Holiday Inn Club Vacations Williamsburg Resort

Holiday Inn Club Vacations Williamsburg Resort is in historic Williamsburg, Virginia. Close to both Colonial Williamsburg, Bush Gardens, Yorktown, Jamestown, and even nearby Virginia Beach.

I live in the area and grew up here. So, today I will be going to the resort for a trip down memory lane, and a historic trip. Inside scoop, I am also planning a move out of the area so this will be like a goodbye trip visiting some of my favorite locations.

As a fan of history and all things touristy, I will share some things you want to make sure you do not miss on your trip.

Video by Wander Open Roads

Day One Travel & Arrival at Holiday Inn Club Vacations Williamsburg Resort

Many of you will drive into the area from Interstate 95, which links most of the East Coast. Others may fly in toto Norfolk International. Either way, you come to the area, keep in mind that the larger area, often referred to as Hampton Roads, has some fairly high traffic hours, especially when you are crossing bodies of water. Near Williamsburg itself, the traffic is fairly calm, but the closer you get to other communities in the area near the water, the higher the traffic flow will be.

For example, if you fly into Norfolk International, try to get an early flight to avoid the late afternoon traffic leaving Norfolk across the Hampton Roads bridge tunnel. If you hit that at the wrong time, you could be in traffic for an hour or more. When you go earlier in the day, you drive straight across without a stop most days.

The commute from Norfolk to Williamsburg might be only 1.5 hours without traffic, but during heavy traffic times, this can double or more your time in the car. So, just plan your flight time.

Driving in the area from I95 or locally from I64 near Richmond, you should not experience delays throughout most of the year.

The temperature in Williamsburg is pleasant the majority of the year. July and the first few weeks of August do get hot, and it is not a dry heat. So, if you seek modest temperatures, consider Spring or Fall.

October is an amazing month to visit, and the weather is the best we get unless you are planning to go to water parks. if so then you likely want to come in June.

The first week of August in Williamsburg is often the hottest of the year and, for some reason, you seem to bake in Williamsburg that week. Just a heads up. Now I have vacationed that week for many years and you certainly can handle it, but 90+ days with high humidity may be hard for seniors.

It is worth mentioning the weather here because a great deal of what is amazing is outdoors in Williamsburg and the surrounding cities.

Williamsburg and its neighboring cities are about American History. Colonial Williamsburg is a preserved and maintained historical city center from the days of the founding of our nation. Nearby there is also a wonderful recreation of Jamestown and a museum. Just up the road, you have Yorktown, Virginia, where Cornwallis surrendered the sword, and we officially won the Revolutionary war. Within 1 hour drive or less, you can see all of these amazing locations, and many museums, and walk the same battlefields, in many of the original buildings, from the very founding of our Nation.

If you are a parent or grandparent who wants a child or grandchild to form a true bond with American history, this is the vacation for you. It does not have to be all historically focused for the vacation because there are amazing theme parks like Bush Gardens and amazing local beaches like Virginia Beach. I will also point out several smaller beaches that you may love if you want a smaller beach experience.

Being from the area, I timed my drive so that I experienced no traffic. I also stopped at Jamestown on the way into the area.

The Jamestown Settlement is a living history museum, meaning that they offer an interactive experience with highly experienced actors and craftsmen that work in roles on the site. In the summer season, you often get to see several of the talented on-site actors or craftspeople on a visit.

Open year-round from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, except Christmas and New Year’s days. Outdoor living-history areas are open 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Save on a value-priced combination ticket with the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown: $28.90 for adults, $14.45 for ages 6-12. Free parking. This ticket can get you a 7-day pass to the museums and all they have to offer.

The museum also has one of the nicest shops of a museum in Virginia and that is saying something. Many of their products are priced nicely to allow anyone something to take home with them they can afford. Somewhere I have pieces of eight that I purchased from the museum 20 years ago.

If you visit when the boat builder is on site, do stop in to see their work. It may be one of your only chances to see craftsmen use the original tools and make a canoe or other small local boat. They also explain how the old world boat builders made the original vessels that founded America.

Along the shores of the James River, visitors can see re-creations of the three ships that brought America’s first permanent English colonists to Virginia in 1607. The Jamestown settlement lasted over 100 years until the capital of the area was moved to Williamsburg.

Climb aboard to learn about each of the wooden ships’ square-rigged masts, tonnage, and cargo, as well as shipboard life for the 104 men and boys. This first-hand experience is one of the few of its kind in the world.

Whether on the pier or on the main deck, historical interpreters share the four-and-a-half-month voyage from England in December 1606 to Jamestown in May 1607, and periodically demonstrate knot-tying, sail-raising, and 17th-century piloting and navigation.

The Jamestown Settlement re-creations have been designated “the official fleet of the Commonwealth” by the Virginia General Assembly. While one of the ships sails periodically from the Jamestown Settlement to participate in commemorative and community events and host maritime outreach educational programs for students, most of the time all three can be seen at the museum. Costumed historical interpreters assist visitors in exploring the ships and learning about the 1607 voyage and 17th-century shipboard activities.

While at the site, make sure to also check out the Native American housing, go inside for the films and to see even more. “Bacon’s Rebellion” is shown every 20 minutes to tell the story of a 1676 uprising at Jamestown.

When you get the combo ticket with Yorktown, you can go and enjoy the Yorktown Museums, battlefields, and visitors center. I will be going there later on this trip. Right now I am close to the resort while at Jamestown, so after a few hours of fun, I am headed to the resort to check-in.

