Virginia Beach Travel Guide

Pretty beach with loads of waterfront hotels, very reasonably priced in the offseason.  The downside that nobody tells you before you get there, is that because of the nearby air force base, there is a frequent noise of extremely loud planes (I'm not talking normal hear-it-distantly-in-the-sky, but noise that shakes the buildings, stops conversations, and hurts your eardrums).  But there is something about it that makes this place. After all, those are are fighting troops and we have had no problem with that (we have been coming back every year for almost two decades). I hope that when I'm 55 or 65 it doesn't get to me (and I don't think it will). For right now, I will be OK with the planes, as far as I'm concerned it makes it Virginia Beach! The hotels seem to have more or less adequate soundproofing, but who wants to stay in the hotel when you've got a beach waiting?!  It really destroyed the otherwise peaceful atmosphere, both with the horribly loud noise and with the adreneline rushes as they swooped in from nowhere. If I wanted peace I'd be in the woods with the deer and the antelope.

If you're travelling without a car, be aware that both Amtrak and Greyhound actually arrive about 30 miles away from the beach, so you'll need to take a taxi to get there.