When you think of Virginia Beach you probably think of sun, fun, and fresh seafood. And you’d be right. It’s the vacation trifecta. But did you know that Virginia Beach actually has three beaches all with a totally different vibe? Each beach area is tastier than the next so be sure to plan ahead and not miss a thing.
Virginia Beach is lucky to be located on the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean coasts and surrounded by over 8,000 acres of farmland. This combination guarantees fresh seafood and abundant produce which makes this one tasty destination.
3 Beaches One Great Destination
Virginia Beach features three different beaches. One is sure to be a match for what you’re looking for in a vacation spot.
Resort Beach is probably the most familiar beach. The three-mile boardwalk has it all with many choices of restaurants, entertainment, nightlife, events, shopping, and all the nostalgia for which it’s famous. Take a selfie with King Neptune, build a sandcastle on the beach, grab an ice cream, and hit the shops. You are guaranteed a full day of fun at Resort Beach.
Sandbridge Beach is between the Atlantic Ocean and Back Bay Wildlife Refuge, just minutes from the Resort Beach area. There are plenty of houses available to rent for families that love the adventure of exploring the beaches, paddle boarding, and enjoying nature. You can even kayak through the beautiful Back Bay National Refuge. If you’re a fan of farm fresh produce, head off to nearby Pungo. There you’ll have 16 You-Pick Farms to explore and enjoy.
Be sure to check out Chesapeake Bay Beach if you’re looking for peace and tranquility. Just north of Resort Beach, it’s a water lovers’ paradise. Simply watching the sunrise and sunset gives you spectacular entertainment. You’ll also find those wonderful off-the-beaten-track spots for a cold drink and some freshly caught seafood. Visit craft breweries, dockside restaurants, and bars and hang with the locals in this fun and tasty paradise.
Seafood
Don’t miss the oyster-farm boat tour on Lynnhaven River at Pleasure House Oysters. Found only in Virginia Beach, these world-famous oysters are being revived by local Chris Ludford and his family. You will not only taste these wonderfully delicious oysters but you’ll also learn about their business model, which is “based on a three-legged stool of conservation, restoration, and aquaculture.” There’s a tasting tour and a working tour for a real hands-on oyster farming experience. Along with the oysters, Virginia Beach is known for its sumptuous soft-shell crab. They’re serving it up in unique and delicious ways including the ridiculously indulgent one-of-a-kind Bloody Blue Mary. Check out this short video on how Bay Local Eatery works with food vendors to create its tasty and memorable local menu.
If you really like fresh seafood and you love to fish, you’ll flip for the “Catch & Cook” program that lets you spend a day on one of the many charter boats then bring back your catch and have it prepared as you like at one of the participating restaurants. Virginia Beach is known for the rockfish, but you’ll also find other delicious fish like tuna, cobia, and many more.
Another well-loved seafood treat is the crab boil. Simple yet delicious, the Virginia Beach version features delicious local blue crabs that you really shouldn’t miss. Get your hammer out, start cracking, and get eating at this fun and stress-relieving experience.
Sweets & Treats
If you have a sweet tooth you’re in luck! There are plenty of sweet treats you’ll want to try in Virginia Beach. Ice cream, doughnuts, and homemade chocolates have to be stops on your tour through town. Crazy Good Donuts and Ice Cream, with specialties like strawberry cheesecake donut sundaes, might just rush to the top of the list. Dough Joes has all the classic favorites plus house favorites like apple pie filling, black Forest, peanut butter cup, snickers, and even a Twinkie-style donut.
Schakolad Chocolate Factory offers handmade European-style chocolate all freshly made on the premises. And if you’re really in the mode for chocolate decadence, The Royal Chocolate shop has a chocolate fondue served with your choice of dipping treats – fresh fruits, pretzels, and pound cake. Sounds like a chocolate lover’s heaven, doesn’t it?
Craft beer is found everywhere these days and Virginia Beach is no exception. They have 10 amazing local craft breweries to explore and Virginia Beach even offers brewery tours of the area. If you like chilling with brews and chews, you can spend a weekend tasting all the different brewers. Many have live music, food, or food trucks so you can sit back, relax and try them all.
If you love markets you won’t want to miss the Old Beach Farmers Market. There’s simply no better place to see all the fresh local fruits, vegetables, seafood, flowers, eggs, coffee, and handmade products. You won’t get any more authentic local dishes than talking with the vendors and learning all about Virginia Beach through them.
Virginia Beach Is For Food Travelers
Perfectly suited for food travelers, Virginia Beach is a desirable destination with deliciously fresh seafood, juicy produce, tasty craft beer, and lots of local dining options. Whether you crave a simple picnic on the beach or an elegant white tablecloth restaurant you’ll find what you’re looking for and much, much more. Add Virginia Beach to the top of your list for beautiful beaches, savory seafood, awesome activities, and a fun and vibrant local dining scene.
