and Yorktown is the site of the last battle of the American Revolution.

I would also highly encourage you to take the drive between all three sites using the "Colonial Parkway." http://www.nps.gov/colo/parkway.htm It is a very pretty road and, literally, was built to connect those three (Yorktown and Jamestown each at one end, with CW in the middle). Much of the way it is right along the James or York Rivers. You can get to those places through other side roads and highways, but it's not nearly as pretty. In fact, if you spent one day at CW, you could easily do Jamestown Island and Yorktown Battlefied (with the parkway drive in between) on the second day.

Finally, if kids are involved (or adventure-seeking adults), Busch Gardens is one of the neatest amusement parks in the country. Unlike most others that are built on a big slab of concrete, Busch Gardens in Williamsburg is built into the forest. Lot of fun.

There are tons of good restaurants in Colonial Williamsburg and Merchants Square and many nice hotels as well. Just depends on how much you want to spend for the latter. The closer you can stay to CW, the more "historic" or authentic feeling the place will generally be.

This was the standard itinerary for friends and family who came to visit. It's a great weekend trip if you don't try to pack too much in, so have fun!

[noelf]

I second what STEVEM above said. I grew up in the area, had business dealings in the area, and never got tired of the drive between Williamsburg, Yorktown, Jamestown, Hamptom, PHAFB, NASA Langley, and the rest of the Hampton Roads area. There are several good hotels in Williamsburg proper (sorry, I don't remember the names).

Another great place to visit in Jamestown was/is known as the Jamestown Festival. It is a recreation of the original Jamestown Colony fort and buildings. One of the life sized sailing ships is anchored there for a look-see.

Across from Busch Gardens and I64 is Yorktown Naval Weapons Station. Do not expect any tours...big boomer stuff there. Next to YNWS is the undocumented CIA Camp Perry. Again, no tours.

Years ago, there was a great seafood restaurant in Yorktown, directly underneath the York River Bridge.

Hope you enjoy your trip.

[Kentsrv7a]

I live in Yorktown and have my RV based at KPHF. It is a very nice airport with 2 FBOs. Atlantic Aviation is the upscale place that caters mostly to the business jet crowd and Rick Aviation which is more the small FBO feel. Both provide great service. Rick has the cheaper avgas. Either one will suit your needs. KPHF is about a 15-20 minute drive to Colonial Williamsburg (CW). KJGG is a nice small airport just a few miles from the CW area. They also have a nice FBO with a great restaurant called Charlies. Great food! Our EAA Chapter 156 meets in the conference area upstairs. For history buffs CW is very cool. You are immersed in the time period with the restored CW buildings and period costumes. There are some great colonial "pubs" or restaurants, in the restoration area, as well as more modern restaurants and specialty shops in Merchant Square. Outside of CW there are plenty of fine restaurants, mostly along Richmond Rd. There is also a large outlet shopping area.

I second the iternerary described above, 1 day in CW and another at Jamestown-Colonial Parkway-Yorktown Battle Field. Colonial history dominates the area so not much Civil War history unless you head towards Richmond. You can't go wrong in either place for a history buff.

Be happy to answer any of your questions. Just drop me a PM and I can give you my number.

Kent

[rv7boy]

So Pierre, did you make the trip?

If so, can you tell us how it went?

Can you offer any specific "do's and don'ts" for others who might want to visit the Williamsburg area?