From Shenandoah to the Shoreline

Estimated Tour Pricing Inclusions: 4 nights’ accommodation; 4 breakfasts; 2 lunches; 4 dinners; admissions, entrance, and guide fees as stated in the itinerary, including taxes, and gratuity. Except gratuity for guide fees is not included on adult tours unless otherwise requested.

• Rotunda & Academical Village
• Ash-Lawn Highland
• Jamestown and Yorktown
• Thomas Jefferson Monticello
• Michie Tavern
• Colonial Williamsburg
• Governor's Palace
• Virginia Beach
• Norfolk Botanical Gardens
• Spirit of Norfolk Cruise
• USS Wisconsin and Nauticus
• Distillery Tour
• Yorktown Victory Center

• Arrive to Charlottesville, VA and Meet your GUIDE and visit the Rotunda & Academical Village of The University of Virginia. The Rotunda was designed by Thomas Jefferson to represent the "authority of nature and power of reason" and was inspired by the Pantheon in Rome.  The Academical Village represented Jefferson’s vision of a school with students and professors living together in a secular learning environment. The layout hinged on the Rotunda, which contained classrooms and the library. There were also classrooms in the pavilions, with the professors living above.
• Visit Edgar Allan Poe's Room. The author and poet's room restored to the 1826 time period, when he was a student at the University of Virginia. A glass door allows visitors to see the room furnished as a student room would have been in the early 19th century. A button can be pressed to hear a recording about Poe's time at U.Va.
• Embark on a driving tour of Charlottesville: Learn about The University of Virginia. Check-in to your local area hotel. Enjoy a welcome dinner included this evening at a favorite local restaurant. (Meals: D)

• Enjoy breakfast at the hotel. Depart and arrive at Monticello, catch the shuttle to the house. The mountaintop home of Thomas Jefferson. The house is a remarkable integration of classical architecture and modern innovation designed by Jefferson and built on the mountain top where he had played as a boy. Mr. Jefferson named his home Monticello, meaning Little Mountain and always used the Italian pronunciation of Monticello (mon-ti-chel-oh). We’ll also visit the spectacular Gardens and Mulberry Row, the plantation “street” along which Monticello slaves lived and labored. The Visitor Center is built around an open courtyard with fountain that upon opening visitors immediately began tossing Jefferson nickels in to. The green energy saving buildings includes galleries, educational facilities, theatre, gift shop, and a great café with indoor and outdoor seating. Mr. Jefferson would be proud!
• See Thomas Jefferson's World, in the Carl and Hunter Smith Education Center a 14-minute introductory film that dramatically present Jefferson’s ideals and accomplishments and illustrate Monticello’s central importance to his life and work. The film is shown on a 16-by-9-foot screen in a 2,400-square-foot theater with 125 seats.
• Tour new Robert H. and Clarice Smith Gallery: The Words of Thomas Jefferson, an innovative exhibition in which quotations by and about Jefferson are projected in light. Thomas Jefferson and ‘the Boisterous Sea of Liberty,’ an exhibition tracing the development and ongoing influence of Jefferson’s ideas about liberty through an interactive presentation on a wall of high-definition screens.
• Monticello as Experiment: ‘To Try All Things,’ an exhibition that explores Jefferson’s use of Monticello as a laboratory for his belief that “useful knowledge” could make life more efficient and convenient. Making Monticello: Jefferson’s ‘Essay in Architecture,’ an exhibition covering the architectural origins, construction, and 40-year evolution of the iconic Monticello house.
• Depart and enjoy lunch included today at Historic Michie Tavern (pending availability). This is one of the oldest homesteads remaining in Virginia. Hearty, Typical colonial fare is served in “The Ordinary.” Stop at the General Store located within the Meadow Run Grist Mill, next door to Michie Tavern. The store features a variety of Virginia’s finest gifts. A Christmas Shop, jewelry, apparel, pewter, collectibles, food, and beverages can be found in the store.
• Visit Ash Lawn-Highland, the home of Jefferson’s good friend and fellow President James Monroe is a 535-acre estate where visitors can find the atmosphere of an early 19^th-century working plantation. Monroe held more major offices than any other President.
• Depart and arrive to Williamsburg, VA and enjoy a dinner included at local favorite restaurant. Depart and check in to area hotel. (Meals: B, L, D)

• Enjoy breakfast at the hotel prior to checking out.
• Depart and meet our Colonial GUIDES at Group Arrivals and begin your tour of Colonial Williamsburg including the Capitol and the Governor’s Palace. The Capitol is where Virginia patriots developed principles of self-government, individual liberty and responsible leadership. The Governor’s Palace reflects the period of Lord Dunmore’s residence, the last English governor of the Virginia colony. After the colonists chose revolution, two commonwealth governors lived here. Virginia’s restored 18th Century Capitol showcases a variety of restored and reconstructed homes and public buildings, museums, craft shops, taverns and special entertainment in its 173-acre historic area.
• Enjoy free time to shop and lunch on your own in Colonial Williamsburg. Merchants Square is the shopping hub of downtown Colonial Williamsburg. Located at the head of Duke of Gloucester Street, the gateway to Colonial Williamsburg, Merchants Square includes many fine stores and restaurants.
• Enjoy the rest of the day exploring Colonial Williamsburg with your full day admission.  Make sure to visit the historic trades including the Blacksmith and Cooper to see how they still use 18th-century tools and methods. Tour our homes and government buildings and stroll through our colonial gardens. Don’t forget about the two world-class Art Museums which house the largest colonial-period archaeological collection in the United States! Return to hotel to freshen up, then later depart for dinner included this evening.
• Enjoy local seafood & steaks served in this old-school eatery designed like a New England boathouse. (Meals: B, D)

