We booked a custom private tour with Trish and had a great time. She has a ton of historical…read moreknowledge on everything from Thomas Jefferson's experience at William & Mary to how different bricks were made in the Colonial era. If you want something more in depth than the standard Colonial Williamsburg script, this is it!

Thoroughly enjoyed our walking tour. We learned so much. This was an efficient way for us to visit…read moreWilliamsburg and learn by a local expert who obviously loves Williamsburg, loves history and loves to educate. Highly recommend.

Truly enjoyed our ghost walk with Jeff last evening. Jeff…read morewas extremely knowledgeable about Yorktown history and he did a great job telling the group about the paranormal activity and the tales of ghosts in the area. We were engaged from beginning to end. His voice was loud and clear, so it didn't matter if you were at the back or front of the group. An awesome host! I would definitely recommend this tour.

Make sure you bring bug spray and water. It was a good and informative tour. I'm a skeptic and was…read moreonly in it for the history, but still got enough out of the tour that it seemed worth it.

It was only this year (2024), did I realize that Williamsburg has a haunted river cruise. It…read moredeparts at the James City County Marina, which I also did not know existed. It's a one hour haunted river tour on a clean 28 passenger pontoon boat, which has a bathroom on board. Our tour guide (Carter?) was a great storyteller, which is crucial when it comes to haunted tours. He brought the macabre stories back to life & his humor added to my enjoyment, without being cheesy or overly peppy. It was a nice hour on the James River while we listened to ghostly & historical tales (many I had not heard). While it was not scary (honestly, what haunted tours ever are?) , it was very entertaining & peaceful and rather nice to cruise the river at night. It was great that they tastefully decorate the boat, setting the tone & mood for a hauntingly good evening! While you are not permitted to take video of the tour itself, you are encouraged to take as many photos as you wish. I would say that this is one of the best ghost tours I've been on in a long time. Also the only haunted tour I ever experienced on a boat, which was cool! Meet at the marina 15 minutes prior to the tour, they will have a sign. There is a bathroom at or near the Billsburg Brewery which is directly across from the marina. Parking can be challenging if there's an event at the brewery. Tours can be canceled due to inclement weather or not enough participants.

It was fantastic! The story teller was one of the best we've ever heard, thanks Theo! Love the…read morelighting and decor too!

We booked a late morning private cruise for the Colonial Heritage Garden Club, and all 26 of us had…read morea wonderful time! Captain Corey took us behind Jamestown Island where we saw several great blue herons, ospreys, ducks, eagles, and other wild life. We highly recommend this fun and relaxing adventure.

The sunset cruise was wonderful Captain Cory was funny and…read moreknowledgeable Great views of the settlement and James River We will definitely be going on another cruise

Great sunset tour on the James River! Our party of 10 friends had a really enjoyable sunset tour…read morewith Captain Corey and William this past week. The boat is clean with comfortable seat cushions and pop-up tables in each row for drinks and snacks, which you may bring on board. We enjoyed the wine and baked goods we brought with us. The ride is mostly pretty smooth since the boat is a pontoon boat. We had a short period of time with some rocking while watching the sun set, but it didn't last long. Captain Corey's commentary about the James River and Jamestown Island was fun and interesting. We saw wildlife such as eagles and great blue herons. When the boat was out on the James River, we saw the Jamestown-Surry Ferry. We then went close to the recreated ships at Jamestown Settlement. The sunset on the James is spectacular. Though we had some clouds, it was still lovely. As the sun sets, they play music, which adds to your enjoyment. The tour lasted an hour. I highly recommend for a couple, a family, and a group of friends!

This was just the funnest experience! The pier where the boost was docked was just lovely. The…read moreguide for the trip was friendly and funny and the scenic hour went too fast. We had a wonderful boat load of people and it helped that the guide engaged us all on several occasions, giving us the opportunity to get to know one another. We would definitely do it again.

Very cool historic site that has much more to offer than I was able to enjoy in a day. I'm not a…read morehuge historian, but it was quite remarkable to see the part of the country that has been preserved and restored to match the original colonies. We got to see a barrel being made, a cannon being fired (dry fired), a court session, and lots of buildings and other historical items. The person I was with has been here a few times and said they have options to stay on site and also there are several very good places to eat. Would be a great place for the family or yourself if you want a piece of Americas history.

