🏖️ Virginia Beach, VA Travel Guide
Virginia Beach Vacation Guide
Welcome to NME’s Virginia Beach travel guide. A classic East Coast beach resort with a 3-mile Boardwalk, a quieter Sandbridge side, and real Chesapeake Bay seafood — all mapped out by category so you can plan your trip around what you actually want to do.
🏆 55 Attractions & Activities
🍲 52 Restaurants
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Hotels
60 verified hotels and resorts across the Oceanfront, Sandbridge, and Town Center.
Things to Do
55 verified attractions — the Boardwalk, the Aquarium, state parks, and day trips to Norfolk.
Restaurants
52 verified restaurants — oceanfront seafood, Chesapeake Bay crab houses, and Town Center dining.
Getting to Know the Area
Sandbridge
North End
Chesapeake Bay Side
Town Center
Virginia Beach’s resort strip runs along a 3-mile Boardwalk lined with hotels, from the family-friendly middle blocks to the quieter, historic North End. South of the resort strip, Sandbridge is a residential beach community of house rentals, popular with families wanting more space and fewer crowds, with access to Back Bay and False Cape beyond it. On the Chesapeake Bay side, First Landing State Park and the Cape Henry Lighthouse mark the spot of the first English landing in 1607. Inland, Town Center is Virginia Beach’s urban core — high-rise hotels, shopping, and a growing restaurant scene independent of the beach.
Planning Tips
- Decide which stretch of beach fits your trip. The Oceanfront resort strip has the boardwalk, restaurants, and nightlife; Sandbridge is quieter and rental-house-driven; the North End is residential and low-key.
- Summer is the peak season. Memorial Day through Labor Day brings the biggest crowds and highest rates — book well ahead for a Boardwalk hotel in July.
- A car (or rental bike) helps for Sandbridge and day trips. Sandbridge is about 15 minutes south of the resort strip, and Norfolk’s museums and the Chrysler Museum of Art are a quick drive away.
- Chesapeake Bay blue crabs and oysters are the local specialty. Look for them at the seafood houses along the bay side and at Rudee Inlet.
📅 2026 Theme Weeks
The oceanfront’s calendar runs from a January restaurant crawl through surf contests and sand-soccer, to a fall run of art shows and festivals, capped by boardwalk holiday lights and a New Year’s Eve send-off.
❄️ Winter Focus Weeks (January – February)
- Virginia Beach Restaurant Week (January 16–25, 2026): Two-week city-wide dine-around with prix-fixe menus at dozens of local restaurants.
🌸 Spring Theme Weeks (March – May)
- Jackalope Festival (May 2026): An action-sports festival featuring pro skateboarding and BASE jumping at the oceanfront.
☀️ Summer Peak Weeks (June – August)
- North American Sand Soccer Championship (June 2026): The world’s largest beach soccer tournament, drawing hundreds of teams to the sand at the oceanfront.
- Independence Day Fireworks at the Oceanfront (July 4, 2026): Fireworks show over the beach as part of the summer-long weekly oceanfront fireworks series.
🍁 Fall Focus Weeks (September – October)
- Super Girl Surf Festival (Sep 5–7, 2026): Labor Day weekend women’s surf competition with live music, wellness workouts, and panels on the boardwalk.
- Neptune Festival Boardwalk Weekend (Sep 25–27, 2026): The city’s flagship fall festival — art & craft show, sand sculpting, parades, and live music.
- Virginia MOCA Boardwalk Art Show (Oct 9–11, 2026): 70th-anniversary fine-art show along the boardwalk, one of the longest-running on the East Coast.
🎄 Holiday Theme Weeks (November – December)
- Holiday Lights at the Beach (November–December 2026): Seasonal holiday light display along the oceanfront/boardwalk.
- Last Night on the Town (December 31, 2026): The city’s annual New Year’s Eve celebration.
How many days should I plan for a Virginia Beach trip?
3-5 days covers the Boardwalk, the Aquarium, a day at Sandbridge or First Landing State Park, and a day trip into Norfolk — add more if you want to slow down and just sit on the beach.
Is Virginia Beach the same as Williamsburg?
No — they’re both in southeastern Virginia but about an hour apart. Virginia Beach is the oceanfront resort city; Williamsburg is inland and centered on Colonial Williamsburg and Busch Gardens. This guide covers Virginia Beach only.
What’s the best time of year to visit?
June through August is peak beach season with the warmest water and the most going on along the Boardwalk; May and September offer milder crowds and lower rates with still-warm weather.
