Are you excited to visit Colonial Williamsburg for the first time? It’s such a unique place that there are a few important tips to know for a successful tip! Be sure to read through these along with our 2 day itinerary for Colonial Williamsburg and Historic Triangle to make the most of your time.
Cheat sheet for Williamsburg + Historic Triangle
Stay
Do:
- Colonial Williamsburg
- To Hang A Pirate (with older kids)
- Jamestown Settlement & American Revolution Museum at Yorktown (or tour covering those + Yorktown Battlefield)
Eat:
- Colonial Pancake House for breakfast
- The Cheese Shop for lunch
- King’s Arms Tavern for dinner
Do check the College’s calendar before you book
Did you know that the College of William & Mary is the next door neighbor to Colonial Williamsburg? They’re separated by just one block of shops and restaurants, which are frequented by visitors to both. With nearly 10,000 students enrolled, big events at W&M can definitely move the needle in terms of hotel capacity, restaurant reservations and even crowds within Colonial Williamsburg.
If you have flexibility in terms of when you visit Williamsburg, try to avoid the following weekends that you’ll find on the W&M calendar:
Don’t be afraid of most seasons
Each season in Williamsburg has its own pros and cons, but there’s something good to find in all of them.
Spring (excluding W&M Commencement weekend) is generally a nice time of year to visit Williamsburg. Early March can be dicey – one year I had to postpone picking up my brother at the College for spring break due to an ice storm. Not exactly what we think of as spring break weather! April and the beginning of May are my picks in Spring.
Summer can be busy and can also bring weather than feels down swampy. Blech. But that’s not universally true – our recent visit was in early August and we had perfect weather with no crowds. There are also great celebrations for Juneteenth and Independence Day.
Fall is the most popular time to visit CW – the weather is perfect and the leaves are changing. In many ways it’s the ideal fall break destination for families! That said, you won’t be alone… between College families and alumni, leaf-peepers and families on a getaway, autumn is when you’re most likely to run into big crowds in Williamsburg.
Colonial Williamsburg in Winter brings variable weather – it could be cold and snowy or it could be 55 and sunny! But the holiday decorations and programming add a different level of charm.
Do look at the schedule in advance
One of the coolest things about visiting Colonial Williamsburg is just how interactive everything is! After all, it’s America’s foremost “living history” museum.
Some of your experiences will be casual, unscheduled encounters with interpreters in craft workshops or walking down the streets. But there are lots of wonderful programs that are only available at certain times of day or on specific days of the week/month.
Spend a little time looking over the Event Schedule to see what’s available. If you haven’t firmed up your travel dates yet, click around for a while to see if there are special programs available on different days that are really exciting to you. Unfortunately it’s not possible to see a list of everything in one place.
If it’s important to you to catch those performances, be sure to build your schedule around them. The “planner” section of the website isn’t very helpful so I created a simple note on my phone with the activities we really wanted to participate in so that we wouldn’t miss out.
Don’t be beholden to the schedule
I know I just said to make a plan for your days in Colonial Williamsburg, but also be sure to allow some flexibility. When I mapped out our family’s day I built in a few chunks of time for wandering around to visit different areas of Colonial Williamsburg.
To be honest, we actually missed some timed activities we had planned to attend! We were all having so much fun chatting with interpreters, meeting farm animals and watching tradespeople at work that I didn’t want to disrupt the fun by forcing us to stay on a schedule.
Part of the magic of Colonial Williamsburg is finding those conversations that really resonate and help you form a deeper understanding of the place and time period that are represented. If you find yourself engrossed, don’t tear yourself away unless it’s for something you absolutely can’t miss.
Do buy tickets to special activities
Nearly everything you do at Colonial Williamsburg is included with the cost of your admission ticket, which is so nice! That includes tons of interactive experiences, some tours, the art museum and much more.
