In our travel’s on the east coast we had the opportunity to visit many historic places, and Williamsburg / Jamestown were high on the list, but unfortunately we wouldn’t have time to visit both, so we did our research on them.
Colonial Williamsburg vs. Jamestown
JAMESTOWN
The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. It was established on May 4, 1607 and served as the capital of the colony for 83 years, from 1616 until 1699. This is where John Smith, Pocahantas, and John Rolfe’s famous stories are based.
Fees:
Without National Park Pass: $14.00 per person
With Interagency Access or Golden Access: $5 per person (Virginia Preservation fee)
Williamsburg
The Historic Area of Colonial Williamsburg stretches over 301 acres, and includes 88 original 18th-century structures. Hundreds of houses, shops and public outbuildings are reconstructed on their original foundations. Some buildings are open to the public, while others are private residences and administrative offices. This area was bustling in the time of the Revolutionary War.
Fees:
Free to walk around the streets, cannot go into buildings and museums.
Tickets: Adults $26-51, Children $13-$26 (Children under 6 are free.)
Virtual Tours
After all our research, we found that we could take virtual tours of the places. This worked out great because the next day we awoke to rain anyway, and we were not so excited as to walk around in the rain. Got to love technology sometimes!
You can check out the Colonial Williamsburg virtual town tour here and the Jamestown Virtual Tour here!
Staying at Thousand Trails Williamsburg
Overall we were happy with this campground. It was nothing special but it made a great place to launch adventures of Williamsburg and Jamestown from.
By the afternoon, the rain had stopped and the sun came out and we decided a strill through Colonial Williamsburg and some drinks sounded like a good way to spend such a beautiful evening. We packed up the dogs and headed into town.
Colonial Williamsburg
We were surprised how not busy it was compared to what we imagined. The wide main street ran all the way through everything, and it was lightly occupied by other tourists, classes of students, and walkers. The old house and buildings had old painted signs hanging out front, and people in period attire greeted customers at shop entrances or went about their business walking the streets as well.
Little gardens were kept between the houses, many of which were private residences. As we explored, we suddenly heard the sound of a marching band coming up the way. Far down along the lane a crowd had amassed and was being drawn toward the sound of the music. We, too, were drawn and we made our way to a large field where colonial soldiers were lined up, preparing for inspection from their general – none other than George Washington. He came cantering onto the field on a big bay horse, and delivered a fine patriotic speech to rouse the troops, and all the citizens and onlookers of Williamsburg.
We had heard that theDoG Street Pub (DoG stands for Duke of Glouchester) was a must stip for a drink, so we picked up some local brews to take home to enjoy. Overall we had a great time and were very glad we went into town to see it! As for Jamestown we will just have to save that for next time!
Read more of our adventures!
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Derrick Parker
Saturday 2nd of July 2016
It was a short visit, but a very pleasant time that we spent together in Williamsburg! Continued Happy Travels to you!