Norfolk, immediately across the city boundary to the west, is the most obvious day trip and arguably the most rewarding. The downtown Granby Street corridor and the NEON (Norfolk's East Ocean View Neighborhood) arts district have strong restaurant and bar scenes; the Chrysler Museum of Art houses an outstanding collection of glass and American painting out of all proportion to the city's size; and the Norfolk Botanical Garden is one of the best in the mid-Atlantic. Naval Station Norfolk, the largest naval base in the world, offers tours that let civilians see the ships up close. The drive from the boardwalk to downtown Norfolk takes about 25 minutes outside of rush hour.
The Outer Banks of North Carolina begin about 80 miles to the south and are accessible via US Route 168 through Chesapeake or via the free ferry from Currituck on the Virginia side. Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Wright Brothers National Memorial at Kitty Hawk, and the isolated beaches of Hatteras Island make a full day trip worthwhile; Ocracoke Island, reachable by ferry from Hatteras, warrants a longer stay. The drive to the northern Outer Banks takes about an hour from Virginia Beach.
Williamsburg, about 55 miles to the northwest via Interstate 64, is the center of Virginia's Historic Triangle, containing Colonial Williamsburg (a living history museum in a meticulously restored 18th-century town), Jamestown Settlement (where the story that began with the First Landing at Virginia Beach reaches its next chapter), and Busch Gardens Williamsburg, a European-themed amusement park that regularly ranks among the most scenic in the country. The three sites can be combined into a long day, though Colonial Williamsburg alone merits a full visit.