Our Top 6 Places to Take the Kids in Virginia Beach, VA

~ Life at the Beach | Personal ~

We moved to Virginia Beach at the tail end of fall and there wasn’t very many outdoor activities to do with a toddler. But – we found a few really awesome places that you can visit pretty much year round and have a really great time! These are places that we visit often, we purchased MEMBERSHIPS (admission) to some of these places, some places are free, or just pay parking. I would say these places are great for kids of all ages.

6 | Hunt Club Farm – Virginia Beach, VA
This farm has so many animals to get up close with. Pony rides, petting zoo, aviary to feed the birds, a hands on experience in the chicken coop, and more! Arielle loved getting to hold and pet the chickens and feeding the goats. They also do events such as an Easter egg hunt, Harvest Market, Halloween Haunts, and Santa & Smores. If you or your kids want a hands-on and personal experience with animals, this place is the best place to go.

This place does charge admission and is open seasonally from March to December 10AM – 5PM.

5 | The Children’s Museum – Portsmouth, VA
This museum is great for kids and young teens, with a Bubble Room, Train Depot, Planetarium, and even a room where books are alive and you can play with things from your favorite kids books like Chika Chika Boom Boom and so much more. Arielle loved the Magic Tree House show inside the planetarium, the bubble room and the trains the most. We love this place and plan on purchasing a membership soon.

This museum does charge admission and you may have to pay for parking.

4 | Jerrassic Metal Dinosaur Park – Virginia Beach, VA
It is located right next to the Aviation Museum. The Dinos you see there are all made out of Airplane scrap metal! Our Land Before Time loving kiddo loves going to see Spike, Chomper, Peatree, Little Foot, Ducky & Cera and all the other dinosaurs there. We haven’t been to the Aviation Museum yet, but plan to take Arielle this fall or winter when our outdoor activity options start to dwindle again. The Dino park is open 24/7. We usually spend about an hour or two there running around looking at all the Dinos pretending the Dinos are alive and we are adventurers.

This park is FREE!

3 | The Oceanfront – Virginia Beach, VA

Down on the Oceanfront you can find tons of touristy things to do, shopping, carnivals, henna, dining, and entertainment. The wonderful thing about Virginia Beach is besides just the beach, there is tons to do down at the oceanfront that you can do. They have multiple playgrounds for kids, including an all abilities jungle gym at Ruddee’s Inlet, a carnival on the boardwalk, places to eat, shopping, a haunted house, mirror maze, arcade, ice cream, and mini golf!

The Beach and playgrounds are free aside from parking and are usually open 24/7.

2 | The Virginia Aquarium – Virginia Beach, VA

Oh, how we LOVE going to the Aquarium. This is a multiple times a month stop for us, luckily we bought a MEMBERSHIP here! We know so many of the sea animals names and always learn something new when we go. You can touch Stingrays, Hermit Crabs, Whelks, and more. Sometimes we stay longer than others. Sometimes we are just there for the rays and the sharks. Other times she wants to walk the entire thing and stop at every exhibit. They currently have their second building under construction, but when it opens will have a larger jelly fish exhibit, otters, reptiles and more! You can also get married here and have touch tank as part of your wedding experience! The VA Aquarium is on my preferred vendors list. Make sure when you go to say “Hi” to Russel the crow! They host tons of events and even offer sensory friendly time slots for toddlers.

They are open year round except certain holidays. They do charge admission and have metered parking. However if you have a membership, you have free admission and free parking.

1 | The Virginia Zoo – Norfolk, VA

We love the Zoo here! The Zoo is Arielle’s favorite place to be! They actually are going through renovations right now as well. However they just reopened the new boardwalk for the Asia Tiger Trail and they are currently making room for some new animals to call the zoo home. Arielle loves Christopher the Tiger, the Moon Bear she named Baloo, Ansel the Lion, Ruthie the Cow, Lucy & Ricky the Pigs, and Shady the crocodile. We come here multiple times a month….sometimes even multiple times in a week. We luckily got a membership here also! During the summer they have a splash pad and Arielle sometimes only wants to play in the fountains or at all the multiple play spots throughout the zoo.

Parking is free however they do charge admission. However, again, memberships grant you free admission every visit.