Anonymous
Post 06/23/2025 18:34     Subject: Suggest a destination for a short (2-3 days) within 3 hours of Delaware Beaches
Can you tell I love Richmond? Anyway, you can also do one of the river cruises, walk around shops in Carytown, go to breweries or tour the Capitol or historic sites if you want more adult things sprinkled in. There's more than enough for 2-3 days. Plus check other Richmond posts for restaurant suggestions.
Anonymous
Post 06/23/2025 18:25     Subject: Re:Suggest a destination for a short (2-3 days) within 3 hours of Delaware Beaches
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Williamsburg--lots of hands-on museums for the 5 year old


OP here. I was thinking about Norfolk/Williamsburg, as it seems to check alot of the boxes of what we're looking for. Talked to a friend who used to live there and she said there's not much for little kids to do; can you talk more about the kinds of hands-on museums are there?


Norfolk/Williamsburg aren't that close together but:

Williamsburg -- Kidsburg playground (outdoors)

Newport News, which is between Williamsburg and Norfolk -- Virginia Living Museum is hands on and has a cool outside trail, Mariner's Museum has a small kids room and is only $1 entry. Has an outdoor playground also.

Hampton, also between Williamsburg and Norfolk -- Bluebird Gap Farm - it's outside. Fort Monroe probably has an outdoor concert series if you're there the right evening.

Portsmouth -- has a children's museum

Richmond has a children's museum next to the aforementioned science museum, also next to McDonald's. Virginia Museum of History and Culture has a small kids room with IIRC, state post card sorting, pretend food truck, dental kit, etc. to play with. See https://virginiahistory.org/exhibitions/commonwealth-explorers (It's a small museum in general so one parent could do that and one do the adult exhibits -- definitely think before letting the 5-year old in the Robert E. Lee room, but that's off by itself). Maymont mansion isn't currently open but I believe the grounds are, including a nature center.


Note if you do the children's museum in Richmond, bring bathing suits for the kids. They have some water stuff outside. They had tricycles to ride around in a splash pad last time we were there.
Anonymous
Post 06/23/2025 18:18     Subject: Re:Suggest a destination for a short (2-3 days) within 3 hours of Delaware Beaches
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Williamsburg--lots of hands-on museums for the 5 year old


OP here. I was thinking about Norfolk/Williamsburg, as it seems to check alot of the boxes of what we're looking for. Talked to a friend who used to live there and she said there's not much for little kids to do; can you talk more about the kinds of hands-on museums are there?


Norfolk/Williamsburg aren't that close together but:

Williamsburg -- Kidsburg playground (outdoors)

Newport News, which is between Williamsburg and Norfolk -- Virginia Living Museum is hands on and has a cool outside trail, Mariner's Museum has a small kids room and is only $1 entry. Has an outdoor playground also.

Hampton, also between Williamsburg and Norfolk -- Bluebird Gap Farm - it's outside. Fort Monroe probably has an outdoor concert series if you're there the right evening.

Portsmouth -- has a children's museum

Richmond has a children's museum next to the aforementioned science museum, also next to McDonald's. Virginia Museum of History and Culture has a small kids room with IIRC, state post card sorting, pretend food truck, dental kit, etc. to play with. See https://virginiahistory.org/exhibitions/commonwealth-explorers (It's a small museum in general so one parent could do that and one do the adult exhibits -- definitely think before letting the 5-year old in the Robert E. Lee room, but that's off by itself). Maymont mansion isn't currently open but I believe the grounds are, including a nature center.
Anonymous
Post 06/23/2025 17:57     Subject: Suggest a destination for a short (2-3 days) within 3 hours of Delaware Beaches
Take the ferry to Cape May...introduce your older kid to Wildwood, which has all of the rides and attractions a kid would want. There is a zoo in the county as well.
Anonymous
Post 06/23/2025 15:50     Subject: Re:Suggest a destination for a short (2-3 days) within 3 hours of Delaware Beaches
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Williamsburg--lots of hands-on museums for the 5 year old


OP here. I was thinking about Norfolk/Williamsburg, as it seems to check alot of the boxes of what we're looking for. Talked to a friend who used to live there and she said there's not much for little kids to do; can you talk more about the kinds of hands-on museums are there?


I don't know about museums (my then 7yo was a bit bored by the colonial stuff) but there is a Great Wolf Lodge good for a night (although the opposite of a small, quiet city like Asheville!)
Anonymous
Post 06/23/2025 15:47     Subject: Suggest a destination for a short (2-3 days) within 3 hours of Delaware Beaches
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Southern Maryland
- Solomons (Ann Marie Sculpture Garden and Calvert Marine Museum are great for kids!, area with cute shops and restaurants -- and a playground -- along the water)
- the beaches where you can look for shark teeth (Calvert Cliffs, Nanjemoy)
- St. Mary's City (colonial re-enactors, a ship you can go on)

Once on our drive back to DC we stopped at Claude Moore Colonial Farm which is another great place for kids


That must have been a while ago. Claude Moore Colonial Farm hasn’t operated since 2018!


