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Hey guys I'm heading to Virginia Beach here in less than two weeks and I have never been there before so do you have any suggestions of where to go or do, sites to see etc. Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

If you're looking for a good bar scene, try another city! Kidding, Virginia Beach/Norfolk has a few nice gay bars/clubs, and one skanky dirty hole-of-a-bar that most regular guys hang in - the Garage. From your profile, I'm guessing you'd feel comfrotable there on a Friday or Saturday night, or Sunday afternoon T. It's on Granby Street in Norfolk, near downtown, right next to Fusion Ink tatoos. From there you can roam south on Granby and find some other non-gay bars, sports bars, and good restaurants. I lived in Norfolk and prefered it to Virginia Beach - I'm just not a suburban kind of guy.

Other favorite places to go:
1. Oceanfront. Although it is like any other beach city, the oceanfront has a lot of great beach, and the water is pretty warm. When at the oceanfront, be sure to see the Neptune sculpture on Atlantic Ave. at 31st street it is awesome!

2. The botanical garden, near the airport on Azalea Garden Drive is a great place to spend a few hours. Only weird thing is being in such a serene setting and hearing jets take off every few minutes. ($$)

3. At the base of the 2 tallest buildings in Virginia Beach, they call it "downtown" although it was created to be a metro-type area rather than organically being the downtown of the city. It's a very walkable area with lots of shopping and restaurants.

4. If you like seafood, you're in for a treat - some of the best I've eaten anywhere. Of course, I haven't traveled that much...

Good luck and have a great time!

hey thanks for the suggestions and I'm actually staying beach front, love to be close to the water - Thanks again!

You could also go to the Wave, Thursdays are 80s nights and Saturdays are gay, but both are basically the gay nights. Ambush also has drag nights sometime during the week.

There is Busch Gardens in Williamsburg if you feel like driving there.

I like the Wave for late-night drunk-and-I-wanna-dance on Saturday night. Other than that, I was always very aware of my age there - definitely a 20's/30's crowd. And Thursdays were more pronounced. 20-somethings wearing all those "crazy getups" from back in the day - too much for me. Especially when you get to see them "in costume" and suddenly remember that you actually wore the same thing - IN the 80's. But the music was always enjoyable.

They also have a restaurant that has a steak night special on Fridays. They get a good crowd, and it's a great inexpensive meal. The crowd during Friday dinner or Sunday brunch is a little wider-range in age and the Friday bartender - Ann Marie - makes the best martinis! Ever! If you go and see her, tell her Jan said hi from Ohio.

As someone who has lived in VB most of his life and is currently scoping out "better" places to live, I will try to not come across too cynical.

The beach - spend most of your time here. It is a decent beach - clean, wide, warm water, nice boardwalk (cement, actually), etc. If you like to rollerblade, the boardwalk is the place to do it. Above 40-somethingth street is the "north end" where the beach is less crowded and doesn't have a boardwalk or lifeguards; there are some cute houses in this area that are nice to bike around (be careful though, VB is not very bike friendly).
Head down towards Rudee Inlet to check out the surfers (or take surf lessons). The local surfers all have the same bumper sticker "Virginia has no waves", so don't expect much of a show, but there is some eye candy, haha.
There is a bike path to the side of the boardwalk but it is tiny and crowded with "family bikes" that take up the whole lane and go slower than most of the people that are walking on the boardwalk. If you want to bike for exercise or to get anywhere, use the trolley lanes along Atlantic.
There are plenty of places with live music along the boardwalk. Most of it is free for a good reason.
If you like touristy crap there is plenty to choose from at the oceanfront - ferris wheels, old timey photos, haunted houses, and the like. Hey, if that's what floats your boat, enjoy!

First Landing State Park - if you like the outdoors, definitely check out this park. Hiking, trail running, cycling, kayaking all through beautiful scenery (wetlands, bald cypress, hawks, fiddler crabs, spanish moss, turtles, etc.). There is an entrance on 64th street that you could probably jog or bike to from your hotel.

