Home Care In Virginia Beach, VA

Find these out-of-the-box attractions in Virginia Beach, where the Chesapeake Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean.

You might know Virginia Beach for its classic boardwalk. This is a three-mile-long stretch complete with outdoor dining, surfboard and kayak-rental kiosks, and even an island park playground for the kids. But don't be fooled by the seaside breeze: Virginia Beach, Virginia, is much more than its oceanside attractions. (Though there are dozens of waterfront hotels to choose from if you happen to be craving a beach vacation.)

As the most populated city in the entire state, Virginia Beach has tons to offer including a growing culinary scene, excellent arts and culture, rich history, and lots of family-friendly activities. Each area of Virginia Beach offers a little something different, from the always bustling Oceanfront area to secluded Sandbridge Beach. You can spend the day shopping in Town Center, then stick around for a nice dinner and comedy show once the sun goes down. Or head to the ViBe Creative District to get in touch with Virginia Beach's artsy side. Here are the 15 best things to do in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Head To The Beach

Virginia Beach's oceanside promenade promises a lovely sunrise or evening stroll. The Oceanfront District offers plenty of options for shopping, dining, and family-friendly entertainment. During the summer, you'll find live music and boardwalk entertainment on one of the promenade's four open-air stages. Snap a photo with the 24-foot-tall King Neptune statue, which sits on the boardwalk at the entrance of Neptune Park.

Here, you'll also find the city's famed oceanfront resorts and a pristine stretch of sand. Be sure to spend a day relaxing by the water. To avoid the crowds, check out Sandbridge Beach, an equally beautiful, less-trafficked, duned shoreline located just south of the Oceanfront District.

Explore The ViBe Creative District

Catch a vibe in the ViBe Creative District. "The ViBe Creative District, encompassing 13 blocks between the Convention Center and the boardwalk, is a non-profit initiative designed to foster creativity and community in Virginia Beach," writes Brianna Simmons for Southern Living.

Thirteen blocks between the Virginia Beach Convention Center and famous boardwalk make up the ViBe Creative District, and every last street corner is covered in colorful murals and bold street art. An easy one-mile walking tour will take you to all the best spots, so you can experience all the incredible artwork and get acquainted with the spirited neighborhood.

There's always something new to see at this free museum that's open Thursday through Sunday each week. Galleries and exhibits change often, and there's even an interactive art space called ArtLab that's suitable for all ages. No matter what you do, be sure to make time to marvel at 14-foot glass sculpture hanging from the ceiling in the sunlit Rodriguez Pavilion. The incredible work of art called Mille Colori, or thousand colors, is an original Dale Chihuly work made of 520 individual glass blown pieces.

Though the ViBe Creative District is big on the arts, there's plenty to do outside of gallery hopping and museum touring. When you're in need of a mid-day or mid-afternoon pick-me-up, the diverse food and beverage scene has you covered. Some highlights include the crepes at farm-to-table café Commune, the craft beers at cool bistro Esoteric, and the infused spirits at Chesapeake Bay Distillery.

The ViBe Creative District is the kind of place where you never know what you might find around the next corner. Unique shops and local businesses of all kinds call it home, so there's plenty to peruse. Be sure to see the hand-painted signs and old-fashioned pinstriping at Igor's Custom, find locally made art and gifts at 17th Street Marketplace, and see true artisans in action at North End Bag Company.

Get Outdoors

Catch a wave or bike along the shoreline—Virginia Beach is made for outdoor adventure. The coastal city has plenty of trails for running, walking, and biking, making it entirely possible to go completely car-free.

Hike or bike the Sand Ridge Trail in False Cape State Park and the Cape Henry Trail in First Landing State Park. First Landing's unique maritime forest ecosystem, plus miles of easily accessible trails through bald cypress forests and salt marshes makes it one of the state's most visited parks.

