Andre from Cville Travel was AWESOME. He was extremely knowledgeable and professional. My husband…read moreand I had very different ideas about how and where we want to spend our honeymoon. During our initial call, Andre really listened to what we both wanted to and suggested locations that we would have never considered. He was extremely responsive and put together a quote and itinerary for us within 24 hours. The day before our wedding, he personally came to meet us and hand delivered the travel vouchers. We had such a great time and will definitely book through him again.

From the owner: What is Cville Travel you ask? Cville Travel is a new exclusive travel agency part of Cruise…read morePlanners American Express Travel. Cruise Planners / American Express is an award winning agency that has achieved top producer status with all major Cruise Lines. Cruise Planners has a tremendous reputation for quality, service, and very competitive pricing. Due to our high sales volume, our buying power enables us to offer you the opportunity to cruise in style at the lowest prices available while still receiving the best service in the cruise business. As an American Express Travel Representative, we have access to the largest inventory in the travel industry making us able to offer you exclusive benefits at the most competitive price. Hotel, Cruises, Tours, Airfare.......... We have it all! If you are an American Express cardholder, we have great news for you! We have access to the Fine Hotels and Resorts program where you will receive benefits such as complimentary upgrades, guaranteed

Kai was a great, lively guide! Kai did a great job! The caves themselves are beautiful.read more

Really enjoyed it. Had a great guide, Luke. Nice history of a 200-year-old oldest in the country…read more They hold events there still, we can concerts. Large rooms, easy to see all the formations in the walkways are easy to pass through. Quite a few steps for those who are challenged to do physical walking but otherwise it's pretty cool. Been to quite a few caverns and this was one of the better ones and a lot to see.

Unfortunately due to the rain our ride was cut short. BUT the characters still put on a show for us…read moreand made their way around interacting with the passengers and sharing a lot of historical information. If you're looking for a unique scenic experience in Virginia this is a great one to experience. There are limited themed rides so check in often and book upon interest. I look forward to getting a full experience on my next ride!

Did the beginner's caving tour and it was great! Around 2 hours. I think all of the crawls/routes…read morehad options to skip, if you end up getting inside and feeling like it's too much for you. The tour guides, Evan and Kaylee, were amazing guides! Anna at the front desk was awesome on the phone and in person. They also had a great mini golf course outside. Highly recommend this place. I was also able to put a go pro with a helmet strap on the caving helmet and use it.

If you've toured the Grand Caverns walking tour and find yourself peering into the dark recesses of…read morethe cavern, the Fountain Cave adventure tour is a must on your next visit. Visiting on a day when temperatures were only forecast to reach a high of 42F, it was pleasantly warm inside Fountain Cave and did not require bundling up for most people. Long sleeves, long pants, and boots, are required due to the terrain you "may" cover in addition to keeping the [damaging] oils from your skin off the cave features. Helmets, mounted lighting, gloves and knee pads are provided and were all in good condition. The floor of the 1800s walkway is mostly dry but moist areas are present throughout the tour and can be very slippery; following the instructions provided by the tour guides (three points of contact) will ensure everyone stays upright in these areas. Dana and Ashelynn were our guides for a group of 7 and always took point and rear to ensure everyone was safe and accounted for. Dana took the prominent role in discussing the history, and geology, of Fountain Cave and was a very engaging guide. While Fountain Cave is not as large as Grand Caverns, getting to tour this cave by headlamp and put yourself INTO the exhibit is truly an awesome experience. The bonus comes in the form of the Adventure "opportunities" that run near or parallel to the original 1800s pathway; for those not able or interested in taking the Adventure routes, you simply stay on the 1800s walkway and meet up with the rest of the group a small distance down the path. There are a few instances on the tour where a break is taken in total darkness. The first is a short ways into the tour and is designed to show you the amount of light that can be picked up from the entrance way after your eyes are given time to adjust. The second sets the stage to show how the cave would have been illuminated by a small candle. Note: please be respectful of the other guests if taking photos in these black-out moments; lowering your camera to the lowest brightness setting and staying back from the group prevents ruining the experience for others. IMO, the only way to make the Fountain Cave tour better is to increase the length of time spent within. Just like the Grand Caverns tour, I still found myself peering into the areas off the guided tour path wondering...is there more to this cave that hasn't been discovered yet.

What a great place!…read more April, who operates the mill, knows her craft and is happy to share it. Our tour of the mill was brief, but April was more than willing to answer our questions and go into any level of detail about the building, milling grain, etc. We purchased several items while there and would gladly go back.

I really love this spot. The grounds are beautiful and the mill is very charming. I've purchased…read moremany of their mixes and they are truly delicious! The owner kindly showed us around and her hospitality was appreciated.

