Interstate 64 — Wentzville, MO to Chesapeake, VA

Hampton Inn Williamsburg

718 Bypass Rd, Williamsburg, VA 23185 · $$

Williamsburg is the ultimate road trip stopover — Colonial Williamsburg, Busch Gardens, and Water Country USA all within fifteen minutes of this hotel. If you're taking I-64 from I-81 toward I-95, you pass right through here. Spending a day in Williamsburg breaks up the drive and gives the kids something epic before the Florida push. Pool, breakfast, and a location that puts you right between history and roller coasters.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg

1 Busch Gardens Blvd, Williamsburg, VA 23185 · $$$

Consistently rated America's most beautiful theme park, and the roller coasters are world-class. The European village theming means you walk from 'England' to 'France' to 'Germany' while eating bratwurst and riding coasters named after Greek and Norse mythology. If your family is doing a multi-day road trip and can fit a theme park day before Florida, Busch Gardens is the one. It's right off I-64 and way less crowded than anything in Orlando.

Virginia Air & Space Science Center - Hampton

600 Settlers Landing Rd, Hampton, VA 23669 · $$

NASA Langley's visitor center with real spacecraft, flight simulators, and an IMAX theater. Hampton Roads is where I-64 hits the coast, and this museum sits right on the harbor. Your kids fly simulators, see a real Apollo command module, and watch an IMAX about space. If you're heading down I-64 toward the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel and toward the Outer Banks or Norfolk, this is the stop. Cheaper and less crowded than Kennedy Space Center.

Virginia Living Museum - Newport News

524 J Clyde Morris Blvd, Newport News, VA 23601 · $$

Part zoo, part aquarium, part planetarium, all Virginia. The outdoor boardwalk takes you past native animals — foxes, bobcats, otters — in habitats along the James River. The indoor aquarium has Chesapeake Bay species and a touch tank where your kids can hold a horseshoe crab and make that face that says 'I'm brave but also this is gross.' Right off I-64 in Newport News. A solid two-hour stop that covers science, nature, and enough animal encounters to drain some back-seat energy.

Colonial Williamsburg

101 Visitor Center Dr, Williamsburg, VA 23185 · $$$

An entire colonial town where everyone is dressed like it's 1776 and they stay in character even when your kid asks if they have WiFi. The blacksmith, the tavern, the Capitol building — it's an immersive history experience that works surprisingly well with kids, especially if they're the 'I like swords' type. Williamsburg is right on I-64 between Richmond and Virginia Beach. Budget a full day if you go. It's also near Busch Gardens if you want to pair history with roller coasters.

West Virginia State Museum

1900 Kanawha Blvd E, Charleston, WV 25305 · $

Free admission, right in the state capitol complex in Charleston. The museum covers everything from coal mining to the Civil War split that created West Virginia in the first place — your kids learn that West Virginia is a separate state because it didn't want to secede from the Union, which is either the most American thing ever or the most confusing. Quick stop if you're passing through Charleston on I-64.

The Homestead Resort - Hot Springs

7696 Sam Snead Hwy, Hot Springs, VA 24445 · $$$

Hot Springs, Virginia has natural thermal pools that people have been soaking in since George Washington's day. The Homestead Resort is fancy — the 'this is not our usual speed' kind of fancy — but the Jefferson Pools are open to day visitors and the experience of floating in a 98-degree natural spring in the Virginia mountains will make you briefly reconsider your entire lifestyle. About thirty minutes off I-64. A splurge stop for the right family.