Nothing tastes sweeter than fruit you picked yourself. Depending on the season, there are dozens of opportunities to harvest nature's bounty in Pungo, an enchanting and unexpected 8,000 acres of farmland just past Sandbridge Beach. Several farms offer u-pick seasons throughout the year where you can take home everything from strawberries and blueberries to apples and peaches.

Bike-friendly towns are especially sunny because you get exploration and a mode of transportation all in one package. The best way to see Virginia Beach is on two wheels via the Family Fun Tour bike trail, which runs for 6.8 miles and takes riders to landmarks like the Virginia Beach Boardwalk, the Virginia Aquarium, and Ocean Breeze Waterpark.

As the birthplace of East Coast surfing, Virginia Beach is an ideal place to catch your first wave. The waves are calmer and a bit gentler than the barrels found out west, so you'll have a better chance of hanging ten even if you've never surfed before. Novices to the sport can book a lesson with VB Surf Sessions, Pungo Board House, or Seth Broudy School of Surf to get individual or group instruction.

Eat Local

Start your morning at Three Ships Coffee, a local coffee roaster with locations in the ViBe District and the Shops at Hilltop. Then prepare to be utterly charmed by The Bee and the Biscuit, a first-come, first-serve cottage restaurant known for its buttermilk biscuit Benedicts and freshly-baked cinnamon rolls (which the daytime joint also offers to-go). Pair your all-day breakfast with a specialty latte in unique flavors like Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Honey Lavender, and Lucky Charms. Pro tip: Arrive early to snag a seat in the quaint garden for brunch. For a laid-back vibe, check out Zeke's Beans and Bowls, a local spot for coffee, acai bowls, and Hawaiian poke.

For a special occasion, indulge in the picnic of your dreams with VB Picnic Co. The local business curates stunning, stylish pop-up picnics at your location of choice. The company provides custom setups in the sand that come complete with chairs, umbrellas, tables, and all the yummy charcuterie your heart desires.

You can never go wrong with the Cali-style Mexican food at Pelon's Baja Grill—be sure to scope out the happy hour deals. For a classy evening, dine at Orion's Rooftop, which boasts an unbeatable ocean view and a refined Asian-fusion menu.

Nothing says vacation like an after-dinner treat. And there's arguably no better dessert than a double scoop of ice cream. With three locations sprinkled throughout the city, a scoop of homemade ice cream from Lolly's Creamery is always within reach. For all kinds of frozen and warm creations, visit Gerald's Ice Cream, where in addition to 30 flavors of fresh-churned ice cream, you'll also find a authentic French pastries like croissants, amaretti, and macarons.

Discover Nearby Virginia Beach Towns

Long ago a peaceful fishing village, Chincoteague Island, Virginia, now has its fair share of visitors, welcoming them with the best local seafood, ample lodging, shopping, and family activities.

On the southern end of Virginia's Eastern Shore, kids are active on the pier with their fishing rods, locals share stories while hanging out at the hardware store, and the whole place looks as if it tucks in for the night not long after the sun goes down.

Lake Anna isn’t technically on the coast, but it is the the second largest lake in Virginia. It is known for its 17 miles of sparkling water and sandy beaches, so the opportunity to play should not pass anyone by.

VIRGINIA BEACH — Offshore wind turbines and the lights on them could be visible from the Virginia Beach Oceanfront, impacting the view of nearly two dozen historic sites, among others.

To mitigate the “adverse visual effects” of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, Dominion Energy will pay Virginia Beach $290,000. The Cape Henry Lighthouse will separately receive $650,000.

The City Council approved a plan Tuesday that will apply the money the city receives to historic preservation projects.

Construction of the Dominion Energy wind farm that begins 27 miles off the coast and extends 15 miles to the east is set to start in May. It will consist of 176 wind turbines with three substations that could generate power for roughly 660,000 homes. Onshore work for transmission of the energy is underway.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management determined the construction, installation, operations, and maintenance of the turbine project has the potential to adversely affect 23 Virginia Beach historic properties and is subject to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, which requires mitigation funding.