They may be thinking of Oxon Hill.


I was going to say I don't think PP meant Claude Moore Colonial Farm in McLean. That isn't on the way home from Rehoboth Beach to DC.
Anonymous
Post 06/23/2025 15:42     Subject: Suggest a destination for a short (2-3 days) within 3 hours of Delaware Beaches
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Southern Maryland
- Solomons (Ann Marie Sculpture Garden and Calvert Marine Museum are great for kids!, area with cute shops and restaurants -- and a playground -- along the water)
- the beaches where you can look for shark teeth (Calvert Cliffs, Nanjemoy)
- St. Mary's City (colonial re-enactors, a ship you can go on)

Once on our drive back to DC we stopped at Claude Moore Colonial Farm which is another great place for kids


That must have been a while ago. Claude Moore Colonial Farm hasn’t operated since 2018!


They may be thinking of Oxon Hill.
Anonymous
Post 06/23/2025 15:39     Subject: Suggest a destination for a short (2-3 days) within 3 hours of Delaware Beaches
Lancaster PA. Spend a day at Dutch Wonderland - perfect for that age. Check out Strasburg Railroad. Tour Amish country.
Anonymous
Post 06/23/2025 15:35     Subject: Suggest a destination for a short (2-3 days) within 3 hours of Delaware Beaches
Anonymous wrote:Southern Maryland
- Solomons (Ann Marie Sculpture Garden and Calvert Marine Museum are great for kids!, area with cute shops and restaurants -- and a playground -- along the water)
- the beaches where you can look for shark teeth (Calvert Cliffs, Nanjemoy)
- St. Mary's City (colonial re-enactors, a ship you can go on)

Once on our drive back to DC we stopped at Claude Moore Colonial Farm which is another great place for kids


That must have been a while ago. Claude Moore Colonial Farm hasn’t operated since 2018!
Anonymous
Post 06/23/2025 15:34     Subject: Suggest a destination for a short (2-3 days) within 3 hours of Delaware Beaches
There’s a great science museum in Richmond. I’d head that direction and visit Williamsburg for a day and Richmond for a day.
Anonymous
Post 06/23/2025 15:26     Subject: Suggest a destination for a short (2-3 days) within 3 hours of Delaware Beaches
Southern Maryland
- Solomons (Ann Marie Sculpture Garden and Calvert Marine Museum are great for kids!, area with cute shops and restaurants -- and a playground -- along the water)
- the beaches where you can look for shark teeth (Calvert Cliffs, Nanjemoy)
- St. Mary's City (colonial re-enactors, a ship you can go on)

Once on our drive back to DC we stopped at Claude Moore Colonial Farm which is another great place for kids
Anonymous
Post 06/23/2025 15:16     Subject: Re:Suggest a destination for a short (2-3 days) within 3 hours of Delaware Beaches
Anonymous wrote:Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Williamsburg--lots of hands-on museums for the 5 year old


OP here. I was thinking about Norfolk/Williamsburg, as it seems to check alot of the boxes of what we're looking for. Talked to a friend who used to live there and she said there's not much for little kids to do; can you talk more about the kinds of hands-on museums are there?
Anonymous
Post 06/23/2025 14:12     Subject: Re:Suggest a destination for a short (2-3 days) within 3 hours of Delaware Beaches
Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Williamsburg--lots of hands-on museums for the 5 year old
Anonymous
Post 06/23/2025 10:42     Subject: Suggest a destination for a short (2-3 days) within 3 hours of Delaware Beaches
Charlottesville, Richmond, Shenandoah somewhere.
Anonymous
Post 06/23/2025 10:40     Subject: Suggest a destination for a short (2-3 days) within 3 hours of Delaware Beaches
We're going to Rehobooth beach for a week long extended family trip in August, and we're hoping to go on an additional short (2-3 day long) trip before school starts with just our immediate family (5 year old, 9 month old). A few things to note:


- My perfect situation is to go to a small, relaxing city, somewhere like Asheville.
- The ideal driving distance is 2-3 hours, but would be willing to go up to 4 hours for the right place
- Not necessarily opposed to going to another beach, as long as it has a different vibe than Rehobooth/Delaware beaches
- Don't want to go to the Hyatt Chesapeake Bay. Nothing against it (we love it and have been multiple times!) but we're going to a wedding there in July, so we want to try something different.