The primary air gateway is Norfolk International Airport (ORF), located about 25 miles northwest of the oceanfront — roughly 25 to 30 minutes by car in normal traffic, longer on summer weekend afternoons when the resort area fills up. Norfolk handles a solid range of domestic routes including nonstop flights from most major East Coast hubs and several Midwestern cities; it is a significantly smaller and more manageable airport than Washington Dulles or Reagan National. Rental cars are available at the airport, and taxis and rideshares run to the beach without difficulty.
Amtrak serves Norfolk's NORF station on the Northeast Regional and Carolinian routes, with connections to Richmond, Washington DC, and New York to the north and Raleigh to the south. Norfolk is not Virginia Beach — the two cities are adjacent and connected by a network of tunnels and bridges, but the Amtrak station is in Norfolk and requires a taxi, rideshare, or bus connection to reach the beach area, adding roughly 30 to 45 minutes depending on traffic and mode.
By car, Interstate 64 is the main corridor from the west, connecting Virginia Beach through Norfolk to Richmond (about 100 miles), Washington DC (about 200 miles), and the broader interstate system. The Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel and Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel cross the James River estuary and can back up significantly during peak periods. From the Outer Banks of North Carolina to the south, US Route 158 and US Route 60 are the main approaches; the trip from Nags Head takes about an hour in light traffic. Traffic on summer weekends can make driving times meaningfully longer than at other times.