Restaurants – don’t exist. Okay, I’m vegetarian, so I probably won’t be too much help, but here goes: eat(or at least get drinks) at a couple of the places on the boardwalk (hey, you’re at the beach, you might as well). If you like seafood, you will probably have good luck. Some of the pricier places are Mahi Mah’s (sushi, but I haven’t tried it), Catch 31 (at the Hilton), and Tautog’s. My favorite place to get a drink and listen to a local (cover) band is Casper’s (look for the paper lanterns). Oh, get the spanakopita at the Little Feet cafe. Go to the Jewish Mother for some incredible desserts (or an adult milkshake, yummy) and listen to live music (mostly rasta). Another pricey place (not on the beach, but nearby) is Croc’s – they are a “green” restaurant (meaning they use buzzwords, haha, no really they are pretty cool and I’m told they have incredible crabcakes).
There are some restaurants at Hilltop (No Frill is one of my favorites) that are worth checking out.

Shopping – doesn’t exist. No really, it doesn’t. Sorry, VB residents and tourists buy cheap, imported, beach-themed crap (present company excluded, of course). If you are down during the Neptune Festival, you may be able to buy some good artwork or something.

Bars – don’t exist. Okay, we have a few, and the guys above noted the Garage and the Wave (both in Norfolk, nearby). Ambush is in VB. I can’t stand the smoke, so I rarely go to the gay bars (they are all very smoky). But, my recommendation for bars is the Rainbow Cactus (in VB). It has a good mix of guys and gals, different races, drag shows and dancing, and it is split in half (pop/drag on one side, country on the other).

Norfolk –has more to offer for bars, restaurants, shopping, nightlife, etc. If you are into navy stuff, check out Nauticus and some big grey boat that’s parked next to it. If you are into plants, check out the Botanical Garden. If there is a festival at Waterside, it might be worth visiting. If you like live music, check out who’s at the Norva (smoke-free!!!). If you like independent films, check out what’s playing at the Naro.

jc_online said3. At the base of the 2 tallest buildings in Virginia Beach, they call it "downtown" although it was created to be a metro-type area rather than organically being the downtown of the city. It's a very walkable area with lots of shopping and restaurants.

AaaaHahahaha! Jan, you are too kind to our "town center". It is a couple years old and amounts to about 6 blocks of national chains (Ruths Chris, Macaroni Grill, PF Changs, etc.). It's worth giggling at as you drive to Norfolk for a "real" downtown.

Is the Rainbow Cactus on Holland Rd. still open? It's close to my sister's place where I stay when I'm visiting. I had gone once a couple years ago, waited in a long line, but didn't stay very long, as the smoke was suffocating.

Jogger is right about the beaches. Unfortunately, there's no real "pretty people" section. The tourist parts along the boardwalk are a LOT of families, but there is some occasional eye candy. My friends used to go far north to 87th street (our HS year--cheesy).

1969er saidIs the Rainbow Cactus on Holland Rd. still open? It's close to my sister's place where I stay when I'm visiting. I had gone once a couple years ago, waited in a long line, but didn't stay very long, as the smoke was suffocating.

Jogger is right about the beaches. Unfortunately, there's no real "pretty people" section. The tourist parts along the boardwalk are a LOT of families, but there is some occasional eye candy. My friends used to go far north to 87th street (our HS year--cheesy).

Yep, still open, and still smoky.

There is a non-smoking bar in Norfolk (not gay) called Sevens that I enjoyed going to for dancing once. It had really good drinks too. I think that may be the only non-smoking bar in Hampton Roads.

VB is a big family destination, so yes there is not a lot of eye candy. However, the Hilton has brought in a number of younger folks, so I've noticed less families and more buff bodies around 31st st.

Is it still a crime to curse in Virgina Beach?

Here's a place in Virginia Beach for your consideration:

The Christian Broadcasting Network (aka 700 Club HQ)
977 Centerville Turnpike
Virginia Beach, VA 23463

Auryn saidIs it still a crime to curse in Virgina Beach?

Fuck yeah.

wow thanks for all the suggestions!! I really appreciate especially since I have never been so you have definitely given me some things to add to my "to do list" while I am there