Old Dominion and Norfolk State in 2 Days: A Norfolk, Virginia College Trip
A parent-first plan for seeing Old Dominion University and Norfolk State University in two days: how each tour works, where to park, three hotels from budget to upscale, drive times around Norfolk, sibling stops and seasonal weather, every fact sourced and checked Oct 29, 2026.
Kaufman Mall and the Webb University Center at Old Dominion University, Norfolk (Jul 2015). Photo: Cmett003 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized and cropped
Last checked Oct 29, 2026. Every fact comes from the pages listed in Sources at the bottom. