The Perfect Girls Weekend Destination

Ready for a break, mama? We all know it’s hard to get away from your daily routine and leave your kids and husband for a weekend. But guess what? You don’t know how bad you need it until you DO IT! Last October, we took a weekend, just us girls, to get away from the everyday grind. Williamsburg, VA was a perfect destination for a girls weekend and you have to know why! 

This post may contain affiliate links. We may receive a small commission when you purchase products or services using these links at NO extra cost to you. We ONLY recommend products we believe in and use ourselves.

Planning a girls trip is HARD because everyone is so busy and there are so many schedules that have to line up perfectly.

Our group of friends is pretty good at working around each other and we managed to get 12 of us on the trip!  We managed to find the best dates for all of us and then decided to head up to Williamsburg, Virginia. This was the absolute best location for our FIRST girls weekend, and it just might be the perfect spot for your squad, too!

Here are a few things we LOVED about Williamsburg, VA for a girl’s weekend destination:

1.) Perfect Driving Distance

Ok, this is only true if you generally live a couple hours away from Williamsburg, VA.

Most of us are located in North Carolina (Charlotte, Raleigh) while Karey is in Northern Virginia and I live in Florida. It was the longest trip for me but Williamsburg was EASY to get to for everyone. Karey drove in and I flew to Kaitlin’s house in Raleigh.

The other girls met us in Raleigh and we all road tripped in the ‘burb a couple hours to Virginia. And you know how a road trip goes with a car full of girls…SNACKS, loud music (Spice Girls, anyone?), and funny stories. Sometimes just being in the same space as “your people” is good for the soul. Let’s not forget the fun pictures that we took at EVERY stop. 

2.) Busch Gardens

Day One, we left Kaitlin’s house early-ish in the morning and drove straight to Busch Gardens.

Kaitlin managed to get some discounted tickets and went on a Friday so it wasn’t *as* crowded.

Listen, if you’ve never been to an amusement park with just your girlfriends, you don’t know what you’re missing! We laughed SO MUCH, caught up with each other while waiting for the rides, and took a million pictures that we’ll cherish forever. You would’ve thought we were the only ones in the park!

After riding roller coasters all day, we finally sat down to enjoy some food and beer in the park. It was *so much* fun. We were there during the Halloween festival so as we were leaving, we were chased by chainsaws and people on stilts… it made for an extra funny walk back to the car.

3.) Adorable Farmhouse

By the time we left Busch Gardens and got out to our AirBNB in Gloucester Courthouse, VA… it was DARK.

Walking in the house, I had no idea what we were getting into. Luckily our adorable farmhouse tucked right on the Ware River was an ideal location. There was a front porch with tons of seating for all of us- this is where we spent the mornings sipping coffee and and the evenings drinking wine. We had enough bedrooms for each of us to have a roommate for the weekend and everything was so cozy.

In the Williamsburg area, there are TONS of sweet SUPER AFFORDABLE locations just like this. If you’re willing to drive out of the hustle and bustle, we totally recommend it! And if you want the deets on our house, let us know!

4.) Ware River

We weren’t looking for a location near water but we are so glad we had a view!

It was a short walk to the waterfront, where we had access to a pier (and paddle boats, etc if we wanted it). After we finished our porch coffee, we all trekked down to the water just to look out and admire the water. We talked, prayed, and  soaked in the sunrise. There is something so peaceful and serene about gazing out at the water and we certainly took advantage of it. If you have the chance, definitely get a place that is near the water so you can get the full experience of relaxation. 

5.) Spa Day

After a day at an amusement park, we knew we would be ready for a long morning of lounging in our robes at the spa.

We set up appointments several weeks in advance at the Williamsburg Inn & Spa. All of our treatments were at different times so we were able to take full advantage of the hot tubs, sitting area, and snacks while waiting for our treatment. We TOTALLY recommend a full spa day (booked well in advance) BUT I can’t say all of us would give the Williamsburg Inn & Spa five stars… the facial and body treatments were great! The massages… not so much! 

After our treatments, we showered and all got ready together at the spa. It felt like we were getting ready for game day at App State all over again. Just like “back in the day”, we shared mirrors, makeup, straighteners and tons of laughs while we were getting ready. We took advantage of every second of time we had together and even “getting ready” was a total highlight! 

6.) Wine Tour

Now, time for the good stuff! Jenny (our personal wine expert) booked us a wine tour at the Williamsburg Winery.

We loved taking a tour of the winery and down in the cellars where they make and store the wine. We learned a lot about the wine and process they use to create wine from the grapes they grow right on the property. At the end, we got to taste ALL the wine.

The winery was a great place to be accommodated as a larger group and the tasting was a lot of fun. There is also a cute rooftop bar you can hang out at and look out over the vineyard and the vines left a great opportunity for a photo shoot! 

7.) Incredible Weather

Living in Boone, we LOVE FALL weather and we totally had to have it on this trip.

The weather was a perfect mix of overcast and chilly, which turned out to be perfect (you know, cute fall outfit weather!). The trees were turning and there were so many opportunities for pictures in the golden leaves. Williamsburg in the fall is SO GORGEOUS.

8.) FOOD!

Ok, honestly we were so busy, we did NOT eat enough this weekend.

By the time we finished some snacks at the spa and finished drinking ALL the wine at the winery, we were FAMISHED! We made reservations at Lulu Birds Kitchen (in Glouchester near our house) and they were SO good to us. The ambiance is pretty romantic actually but was perfect for all our gal pals.

We ordered just about every appetizer on the menu because we were all seriously starving and Jenny picked our first bottle of wine. We all ordered different entrees so we could get a taste of everything on the menu and let me tell you… EVERY single thing we had was INCREDIBLE! If you’re in the general vicinity, you’ve got to make the drive to this adorable, delicious restaurant.

We had tons of recommendations from our friends on Instagram of great restaurants in the area and I wish we would have made it to more of them. Lulu Birds was surprisingly the only restaurant we went to besides hitting Bojangles on the way home to fix ALL THE THINGS. 

Most importantly, it was a break from reality. 

Before we left, everyone asked “Why Williamsburg?”

We chose Williamsburg because as a group, we hadn’t explored it together and it’s in the country just enough that we felt we had escaped reality. We could have gone anywhere and had a fabulous time but there’s something about being out of the hustle and bustle of the city and in a quiet, serene location that made it easier to disconnect.

The best part of our trip was the last evening when we were on the porch with our red juice and instead of hearing cars drive by, you could hear the frogs and the fireflies. That night, we talked, we cried, and we prayed together right out on the porch of our little farmhouse under the stars. We “rekindled” the reason we are all friends in the first place because now, we’re not just a bunch of girls who cheered together and graduated college. We’re wives, moms, lawyers, counselors, teachers, physical therapists… and we simply aren’t the same people we used to be.

This trip was nothing short of amazing. Even if you don’t have a big group of girls like we do, heading on a weekend get away with your best gal pal or your mom is good for the soul. Williamsburg was the most magical location and facilitated all of our needs perfectly. Would I do the SAME thing all over again? Heck YES I would (except this time, we’d eat more!).

We cannot wait to plan our girls trip for this year. Where should we go?!