• Enjoy breakfast at the hotel prior to checking out.
• Arrive at Jamestown Settlement, Jamestown Settlement commemorates the first permanent English settlement in the New World. It features full-size replicas of the three ships that arrived in 1607, as nearly reconstructed as possible to show the size and hardships the hardy settlers had to face. The reconstructed Jamestown Fort is unique and seems to come to life with the costumed interpreters present to perform 17th century activities and interact with the crowds. Don’t miss the Indian village and wonderful museum exhibits. Roughly 400 years ago these merchant ships embarked from England across the Atlantic Ocean to America, a voyage that would later set the course of American history. Learn about these ambitious pioneers and the hardships they faced.
• Enjoy lunch on own at the Jamestown Settlement Café.
• Depart and visit the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown and enjoy a guided tour. The American Revolution Museum at Yorktown tells anew the story of the nation’s founding, from the twilight of the colonial period to the dawn of the Constitution and beyond. Exciting new indoor galleries feature period artifacts, immersive environments, interactive exhibits and films, including “The Siege of Yorktown,” with a 180-degree surround screen and dramatic special effects.  In the outdoor living-history areas, visitors can witness artillery demonstrations, drill with wooden muskets at a recreated Continental Army encampment and explore a Revolution-era farm based on a real-life 18th-century family. The state-operated museum of the American Revolution is an excellent starting point for a tour of Yorktown. Depart for VA Beach and check in to Oceanfront are hotel.
• Enjoy the Virginia Beach Boardwalk, with 3 miles of not only many restaurants and hotels, but also a wide array of art, museums, historic sites and events. The popular 24-foot, 12-ton King Neptune Statue stands at the gateway to Neptune Festival Park on 31^st St., while colorful fish sculptures are scattered about, and other nautical art works adorn side streets.  You can visit a video arcade, ride on a Ferris wheel at the Fun Park, or check out any of a number of live entertainment stages that host great acts throughout the busy season at 7^th, 17^th, 24^th & 31^st Streets. Museums include the Atlantic Wildfowl Museum in historic DeWitt Cottage, the Surf and Rescue Museum and more. Dinner on own this evening. (Meals: B)

• Enjoy breakfast included at the hotel this morning. Explore the Norfolk Botanical Gardens and view the spring blooms.
• Enjoy lunch included aboard the Spirit of Norfolk.
• Dock, depart, and tour the Nauticus, The National Maritime Center, an exciting science and technology center exploring the power of the sea. This high-tech, virtual reality “museum” allows visitors to explore the rich life of the ocean realm, human uses of the sea through shipping and the role the port of Hampton Roads has played in world maritime affairs.
• Visit the Battleship USS Wisconsin, one of the largest Battleships ever built. This mighty ship was used during the Korean Conflict and the Gulf War. Tour the Hampton Roads Naval Museum and the USS Wisconsin.  The museums mission is to study and interpret the history of the U.S. Navy in Hampton Roads. The museum oversees the day-to-day management and historic interpretation of the Battleship Wisconsin.
• Enjoy dinner on own and free time to explore and walk the Boardwalk. (Meals: B, L)

• Enjoy breakfast at leisure this morning prior to checking out.
• Depart and tour the Historic Cavalier Hotel decked out for the Holidays.  Some say that The Cavalier Hotel may be what put Virginia Beach on the map. Regardless, no one can dispute the rich history found in the halls of this historic landmark. Construction of the luxurious East Coast destination hotel began in 1926. It was named The Cavalier as a result of a local newspaper contest. Originally, there were originally 195 guest rooms on 350 acres of land, including a golf course stretching 290 of those acres. A sunken garden graced the south side of the hotel, a naturally stunning backdrop for events, whose groves of flowers were used to adorn rooms, dining rooms and the lobby.  Among other notorieties who visited, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and his wife, Zelda, enjoyed long vacations at The Cavalier.
• Tour and Tasting at The Tarnished Truth Distillery located inside the Cavalier Hotel.
• Enjoy lunch on own and free time along the boardwalk. Depart for home. (Meals: B)

Base rate does not include motor coach transportation, airfare, airport transfers, driver gratuity, guide gratuity, (student groups exempt) or any upgrades or add-ons unlisted from itinerary as stated. Pricing may vary based on day of arrival or other conditions. Personalized itineraries with custom pricing and/or additional transportation can be created and added based on client needs and upon client’s request. MARS will customize quotes or personalize itineraries for FREE.