Virginia Festival of Lights

Welcome to Norfolk, Virginia, with a transfer to the hotel. Meet your Tour Manager and traveling companions at 6:00 p.m. for a welcome dinner. Later, experience the magic of the Norfolk Botanical Garden of Lights holiday display. Enjoy the leisurely stroll through the gardens beautifully aglow in festive lighting. Meal: D

Take the short drive this morning to Colonial Williamsburg, the largest living history museum in the country, and one of America’s most popular attractions. Stroll streets dating back to the 1700s where you will find enduring traditions, charming decorations and a season that still warms the heart. Converse with residents playing the roles of their ancestors as they go about their daily activities exactly as they did more than 200 years ago. It’s an exciting glimpse into the early days of our nation. A traditional Colonial Tavern lunch sets the mood for the day. Then, light up your holidays with a drive through the Newport News Celebration in Lights experience. The award-winning two-mile drive through features spectacular aminated holiday scenes, over one million lights and an exciting lightshow. Meals: B, L

Begin the day at the Chrysler Museum of Art, home to most of the extensive art collection of automotive heir Walter P. Chrysler Jr. See one of the nation’s top collections of glass and watch a demonstration of glass-blowing in the Perry Glass Studio. Stop for an ice cream cone at Doumar’s Cones, said to have created the first ice cream cone in 1904. The Hermitage Museum and Gardens is an early 20th-century Arts-and-Crafts estate featuring the Sloane Collection, which represents 5,000 years of art from over 50 countries. There is also a Visual Arts Studio and 12 acres of gardens and grounds. Tonight, dinner is at a Virginia Beach favorite, Rockafeller’s Restaurant, known for its casual elegance and fresh local seafood. Then, take in Virginia Beach’s Holiday Lights at the Beach display as you drive along the Boardwalk through Nautical and Holiday-themed lights set to traditional seasonal music. See festive fish, musical crabs and hard-working elves in brightly colored lights set against the Atlantic Ocean. Meals: B, D

Begin the day at the Mermaid Factory art studio. Have fun while you hand paint your own mermaid or dolphin sculpture which you can take home with you. Then, make a stop at the Douglas MacArthur Memorial before climbing aboard the Victory Rover for a narrated cruise of Norfolk harbor. See the naval fleet including destroyers, submarines and more. Then, visit Nauticus, the maritime discovery center featuring a museum and the battleship Wisconsin where the decks have been transformed into a holiday experience with over one million dazzling lights called Winterfest. Tonight, dinner is at Omar’s Carriage House, a local favorite serving up delicious cuisine in a historic building dated to the 1840’s. Meals: B, D

Bid a fond farewell to the Atlantic coast with a group transfer to Norfolk’s International Airport for flights out after 11:00 a.m. Meal: B