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For more information on Virginia Beach check out their website VisitVirginiaBeach.com.
QUICK BITE: Visit Virginia Beach a waterfront destination for fresh local seafood, locally grown produce, and a vibrant food scene.
This post was sponsored by Visit Virginia Beach.
76 Comments
Glad you like it! Fall is the perfect time for apple cider donuts. Now you’ve got me hankering for them 😉
Loved this post! I never knew that Virginia Beach was such a foodie destination! I’ve always been a fan of soft shell crab, so that Soft Shell Bloody, the Bloody Blue sounds right up my alley. I’ve always enjoyed my bloodies mixed with Clamato so the seafood aspect sounds natural. I’ve had donuts on the brain this week for sure, but it’s apple cider donuts i’m hankerin for right now!
Looks fantastic! OMG the seafood just looks delicious!! I had that experience in a restaurant in Singapore. It was great. But I think having in a beach will be even better!
I don’t have much of a sweet tooth but those bacon covered donuts seem like a must try. I’ve passed through VA a few times but I’ve never made my way to VA Beach.
I really need to get to Virginia Beach. I love a good beach vacation!
Looks like a great underrated destination. All I saw was donuts and seafood and instantly feel in love!
Hey Sue!
I knew Virginia Beach was a great spot to enjoy with family, friends and be connected with nature, but I didn’t expect that it would a food paradise too!
Great tips, specially the seafood and the chocolate factory, everything that I love!
Cheers
Nat
Sounds like the place to spend some quality time with some of my favorite ingredients: beach and seafood.
Sandbridge Beach sounds like my kind of beach 🙂 I can’t believe how many u-pick farms are in the area! It sounds like you can eat really fresh in Virginia Beach between the farms and the fresh seafood.
As a Virginia Beach local, my favorite beaches are on the Chesapeake Bay and in Sandbridge. The craft beer scene has exploded recently – much to the delight of my husband 🙂
I’m a huge fan of seafood so adding this one to my list for sure. I’ve been thinking about Virginia Beach for my next trip, this post just confirmed it, thanks for sharing this idea for a perfect getaway!
Would love to spend some time with the Chef and the catch program! I need to spend some time in that area.
I love seafood so Virginia beach sounds like my version of heaven! This would be a great area to explore next time i’m in the USA!
I have been a couple of times, but clearly I need to venture around a bit more. Looks like some real good eating!
Thanks for the introduction and a lovely angle tying up beach and seafood ~ Now I miss a nice, relaxing time by the beach! @ knycx.journeying
Virginia Beach looks like a lovely spot for a beach holiday. The food looks delicious I love learning about destinations I’ve never heard of before!
The crab photo is perfect! The expression on his face was pure happiness! Being by the beach and having seafood has to be a perfect combination.
I had never thought of Virginia Beach as a food destination. I was wrong! We love finding the best local donuts anywhere we go and will definitely add these donut shops to our list of places to try and I am sure my husband will want to try the beer!
I had no idea there was so much to Virginia Beach – I love the concept of Catch & Cook – what a fun take on the seafood experience! I think we would really enjoy Chesapeake Bay Beach – more into the peace and tranquility when we head to the beach 🙂
What a great foodie destination! I love the idea of kayaking at Sandbridge beach then spending the afternoon leisurely sipping and tasing my way through the local produce
Love the sounds of the Catch and Cook program. Sounds like my ideal day!
Amazing food options. The seafood and all those fresh fruit look divine!
Wow. So many food related things to do and wonderful tastes. I’ve done a fishing trip and had crab cooked on the dock but having a restaurant do it for us would take things to another level entirely.
We were in Virginia Beach in 2008. Sure would like to return and try these places to eat!
Oh, gosh, those peaches! They look so tasty. And so does teh seafood, even if I’m quite fussy about it. Would love to visit and sample everything.
Sounds like a lot of fun. The seafood on the coast there is amazing. Our family home is in Virginia and we always enjoyed traveling to the coast and looking for the “perfect” seafood restaurant. It had to be impeccably fresh and we were never disappointed. I imagine it is only better now with farm to market and foodie culture reaching a naturally blessed area.
10 local craft beer places? That sounds like an absolute dream! Virginia Beach sounds like a fun place to explore!
I’ve only been to Virginia Beach once and I surely didn’t run into all these great foods! One of my favorite things is a crab boil. We do them in Oregon too, all the time. It doesn’t get any better than that.
All the seafood looks simply scrumptious. Didn’t realize it was such a foodie destination. You had me at crab boil…indeed many great reasons to homage to Virginia beach. Love your pictures!!
Awesome post! I spent a few summers down in Virginia Beach when my godmother lived there, and I definitelyyyy remember days spent grilling freshly caught seafood (eight year old me was obsessed with flounder!).
I’d probably hangout around Chesapeake Bay Beach mostly because I studied it so much in college, so it’d feel wrong not to!