“Because the wind turbines and/or the lights on the turbines may be visible on the horizon, it affects the historic viewshed for these properties,” wrote Mark Reed, the city’s historic preservation planner, in an email.

The poles and lights could be visible from 23 sites, most along the Oceanfront, including museums, private homes and hotels.

“These turbines are going to be more than 800 feet tall and will have warning lights so that airplanes and boaters can see them at night,” said Jeremy Slayton, Dominion Energy spokesperson. “Under some circumstances they could be visible from shore.”

The project also will affect sightlines and views in other parts of the city. Dominion recently paid Virginia Beach $19 million for about 4 miles of city easements to transmit energy from offshore. Roughly 38 acres of tree canopy in Virginia Beach will be razed to make way for the power lines. Some of the money will be used to replace trees, according to the city. The company has begun cutting down trees along the easement and is currently digging holes for underground cables at State Military Reservation, south of the resort area.

However, no further mitigation funding from the onshore transmission lines segment will be provided since there are no adverse effects on historic properties, Reed said. The city agreed on $290,000 for the offshore portion based on the projects it will fund, he said.

The $650,000 the Cape Henry Lighthouse will receive may be used for educational programming or a renovation of the Cape Henry Lighthouse Visitor Services Center, Slayton said.

Provisions of the national preservation act don’t require funding to go directly to adversely effected properties, but some will, according to Reed.

“Typically, the funds are provided to promote the public good and public interest in historic preservation,” he said.

A similar situation, but with a much larger amount of mitigation funding, arose in 2017 when Dominion Energy compensated Jamestown, Colonial Williamsburg and Yorktown for the visual disruption from controversial towers and a high-voltage transmission line running across the James River. The mega-power company paid $90 million to reduce the impact of the project on environmental resources and historic sites.

Virginia Beach will apply the funds to several historic preservation projects.

The projects include:

Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, [email protected]

The festival coming to Neptune's Park and the Boardwalk will feature hip-hop and R&B musical acts, along with live DJs.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The wait is almost over for a weekend full of music in Hampton Roads, with organizers announcing the headliners for Audacy's Oceanfront Concerts slated for the last weekend of April.

During a Virginia Beach City Council meeting Tuesday, Audacy's Vice President of Sales Shaun Beauford announced Tee Grizzly and Juicy J as headliners. Although Beauford did not reveal any other artists set to perform, he did say there would be local, regional and national artists.

"We are responsible for growing these artists to known entities. We're cultivating it from the bottom up so that when they have an opportunity to thrive they'll be remembering fondly of their hometown," explained Beauford.

RELATED: Something in the Water could return October 2024, Virginia Beach city councilman confirms

The festival coming to Neptune's Park and the Boardwalk will feature hip-hop and R&B musical acts, along with live DJs. Organizers said it is aimed toward college-aged students.

"This highly anticipated, second annual event is the ultimate celebration of music and the ocean's allure," a release reads.

The three-day musical event is set for April 26-28, which is when Something in the Water typically takes place.

Tickets are not currently available for purchase but are expected to go live soon. Organizers said those planning to attend the event should expect a one-day ticket to cost roughly $50 while a two-day ticket is expected to be less than $100.

Audacy's announcement comes three months after organizers said Something in the Water would not be returning to Virginia Beach this April.

Following a city council work session in December, Councilman Michael Berlucchi confirmed the festival would instead return sometime in October. However, no specific date has been set.

Aquarium officials said the response team determined it would be best to "relocate the whale out of the shorebreak and onto the beach to be monitored overnight."

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A dead humpback whale was discovered along the shore of the Virginia Beach Oceanfront Sunday morning, a rare sighting many beach residents had never seen before.

“I've been here my whole life and I've never seen it up this close.” Giada Cavaliere, a Virginia Beach Resident said.

Witnesses at the beach noticed the whale early Sunday. “I was looking out my balcony and I saw people gathering and I could see a big hump at the edge of the ocean, and I thought oh, somebody's down there saving a whale or something.” Leslyn Johnson said.