But there are a handful of activities that do require paid add-on tickets, and you’ll want to pick these up in advance as the popular ones sell out. Here are a few examples for you to consider – but be sure to look at which days they’re available:
There may be other ticketed events to look out for, especially if you plan to visit Colonial Williamsburg for Christmas or another holiday period!
Don’t assume you need a paid tour of Colonial Williamsburg
One of the best things about Colonial Williamsburg is that there are extremely knowledgable interpreters everywhere. Any shop or room you enter has people who are educated about the history of the era, the background of the building they’re in and their character’s role in Colonial life. Truly, it’s not necessary to take a paid tour to cover the basics of Colonial Williamsburg.
That said, if you have specific interests it might be worth spending a little time with a guide. The one paid tour I’d personally consider is this tour that’s focused on the history of slavery in Colonial Williamsburg. The foundation runs a similar tour for free now and then, but it isn’t on the schedule very often.
Do book a tavern dinner in advance
Dining at a historic tavern in Colonial Williamsburg is an experience to remember! They combine historically-inspired fine dining and the same depth of interpretation you’ll find elsewhere around town. The servers double as educators, sharing interesting tidbits about the role of taverns in Colonial life, typical foods and even manners in early America!
At this time, there are two taverns serving dinner: King’s Arms and Christiana Campbell’s. At the most basic level, Christiana Campbell’s specializes in local seafood like shrimp and crab cakes while King’s Arms offers a more diverse array of options. Both buildings are faithful reconstructions of their historic predecessors.
We opted for King’s Arms because it met our family’s dietary needs well and we were not disappointed the food was genuinely good and the overall experience was excellent. Our servers at King’s Arms tavern were costumed interpreters and a musician also joined us for part of the time.
If you love seafood, opt for Christiana Campbell’s Tavern. The original Christiana Campbell’s was a favorite of George Washington, and today you’ll find specialties like crab cakes and shrimp.
Both taverns have very limited seating, in part because a typical meal pushes 2 hours. While you may be able to walk in or get a same-day reservation during off-peak times, I recommend reserving in advance – especially if you’re visiting during a busy time period or you’re trying to pair a tavern dinner with a ticketed evening program (as we did).
Don’t book a tavern lunch (unless you have multiple days)
There’s really just one thing that irritates me about Colonial Williamsburg: everything in CW is only open from 10am to 5pm. When we travel, we like to cram as much as we can into each day and power through! But that’s just not really possible here.
As I mentioned above, a typical tavern dinner will span about two hours and includes entertainment in addition to your meal. With a 5:15 or 5:30 dinner reservation, dinner won’t conflict with anything else on the schedule!
A tavern lunch, on the other hand, can take up valuable time when you might want to explore workshops or attend interesting activities. Tavern lunches are generally a little less expensive than tavern dinners, but I think you’ll get a less immersive experience or you might be tempted to rush through and get back outside.
Your food options for tavern lunch also aren’t as compelling. King’s Arms has some of the same offerings as they do for dinner, but not the full menu. The other tavern option for lunch at this time is Shield’s Tavern, which offers a historically-accurate prix fixe menu. You’ll get a salad, choice of beef or chicken and sides of potatoes and vegetables.
The exception I’ll make is that if you’re staying in Colonial Williamsburg for several days and don’t plan on a tavern dinner, you could opt for lunch one of the days. It can be a respite from the heat or cold in tougher weather seasons, and with several days in CW you won’t feel as much time pressure. If you’re doing this I would probably still choose King’s Arms so that you have more options on the menu. King’s Arms also offers a dedicated children’s menu with some very good choices!
We opted instead for a simple, affordable lunch at The Cheese Shop in Merchant’s Square (just outside of the historic area). It hit the spot and then we were able to get right back to our activities. There are a few other options in and around Merchant’s Square if sandwiches aren’t your thing.
Plan your trip to Colonial Williamsburg + beyond
Don’t miss these articles as you plan the rest of your upcoming trip to Virginia!
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