Williamsburg, Virginia

Colonial Williamsburg is 301 acres of restored and reconstructed eighteenth-century town, staffed by people who will stay in character while you ask them about the price of nails. It is the largest living history museum in the country and it works exceptionally well for groups. A charter bus to Williamsburg is also the practical choice, because the sites worth seeing are spread across three separate towns.

The Historic Triangle is three destinations, not one

Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown sit within about twenty miles of each other and together tell one continuous story: the first permanent English settlement, the colonial capital, and the siege that ended the Revolution. Most groups that come for Williamsburg alone end up wishing they had planned for all three.

• Colonial Williamsburg: Duke of Gloucester Street, the Governor's Palace, the Capitol, and the trade shops where blacksmiths, coopers and printers work with period tools. A full day on its own.
• Jamestown Settlement: a re-created fort, a Powhatan village and full-scale replicas of the three ships that arrived in 1607. Half a day, and the strongest stop for younger students.
• Historic Jamestowne: the actual archaeological site, separate from the settlement museum and often confused with it. Book the right one.
• Yorktown Battlefield and the American Revolution Museum: where Cornwallis surrendered in 1781, with earthworks you can walk.

The routing detail that catches coaches out

The Colonial Parkway is the scenic road linking the three sites, and it carries restrictions on commercial traffic. A charter operator needs to know that before the day rather than at the entrance, and the alternative routes on Route 60 and the Colonial Parkway's parallel roads add time to the schedule.

Ask your operator directly how they intend to route between Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown. It is a fair question, the answer takes ten seconds, and it separates operators who have run the Triangle from those who have looked at a map.

Buying tickets, and the mistake groups make

Colonial Williamsburg's streets are free to walk. Admission buys entry to the exhibition buildings, the trade shops and the programs, which is the actual content. A group that arrives without tickets can wander a pretty street and see very little of what it came for.

Group rates exist and must be arranged in advance. Combination tickets covering Jamestown Settlement and the Yorktown museum are the better value if you are doing more than one site, and they need booking ahead too.

Which charter bus suits a Williamsburg trip

• Forty to fifty-six: a full-size charter bus is the standard school-group vehicle, with designated coach parking at the visitor center and the Jamestown and Yorktown sites.
• Twenty to thirty-two: a mini bus suits a smaller class or a senior group and moves more easily between the three towns.
• Twenty-eight to sixty: a school bus is economical for Virginia districts within about two hours.
• Ten to fourteen: a sprinter van works for a family reunion or a small historical society.

Williamsburg is one of the busiest school destinations on the east coast every spring, and our school trip transportation quotes include the insurance certificates and driver documentation districts require.