Student Tour of Washington, DC and Williamsburg, VA
Five Days/Four Nights
Day 1
Arrive in Williamsburg, VA
2:00pm Your Colonial Connections Escort will meet your group upon arrival.
2:30pm-5:00pm Guided Tour of Jamestown Settlement. This interactive living history museum commemorates America’s first permanent English settlement established 13 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth. Learn about the land and lifestyle of Algonquian-speaking tribes in coastal Virginia under the powerful leader Powhatan and about the culture of the first documented Africans in Virginia. Outdoor living-history areas bring the 17th century to life – the re-created Powhatan Indian Village, re-created James Fort, Riverfront Discovery Area, and full-size replicas of the three ships, Susan Constant, Discovery and Godspeed, that transported the original Jamestown colonists to Virginia in 1607 are ready to board.
5:00pm-6:00pm Student buffet dinner provided at the Jamestown Settlement Café.
6:30pm Check into your Williamsburg hotel. All properties used by Colonial Connections have an indoor pool and interior corridors for added security.
7:00pm-8:00pm Early American Medical Practices (an indoor program). This program focuses on the practices of medicine in the 18th century when the treatment was oftentimes worse than the illness or injury! Examine and compare the contents of a practicing physician's bag with that of a modern-day doctor, participate in a mock amputation and dental extraction, review the theories, treatments, medicines, nursing methodologies, and scientific studies of the times.
10:00pm-4:00am Hotel security provided. Colonial Connections Escort departs.
8:30am Depart for full day of touring the Historic Area.
9:00am-1:00pm Tour Colonial Williamsburg. America’s largest living history museum. From 1699 to 1780, Williamsburg was the political, social and cultural capital of Britain’s largest, wealthiest and most populous colony. Colonial Williamsburg encompasses more than 500 buildings and 90 acres of magnificent gardens. In the shops, taverns, government buildings, homes and streets George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, George Mason and other Virginia Patriots debated the ideas – liberty, independence, and personal freedoms – that led to the founding of American democracy. Interaction with costumed interpreters of varied age, race, and social position provides a first-hand view of live when the town was the capitol of the Virginia colony.
1:00pm-2:30pm Lunch provided at a Colonial Williamsburg Tavern. Taverns were not only an integral part of colonial life in America, but were also a necessity. The modes of travel and transportation of the day mandated the location of a tavern every few miles on the main thoroughfares, where tired and hungry travelers could find food and drink and a bed or floor upon which to sleep.
2:30pm Transfer to Yorktown via the scenic Colonial Parkway.
3:00pm-5:00pm Tour the Yorktown Victory Center. Gain a new appreciation and understanding of our nation’s beginnings at the Yorktown Victory Center where America’s evolution from colonial status to nationhood is chronicled through a unique blend of timeline, thematic exhibits and outdoor living history areas that emphasizes the experiences of ordinary people. In an outdoor re-created Continental Army encampment, historical interpreters depict the daily life of a soldier and a re-created 1780s farm provides a look at how many Americans lived in the early years of our nation.
5:30pm-6:30pm Student buffet dinner provided at Doraldo’s Italian Restaurant.
7:00-8:00pm The Hauntings of Williamsburg. When darkness falls another side of Williamsburg emerges … it’s a different place after sunset, full of mystery and intrigue. Journey by candlelight through the streets of Colonial Williamsburg, listening to eerie tales of Williamsburg's only witch trial, Black Beard and his crew, the “Wagon of Death,” which can still be heard bringing prisoners to the gallows, and accounts – told centuries apart – of ghostly parties at Raleigh Tavern. Is that the wind whispering through the trees or have you become a witness to the “Hauntings of Williamsburg?” Based on stories from Jackie Eileen Behrend's award-winning book, The Hauntings of Williamsburg, Yorktown and Jamestown. Some stories last more than a lifetime!
8:30pm Return to the hotel.
10:00pm-4:00am Hotel security provided. Colonial Connections Escort departs.
7:00am Check out of hotel and load luggage on motorcoach.
7:30am Depart for Washington, DC.
10:30am Arrive in Washington, DC and take a photo stop at the Iwo Jima Memorial.