To the Resort

The accommodations here are first-rate and available in 1, 2, or 3 bedrooms. I had a 1 bedroom villa booked, which was all I needed because friends who would come with me tomorrow or the next day are all from the area.

The resort itself is sizable. Even being from the area, I was not aware of the size of this resort or the features they offer.

There is the main building, then 8 separate buildings that cover the resort. They also offer several outdoor pool areas and a great mini-golf course on site.

If you have enjoyed any of the other travel blogs on this site, you likely have heard me share how much I enjoy mini-golf. For most of my life, it was all I played related to golf. I grew up near a Putt Putt branded course and spent many summers with weekly visits to the courses. This and an inner child that refused to grow up are, in part, why I enjoy mini-golf to this day.

To say that the resort has everything you look for in local accommodations might be an exaggeration for some, but I think the options here are great.

Villa Amenities

Then the resort itself offers all of these options.

Resort Amenities

Day Two Bush Gardens

I have enjoyed thousands of hours at Bush Gardens including one summer job when I was young. It is a great amusement park and one that offers great value. If you are in the area while the park is open (which is most of the year) do plan a day or more enjoying Bush Gardens. Especially if you have the kids with you. If it is summer and you love waterparks also look into Water Country USA which is the water park sister of Bush Gardens. In either location, you can have a great time. I prefer Bush Gardens if I was going to only have the time or funds for one choice. As a full theme park, there is just something for everyone of all ages.

The park has many rides, restaurants, shows, and fun things to see and do. The entire park is broken down into countries of Europe and offers fun themed areas for each country as you go around the park in a giant circle going from one land to the next.

If you go for several days, you can find new paths and ways around the park to see things you enjoyed again faster. On the first visit makes sure to do full loops and see it all. You can also take the steam train around the park, or enjoy the Skyride in cable cars to get around the main countries faster. Wonderful for adults who are meeting up with older kids, save on some of the walkings.

Bush Gardens has plenty of hills and steep climbs, but many can be avoided by the train or Skyride options if you plan ahead. Coming to the park in my youth, I never really thought about all the walking. These days it comes to mind quickly after you enter the park.

There are well over 20 large rides here and many smaller rides, too. The Bush Gardens site has a wealth of information and a map you can download to get acquainted with the area before you arrive. There is also a helpful Wikipedia page on the history of the park itself and all it offers. You can view many great ride videos online now, and I will share some of those on this blog for you.

Check out some of the rides from the front seat.

Seeing all that Colonial Williamsburg has to offer in a day is a challenge. If you also add either Yorktown or Jamestown museums and sites into your, day it will be a busy one.

Today I will start at Yorktown visiting the museums first, then coming back to Williamsburg for an afternoon in the Colonial area. On my first day in town, I had already seen the Jamestown Settlement. It was nice seeing all of that again fresh.

If this is your first time in the area, you may want to plan a full day for each site if you have an interest in history so you can do a deep dive. For myself, this is my 100^th time to each or more. But as a fan of history being from this area, I just love it.

Traveling back and forth to Yorktown and Williamsburg I would use the Colonial parkway. It is almost as fast as the local interstate and much more scenic to keep you in the mood. Also, sometimes interstate 64 gets heavy traffic that the parkway does not.

Jamestown is off of route 5 and easy to get to from the resort, so you could do that the same day as either a visit to Colonial Williamsburg or Yorktown. Depending on the season of your visit you may have access to actors or reenactors who are professional historians and are in their characters’ real working environments. This feature is common in both Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown.

Yorktown

Yorktown was my home for most of my childhood. The county itself is fairly large, but the main areas near the museums and battlefields are not so large. This is an area so rich in history that you can literally dig in and go as deep as you want to go. There are additional forts and locations that exist all around the area. But if you stick to the Yorktown museums, you can see them all in a day, as well as visit the battlefields too.

The local Yorktown Pub is an excellent spot for lunch, or lunch and a few adult beverages. there are other restaurants of all kinds nearby. The Yorktown Pub sits almost on Yorktown Beach and you can walk down to it from the Yorktown Monument near the main museum.

In summer, Yorktown Beach is a wonderful spot for a break with the kids if they are going a little stir-crazy with all the historical sites, movies, and large historic collections.

This is a small beach but nice, safe, and a cool spot on a hot day.

Colonial Williamsburg offers much more than its cobblestone streets. You can shop at modern shops for gifts and items but also go into shops that are historically accurate and offer a glimpse into the past. Do not forget to visit the Governor’s Palace.

When it comes to tickets for your trip, you can purchase in advance online and I recommend you get tickets for the entire family to the area with America’s Historic Triangle Ticket. While costly, it does give you access to all sites in Jamestown, Yorktown, and Williamsburg. The main features here are access to the museums and special access to certain sites. When you purchase the tickets online, you get a voucher that you turn in first in Williamsburg to access all the sites. So, even if you do not stay when you first go to the visitors’ center in Williamsburg, you must start at that location from a ticketing perspective.

There are discounts available for active duty military and others, so check the websites for all locations first before you pay for your tickets. You can also call for information at 1-800-HISTORY (447-8679).

Visiting historic sites and museums, you should look for ways to participate. I am talking about guided tours, movies, and other things like character or actor-based activities that will pull you into the history of the setting. I still remember some of my experiences from childhood at each of these locations because I participated in available offerings like those.

Just think how special those moments must have been to have stuck with me from 5 to 6 years old or for almost half a century. Do not miss out.

To have your most amazing Williamsburg area experience, make sure you stay at this amazing resort and book with Tzort.