Someone online suggested visiting Jamestown first, followed by Colonial Williamsburg and Yorktown. In doing so, the historical events would be in chronological order, giving visitors a better understanding of how it all connected. I highly recommend visiting sites in that order. Jamestown Settlement is a reenactment of Historical Jamestown, the actual site. In the former, we found people in period costumes participating in period activities. They cheerfully shared explanations and insight into what life was like back in 1607. Most intriguing, albeit a little loud, was the musket firing demonstration. My favorite activity, however, was leaf scraping. I was invited to try it, so with a half clam shell in hand, it was humbling to learn it was not as easy to scrape down to the leaf's fibers as I thought. But the types of items that were created from those fibers certainly were impressive.

There are really two parts to Jamestown; the Jamestown Settlement which is a living history museum and the actual site of Jamestown, or Historic Jamestowne. Both are very much worth seeing. I recommend visiting the Jamestown Settlement first to get a better understanding of the history of Jamestown. The museum and film are excellent. There is also an outdoor living history museum with a recreated James Fort and Powhattan Village, along with the recreated 3 ships the settlers and sailors came over on; the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery. The costumed interpreters are wonderful and really help to provide visitors with an understanding of the day-to-day life of the peoples who lived in this area. Children and adults will really enjoy walking through the fort and Powhattan village, as well as going aboard the Susan Constant to explore the ship. We spent a half-day between the indoor museum and the outdoor living history museum and could have easily stayed longer if it were not for our visit to Historic Jamestowne down the road. Very educational and very well done!

One of the best museums I have ever visited. The inside experience is educational and fun, though the marvelous shorts depict an America that we sometimes forget, with plenty of abuse by the people in power. The Museum is complemented by outside exhibits, such as the three ships (Rebuilt) that originally arrived at this port and a native village reconstruction. It's a wonderful experience and will need a full day to be appreciated and visited properly.

Jamestown settlement is a re-creation of the settlement as well as replicas of the ships that brought the original settlers to America. If exhibitions or museums are your thing, they have a wonderful display based on a time line of history. Beginning with the Native American culture, the arrival of the English to Jamestown and further into the history of the development of Virginia and its influence on the forming of the United States. Note: this different than History Jamestown which is site of the original fort.

I am not a history buff. Nor do I do well in museums where all you do is read plaques. Jamestown did an amazing job with the living history. Made it interesting enough to keep my attention. The reenactors were very knowledgeable and informative.

There are very organized outdoor and indoor exhibits. Each exhibit has someone dressed in the attire from the past to explain the history—a must-see for the history buffs.

We thoroughly enjoyed exploring here. A lot of education. My kids enjoyed it as well. It is definitely worth a visit when you are in the area!

This museum was much more interesting than expected. The interior portion of the museum is chronologically laid out from 1607 through 1700. It has numerous interactive exhibits, displays, and menus. It effectively describes the Native American, English and African-American cultures that made up Jamestown. The museum also shows how all three cultures intermingled and helped each other as well as the inevitable conflict that arose. The best part of this museum is the Outdoor Living Museum! there is a Native American camp that is occupied by historical reenactors that describe and show you how Native Americans lived during that time. There is also a replica of the original English Fort that is also occupied by numerous historical reenactors. The best part of the outdoor museum (IMO) are the fullsize replica ships that brought John Smith and the English Settlers to Virginia. As of this writing, the largest ship (Susan Constant) is currently in Connecticut for the next two years for overhaul. Overall, this museum was much better than I anticipated! Be sure to go on a nice day because if it’s raining and/or lightning, the museum will shut down the outside exhibits.

Very good and learned a lot. The Museum Gallery was culturally appropriate and told the story of Jamestown through the lens of the people that were already there, the people that wanted to be there and the people forced to be there.

Great museum of the 1st English settlement in America. There is a lot of walking and reading but many interpreters in period costume to add to the experience. They were all friendly and informative. The indoor museum was very good. Many artifacts and a good film to start. If history is your thing then you can easily spend a morning in here alone. The outside portion has a recreated native american village and a recreated fort. This is not the original site. That is a short drive away and a seperate fee. Both were interesting with interpreters to answer questions. Really brought history to life. They also have demonstrations throughout the day. There are three replicular ships of the originals that you can go on to see what it was like. They actually sail them sometimes so they are real ships. They seem very small to spend 5 months on. We couldn't go on the largest, the Susan Constant, as they were prepping her to sail to Mystic, CT, for refit and refurbishment. She will be gone for several years. Fascinating to see how early colonists could survive in the new world. Plan to spend the day at this museum to get the most out of it. Water and sit down breaks will make it more enjoyable. Even in June it was hot. but there are shady places to sit and recharge.

The cost was extremely high considering the other historic sites in the area. The indoor chronological museum was very good indeed.

This was return to Jamestown but after 20+ years it was a new experience as they are uncovering more remains of the original settlement. You must pay for National Park entrance (or use your senior pass) along with a $15 fee to the private group that manages much of the land. Total time at the site was less than an hour including the glass house.

One of the stops on our US History Tour was the Jamestown Settlement. This is an educational and activity site, featuring full-size replicas of the three ships that arrived in 1607, and a replica of the fort. I was quite surprised how small the ships were, and marvelled that people were brave enough to set out across the seas in such small ships. Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in the New World. There is a nice visitors center and museum with exhibits and information about the settlers, the hardships they dealt with, and the Native Americans who already lived in the area. We enjoyed our time there. It was a good supplement to the things we saw and did when we went to Historic Jamestowne a number of years ago, the actual site of the community.

We toured the recreated fort, Powhatan village and ships as part of the Historic Triangle package that’s available through Colonial Williamsburg. The introductory film, museum/gallery displays, and interactions with the interpreters are excellent. This is a great experience especially when combined with a visit to the nearby national park at the actual site of the Jamestown settlement.

Family of six, ages 6 to 70, spent a half day here on our own. This is a historic site done right, with good displays, signage clear, everything done with the visitor in mind. A well made film in the Visitor Center sets up what you are going to see. The paid guide/re-enactors were well informed and eager to share their knowledge of life in 1620. Highlight was climbing aboard replicas of 2 of the 3 boats that sailed here and wandering around. The day we were there was packed with kids on field trips but the park funneled and managed them very well. Highly recommended. Worth maybe 3 hours or so total.