11:00am Tour Arlington National Cemetery. Arlington Mansion and 200 acres of ground immediately surrounding it were designated officially as a military cemetery June 15, 1864, by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. More than 260,000 people are buried at Arlington Cemetery. Veterans from all the nation's wars are buried in the cemetery, from the American Revolution through the Persian Gulf War and Somalia.
The Tomb of the Unknowns is one of the more visited sites at Arlington National Cemetery. The Tomb was completed and opened to the public April 9, 1932. There are three unknown servicemen buried at the Tomb of the Unknowns. (NOTE: Should your school like to include a wreath laying ceremony, please contact the National Cemetery directly to set up)
1:00pm Lunch provided at the Old Post Office. Ranked as one of Washington’s top eight attractions, the Old Post Office Pavilion is equally a part of DC’s vibrant revitalizations of the area and a living legend of its storied past.
2:00pm-3:00pm Visit The National Archives. Of all the documents and materials created in the course of business conducted by the United States Federal government, those that are important for legal or historical reasons are kept and stored at the National Archives. Its holdings date from the 18th century to the present and include the famous Charters of Freedom - the original Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. These valuable records are preserved and are available to the public to view.
3:30pm Visit the Washington Monument. Dedicated in 1885, the Washington Monument offers a great view of the National Mall at a height of over 555 feet.
4:00pm-5:30pm Walk by the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall and get an up close and personal view of the WWII, Vietnam, Lincoln and Korean Memorials.
6:00-7:00pm Dinner provided at Union Station. Completed in 1908, this magnificent structure is considered to be one of the finest examples of the Beaux-Arts style of architecture. Architect, Daniel Burnham designed the building to be monumental in every respect and to serve as a gateway to Washington, DC. A food court, dine-in restaurants and numerous shops are located throughout the complex.
8:00pm Check into your Washington, DC area hotel. All properties used by Colonial Connections have an indoor pool and interior corridors for added security.
10:00pm-4:00am Hotel security provided. Colonial Connections Escort goes off duty.
8:00am Depart for another full day of touring our Nation’s Capital.
8:30-10:30am Today’s touring starts with a photo stop and walk to our country’s three branches of government: The White House (executive), US Capitol Building (legislative), and Supreme Court (judicial). (Private tours of any of the branches of government must be arranged directly through your congressman or senator.)
10:30-1:00pm Return to the National Mall and visit any of the Smithsonian Museums - American History, Natural History, Air and Space or the American Indian Museum.
1:15pm Lunch provided at the Reagan Food Court.
2:30pm-4:00pm Tour the Holocaust Museum. This museum presents a comprehensive history of the Holocaust through artifacts, photographs, films, oral histories, and filmed eyewitness testimonies. The group will visit one of the museum’s main attractions: Remember the Children: Daniel’s Story.
4:00-5:30pm Drive around the Tidal Basin, stopping to see and walk around both the Jefferson and FDR Memorials.
6:00-7:00pm Group dinner provided at Magill’s Famous Pizza and Buffet Restaurant.
7:00-8:00pm After dinner as darkness descends, the group will be taken on a “windshield tour” of Washington, DC to view the lighted monuments and buildings one final time.
8:30pm Return to the hotel.
10:00pm-4am Hotel security provided. Colonial Connections Escort goes off duty.
8:00am Check out of hotel and load luggage on motorcoach.
9:00-12:00pm Tour Mt. Vernon. Mount Vernon was the beloved home of George and Martha Washington from the time of their marriage in 1759 until General Washington's death in 1799. A spectacular view of the Potomac River from the Mansion's piazza transports visitors back in time. Stroll through the gardens and tour the Mansion house and more than a dozen outbuildings including the slave quarters, kitchen, and stables.
The Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center features 23 gallery and theater experiences – many of them with interactive technology – that illuminate the detailed story of Washington’s life, including his military and presidential careers. More than 500 original artifacts, eleven History Channel videos, and immersion theater experiences illuminate the remarkable story of the first American hero.
12:00pm Group departs for return home with lunch and/or dinner stops en route on their own. Colonial Connections Escort departs.
$371 per person quad occupancy, based on 10 or more occupied rooms.
Note: Price does not include ground transportation.
Arrive in Williamsburg, VA 