This palace is absolutely STUNNING. It's such a shame it's fallen into such disrepair. Each room…read morehad its own unique feel, and the artwork and detail was breathtaking. The best part by far was the stained glass window. The gardens were probably once beautiful but it's been decaying so much over the years that all you see are just sad remnants. WARNING: if you have severe asthma, do NOT visit. My father has moderate asthma and was only able to stay inside for about fifteen minutes before his throat started to close up due to the must. The place itself smells musty- not a BAD or rotten smell but just old. There's a feeling of immense love and sadness in the house and it's imperative that you learn the rich history of the house to truly appreciate it. The inside of the palace is only only open to the public on certain days of the year and not all the rooms are open. I was very satisfied with what rooms were open.

Taking a drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway or Skyline Drive? I suggested taking a slight detour on…read moreAfton Mountain to travel back in time to 1912 with a visit to Swannanoa Palace, a white marble mansion that was a bit of an albatross for James and Sally May Dooley. While the Maymont Estate in Richmond is a much more expansive visitor experience today, this hidden gem, modeled after the Villa de Medici in Rome, is certainly worth a stop, either on one of their open house weekends ($6 fee) or just to see in person from the outside. The real belle of the ball is inside - the 4,000 piece Tiffany stained glass window of Mrs. Dooley, which is a backdrop to the grand central staircase and artistic domed ceiling. There are plenty of interesting fireplaces, doorways and tower views. You will certainly notice the musty presence of mold throughout the building with various walls and ceilings falling apart. The grounds include some terraced gardens and somewhat restricted views of the surrounding area. It is a shame the interior of the building is in such a state of disrepair and the property hasn't been kept up, as it could be an amazing special event space. Still, people apparently elect to have weddings there, even though there is no running water and everything would have to be brought in. There is a no trespassing sign on the front door, so the inside is only accessible on one of the special open house days. The grounds are easy to walk around and being on top of the mountain it has a nice temperature, at least 5-10 degrees below of Charlottesville. Visiting should certainly be a part of any UVA student's bucket list, much like watching the sunrise/sunset from the peak of the quick Humpback Rocks hike.

When Tony and I went to Appomattox Court House State Park we visited the Isbelle House with my…read moredaughter Noel and her boyfriend Adam and believe me the day outside was GORGEOUS!!! The home has a lot of historical value. It is actually called the The Bocock-Isbell House but on the signs at the park it is just listed as Isbelle House. I found more about it on the internet after I left the park. The Bocock-Isbell House is a structure within the Appomattox Court House National Historical Park. It was registered in the National Park Service's database of Official Structures on June 26, 1989. The Bocock-Isbell House has major importance to the Appomattox Court House National Historical Park by virtue of its association with the history and the site of General Robert E. Lee's surrender to General Ulysses S. Grant of the American Civil War. This information is shared from what I learned on the internet about the homes historical value. It was constructed in 1849 to 1850 by brothers, Thomas S. Bocock and Henry F. Bocock. Thomas was a member of the United States Congress and Speaker of the Confederate House of Representatives. At the time Henry was Clerk of the Court for Appomattox County. Lewis Daniel Isbell (1818-1889) was Appomattox County Commonwealth Attorney during the American Civil War (Judge later) and occupied the house at the time General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant in 1865. He was Appomattox County's representative to the Secession Convention of 1861 and voted to secede from the Union. The Bocock-Isbell House has importance because of its distinctive characteristics of a type, period, and method of construction during the nineteenth century in rural Virginia. The building with its resources associated with the Bocock-Isbell House are typical of both a county government seat ("court house") in Piedmont Virginia in the mid-nineteenth century and of a farming community in Virginia. The Bocock-Isbell House was restored in 1948 to 1949 and preserved in 1992 to 1993. Work was done on it again to stabilize it in 1995 and again it was preserved in 1999. FREE TO ENJOY AND TO TOUR

In April, Rob Orrison spent 6 hours taking me on an in depth tour of Manassas battlefield (1 and 2)…read moreand it was an experience I will not soon forget. He is a historian by profession and he brought the fields alive to me in terms of understanding the strategies behind the battles and how they progressed punctuated by seminal events at various locations on the fields. I highly recommend this tour agency.

In my America 250 series, I learned the Rotunda I visited in August 2019 was built in 1826, the…read more50th anniversary of the US. I thought this was a cool building with a lot of great history, cool views, on a beautiful UVA campus. I highly recommend a visit to the Rotunda.

Repeater... the grounds on the UVA Campus are amazing…read more Walking around the grounds, I was impressed at how clean, how natural, and how tranquil the fields were. I was certainly thinking of hyping this campus to my freshman niece. While I was there for a course I took notice of how folks congregated on the lawn, and the various lawn chairs, but the grounds provided both open and covered areas for study and social gatherings. The Rotunda itself is a beautiful centerpiece surrounded by pillars and paths floored by brick. Gardens everywhere. There's a small statue dedicated to the first president of the United States. It is centrally located, with academic buildings on one side, and mix of commercial buildings (food, snacks, banks, bookstores, UVA gear... ), it's all there. If you're a student you have quick access to everything. It's very convenient. Very impressed.