Colonial Williamsburg should be so much easier to visit than it is…read more We visited as a family and were really looking forward to the experience, but left disappointed largely because the wayfinding is so poor. The printed map is surprisingly difficult to use, directional signage is inadequate, and it is often unnecessarily hard to work out where you are and how to get to the next attraction or program. And it wasn't just us. I lost count of how many visitors we saw standing staring at maps, apparently trying to figure out where to go next. This was especially frustrating because someone in our party has limited mobility following recent surgery. Walking several hundred yards in the wrong direction isn't just an inconvenience in that situation. In 2026, a major attraction covering an area this large should have proper smartphone navigation. You should be able to select "Governor's Palace," a particular program, restaurant, restroom, or bus stop and get GPS walking directions from your current location, along with distance, accessibility information, and estimated walking time. Better physical directional signs are badly needed as well. There is so much history here and clearly an enormous amount of work goes into preserving and interpreting it. The problem is finding it. Colonial Williamsburg could be a wonderful visitor experience. Unfortunately, today we spent far too much time trying to figure out where we were and where we were supposed to go. This is a very fixable problem, and I hope they fix it.

Highly recommend BWT! Everything about our Yorktown Tour experience was exceptional. Booking was…read moresimple, logistical communications were prompt and clear. Bambi picked us up at Williamsburg Inn, asked about our preferences and then filled the day with interesting historical references and stories. She used a voice amplifier to ensure all passengers could hear clearly along the route and offered us snacks and drinks. Bambi was very knowledgeable about all topics and complimentary of the interpreters from the sites we visited. She provided detail accounts on all aspects of the time from land formation, battles, troop movements and daily life. Her passion, breadth and depth of knowledge made for a very educational and enjoyable day. We highly recommend BWT!

Colonial Williamsburg is the perfect place to relive history. Don't worry about what time of year…read moreyou go ... there will always be plenty of people there to share your stay with! The docents in their historic garb doing things we don't do anymore will absolutely blow you away! Don't wait ... go now!

Let's bring this one up to the current:…read more Since my last drivel about the CW Brickyard a lot has changed. First and foremost is their location. Until two years ago they were preverbally down in the hole off of Nicholson Street over by the Cabinetmaker. Now, they are off of Botetourt Street next to the Carpenter (who has only been there a few years from when they got moved due to the closing of Great Hopes Plantation). Why the visit and what's the big deal? It's all about the kiln baby. Why is it worth seeing? Because you simply cannot see bricks fired this way in this country anywhere else except here at this time. Normally once a year, in certain years they have done it twice and at different times but this is normally the pattern, in mid-November they fire up the kiln that they spent approximately five weeks building to solidify the bricks which were made from late-spring to early-autumn. This year, depending on which person you talk to, they're firing around 18-19K. A few thousand will be used at The Magazine for part of a new outer wall they'll do next year (The Magazine is currently closed until '25 for archeology/renovation work), most will be used for the rebuilding of the First Baptist Church - www.colonialwilliamsburg.org/learn/research-and-education/archaeology/first-baptist-church/. Fwiw, if you got the dough, the bricks can flow. Part of the total are 800 for a private individual that is doing an outdoor hearth. Pricing is $5.25 per brick (faint). Also neat is that while all of the CW trades close for the day at 5pm, a random one or two at 4:30pm, during the kiln firing the brickyard stays open until 10pm. Yes, at 10 they very politely ask you to leave and yes, several staff members from different trades stay out all night long for the five days it takes the process to unfold. The staff that work here are arguably the best CW has to offer. Whether it's answering the same question for the millionth time or answering a very technical question from someone who knows something about bricks, they handle it professionally and some with a good sense of smart-ass humor. The rest of the year the brickyard open Wednesday-Sunday from 9am-5pm but if you can swing it, usually, the second week of November for a visit, it will be worth your time. (They also once every so often fire up the oyster shells they have on the property which are then used as mortar for in between the bricks once they're melted down. One of the guys said it was coming "soon" but I forgot to ask when "soon" is.)