Virginia Beach Attractions

While staying in Virginia Beach you can take a short drive to the Virginia Zoo. The zoo offers free parking, cheap admission and a child friendly environment. The zoo appears to have a wide range of visitors, whether if you’re a couple on date or a family with children, you should find the zoo enjoyable.

The zoo is positioned next to the Lafayette Park and the Lafayette river and covers 53 acres of land. Virginia Zoo is home to nearly 400 animals, which range from tortoises to Giraffes.

When you first enter the zoo directly in front of you is a large water fountain area for children to run through and cool off in, so a towel or change of clothes is useful to have at hand. The water is a very refreshing relief from the hot weather that Virginia is known for.

The zoo is divided into different sections called Gardens, there are 9 different gardens each with there own theme. Refreshments can be found in each Garden and there is a large restaurant in the African Village Garden.

The Barnyard Garden offers hands on experience with some of the smaller occupants of the zoo; there are pigs, goats, and even rabbits for you to pet. The goats were my favourite; they always have so much character.

The Virginia Zoo has an area dedicated to Africa, the area takes up 8 acres of the park and is the home to Lions, Elephants, Rhinoceros, Meerkats, Giraffe, Zebra and many more animals and reptiles. When you visit this area it feels like you are walking through the rocky paths of Africa, The path takes you around the Lion pen and past the Meerkats and reptiles, and it offers great view points across the African fields that house the bigger animals.

The Virginia Zoo is a nice size, you can easily see all the attractions in a few hours, giving you plenty of time to do lots of other things in the Virginia Beach area

If you have found your way to Virginia Beach.com then one of the biggest questions on your mind may well be, what’s the beach like? 

I will admit I am not a very ‘beachy’ person, but for me I find Virginia Beach has a certain charm to it.  The extensive clean golden sands, the fishing pier, the many gift shops, restaurants and ice-cream parlors give Virginia Beach Ocean front a lovely holiday feel. 

You have the option when visiting the ocean front to either sit on the lovely soft sand and soak up the sun rays or walk the main street and go gift shopping, even try out one of the small restaurants, hire a bike, or buggy, if you are feeling energetic you can leisurely stroll the length of the boardwalk, and lots more. 

Virginia Beach has many statues and monuments along the ocean front.  The Virginia Legends walk is one of them; it was built to honor Virginian’s who have made significant differences to our country and the world.  The walk has plaques with the name of the person and a little bit of information about what that person has achieved and where they are from, they include Patsy Cline to Thomas Jefferson, it’s certainly an interesting place to walk through. 

There are a nice variety of places to eat near the ocean front; the usual fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s and Subway, but also more traditional restaurants that serve up fresh sea food, bars and grills and a nice Italian restaurant.  If you’re not looking for a full meal, then maybe you would like to stop in many of the ice cream parlors or even the candy kitchen that has all the candy you could hope for! 

There are plenty of places to stay along the ocean front; there are a wide range of hotels and motels.  Most offer ocean views and undercover parking.  If you are visiting for the day, then there are lots of places to park, some undercover and some in large car parks, all of the parking is very close to the beach and shops. 

If you have any specific questions about Virginia Beach or the Ocean Front visit our help desk, and we will be able to answer your questions. 

Have a look at the photo gallery for more pictures of Virginia Beach.