The young whale was found beached between 24th and 25th streets. Beachgoers told 13News Now that crews responded at around 10:30 a.m.

It's the 5th whale to wash up in recent years.

Rescue staff from the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center used heavy equipment to move the juvenile humpback whale out of the surf. Aquarium staff say the whale is a male, anywhere from 4-10 years old and is nearly 32 feet long.

Whale washes ashore in Virginia Beach's Oceanfront

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13News Now

Sharif Young, a Chesapeake resident, was heading to the Oceanfront to ride his longboard when he spotted the whale.

"I just see this giant conglomeration of people coming over, so I was like 'What's going on?'" said Young. "I see this little like wavy thing, and I was like 'Is that a whale?' So, I just came on down and there was a whale."

He told 13News Now that he's never seen something like this, calling the situation "really sad."

Aquarium staff say that they're going to perform a necropsy sometime tomorrow to determine a cause of death and once the necessary heavy equipment arrives, officials said the whale will be buried 25-30 feet below the sand.

In the meantime, aquarium officials urge beachgoers to stay a "safe distance" away from the whale and gear at the scene. Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, it is illegal to touch beached whales.

As of March 2024, the average solar panel system costs $2.98/W including installation in Virginia Beach, VA. For a 5 kW installation, this comes out to about $14,914 before incentives, though prices range from $12,677 to $17,151. After the federal tax credit, the average price drops by 30%.

You'll probably pay even less than what we show here. It doesn't include the federal ITC or Virginia Beach, VA state incentives, which will lower this price by at least a few thousand dollars.

It may seem obvious but larger solar panel systems cost more money. We use cost per watt ($/W) so you can easily compare quotes, controlling for slight variations in system size.

While a 5 kW system will only cost you $14,914 in Virginia Beach, VA, doubling the system size effectively doubles the price, so you'll pay about twice that for a 10 kW system. The higher the price tag, though, the more you'll get back as a credit towards your federal tax bill.

Average solar cost by system size in Virginia Beach, VA

Solar panels are worth it in most areas, including Virginia Beach, VA. Certain factors, including the cost of electricity, incentives, climate, and the angle at which the sun hits your roof impact how quickly you break even on your investment relative to other areas around the U.S.

If you pay for your system with cash, you'll save about $32,113 over 20 years on electricity costs with a 5 kW system in Virginia Beach, VA. We generate this estimate based on real solar quote data from our Marketplace. It considers your system's cost, the federal tax credit, and inflation rates.

If you can't shell out $14,914 in cash to pay for solar, don't sweat it. You can choose to finance your system with a loan instead. Some companies even offer $0-down loans so you can start saving on day one if your loan payments are less than your current electric bills. Just keep in mind that your long-term savings will be lower with a loan due to interest rates.

The numbers we're showing are averages. The price you'll pay for solar depends on many factors unique to you and your home:

If you're looking for solar companies in VA, here are some popular suggestions:

Solar is a major purchase, but you can get the price tag to come down a bit by being an educated shopper. Taking advantage of incentives and rebates and shopping around for quotes can bring down your cost of solar in Virginia Beach, VA.

As long as your federal tax bill is high enough, you can take advantage of the federal tax credit in Virginia Beach, VA. This incentive allows you to apply 30% of your solar installation and equipment costs toward your federal tax bill. If the amount exceeds your tax bill, you can roll over the remaining credit to the following year. Many states also offer great local incentives and rebates.

Comparing multiple solar quotes can save you money through competition and transparency. Each additional quote you receive for solar will help you find the right solar panel system at the right price.

This is where EnergySage can help. With funding from the Department of Energy’s SunShot Prize, EnergySage opened the country’s first (and now the largest) marketplace for home solar panel installations. We gather custom solar quotes from local installers on your behalf and put them in an easy-to-compare format. When you compare quotes for solar panels on the EnergySage Marketplace, you can expect to see prices up to 20% lower than if you work with a single solar company.