I love a good bloody mary, and I bet a bloody blue mary would be even better given my addiction to seafood! Need to get back to the east coast soon 🙂
That catch and cook program sounds like such a good idea- I wanted to do that in PEI, Canada this summer but they weren’t doing it on the day we happened to be in the area.
Looks like you found wonderful foods from every group on the Pyramid!
I would love to plan a trip out there! As a fellow foodie, you pushed my hot buttons! Yummy place!
Virginia Beach looks like my kind of place. Lots of good food and drink and beaches too! I have to get myself there!
I knew nothing about Virginia Beach so I love to learn, and learn I did.
LOL! Yes you do Charles. 😀
Hi Noel! It’s a wonderful destination. Thanks for stopping by.
It’s a terrific mix of beautiful destination, things to do and great food. Thanks for stopping by Kallsy!
Glad we could introduce you two! Thanks for stopping by Melissa. 😀
Indeed! They have it all.
Hi Shiloh! Virginia Beach would be a great place for any one to explore. Thanks for stopping by.
Why choose? Try them all. Thanks for stopping by Julie 😀
LOL! Thanks for stopping by Adelina.
Thanks Supriya!
Hi Veronika! We love seafood too. Thanks for stopping by.
We love the idea of the “catch & cook” program too. Hope you get a chance to visit Virginia Beach soon Lara.
Not much as far as I’m concerned Megan! Have a great time on your trip.
Hi Sia! Yes Virginia Beach is loaded with great sights and great food. Thanks for stopping by.
Thanks so much Marilyn!
LOL! Not to worry you’ll find plenty of tasty goodies in Virginia Beach!
You won’t regret it Anita. Thanks for stopping by.
Sounds like you’d find a lot to do there Julie! Thanks for stopping by.
You would really enjoy it! Thanks for stopping by.
I like how you put those two great things together Jan! Hope you make it to Virginia Beach sooner than later!
Ok, here’s why I know about Virginia Beach: the Rock and Roll Half Marathon. It comes up on my radar every year but now that I know there’s some great food (love the pic of the donuts!), I would more seriously consider it. It would be my reward for running!
Thanks for bringing Virginia Beach to our attention. The mid-Atlantic coast is one area that we have somehow missed in our travels. Hope we can fix that soon.
The Virginia Beach boardwalk is fun, but Sandbridge Beach sounds like my kind of laid back vibe. Lynnhaven is definitely on my must visit list for oysters. Since the Virginia Oyster Trail opened it’s been fun exploring the different regions and comparing flavors.
Oh they all looks like amazing places. I will be putting all of these on my bucket list!
It sounds like all the 3 beaches would appeal to me but if I have to choose one, it’s probably going to be Sandbridge Beach. What is more important now however is where else can I find Strawberry cheesecake donut sundaes? Sounds delicious!
Another great reason (rather three great reasons!) to visit Virginia Beach!! Awesome photos too!
The oyster tour sounds really interesting and it is great that it could be found only there. I have a huge sweet tooth so the homemade chocolates caught my attention. The beaches look like a great destination for a weekend getaway or summer vacation.
Hi Sara! Thanks for the recommendation of the Leaping Lizard. We’ll check it out next time we’re in Virginia Beach.
These look like some great foodie places. Have you been to the Leaping Lizard? Seriously, you need to go there when you are in Virginia Beach.
Beaches, brews and good food. What else do you need? Would love to have a chance to try out some of the seafood. Planning a trip to the east coast in the spring and might have to make it down to Virginia Beach.
I used to spend time in Virginia Beach as a kid and we loved catching the blue shell crab. I’d like to go back and visit. I think the “Catch & Cook” program would be fun. Thanks for sharing!
Having fresh seafood is always great. I am adding Virginia beach to my list.
Donuts, ice cream, chocolate, beer – I’m drooling!
Thanks for this handy resource on Virginia. I’m sure to check back whenever we visit 🙂
Supriya
You had me at oysters and seafood. That crab boil looks divine.
I mostly travel to sample the food, and it sounds like V.B. is right up there when it comes to variety and local specialities. I mostly associate this part of the country with the crab boil on a picnic table, but I’d happily supplement all that seafood with donuts and beer!
This is such a neat way to find a match for what I want to see and do when I visit Virginia Beach. For those of us so far away, this makes it feel do-able. Thanks for the yummy food recommendations too.
Seafood, beer and sweets, all combined with a beach? Sounds like the perfect destination indeed!
What a cool place! I’d never heard of Virginia Beach before reading your post but I would love to go. You had me at good food and three beaches haha! <3
Sandbridge Beach definitely sounds like it would be my favorite! I love doing outdoor activities and kayaking is always so appealing. Looks like the food in the area is also amazing. 🙂
This would be a fun area to do a road trip and explore and eat your way through the region and I love those seafood boils…yummy!
You have seen more of Virginia Beach than I have. I gotta get down there.