This was our family's first trip to Sun Outdoors Virginia. We originally booked an 8-night stay but…read moredecided to leave a day early because we had run out of things to do.
The campground is in a fairly secluded location, so entertainment options are limited, especially on hot days. Cape Charles is about 15 minutes away and is a quaint, charming town with a few boutiques and three ice cream shops. Many of the shops and restaurants have limited hours, and the dining options tend to be more upscale than family-friendly, which made it a little harder to find meals that appealed to our younger kids.
Virginia Beach is about an hour away if you're looking for more activities, but keep in mind you'll pay about $15 each way to cross the bridge-tunnel, adding roughly $30 in tolls to every round trip.
The campground itself is very large. Our kids loved the pools, although they close at 8:00 p.m. The jumping pillows were also a big hit, but they have very little shade, making them difficult to enjoy during the hottest part of the day. They also close at 8:00 p.m.
The private beach is a nice feature. Since it's on the bay, the water is shallow and calm with no waves, making it great for younger children. However, the beach could benefit from more regular grooming. There was quite a bit of debris in the sand, and daily raking like many public beaches do would make a noticeable improvement.
One concern we had was the lack of rule enforcement. Staff members were frequently driving around in golf carts, but we rarely saw them addressing unsafe behavior. There were many clearly underage kids driving golf carts and riding around at high speeds with little regard for pedestrians or cyclists. My husband was nearly hit by an intoxicated golf cart driver while riding his bike, and my son was knocked completely off his bike by a child on a motor scooter. We also witnessed a group of young girls parked beside the pool fence openly smoking marijuana. While I don't expect an overly strict campground, a greater focus on safety would have made us feel much more comfortable.
Our campsite was clean, level, and well maintained. One thing we found odd was that there were no fire rings. It appeared they may have been removed, which led many campers to create their own fire pits directly on their sites. That didn't seem like the safest solution. Depending on your site's location, mosquitoes and other bugs can also be quite bad, particularly near taller grass or standing water.
The multiple dog parks were a nice amenity. However, one of the waste bag stations remained empty until our sixth day, and many owners apparently didn't bring their own bags. As a result, there was quite a bit of dog waste left throughout the park. We also noticed several people leaving their dogs unattended inside the dog parks while they returned to their campsites.
The on-site café was convenient and offered a good option for grabbing a meal without having to cook, especially during the hottest part of the day.
Overall, we enjoyed our stay at Sun Outdoors Virginia, and I would still recommend it to others, particularly families with younger children looking for a relaxing camping trip. For our family, though, we found ourselves getting bored after about five days due to the limited nearby attractions. If we return to the area, we'd likely choose a campground closer to Virginia Beach where there are more activities to keep the kids entertained.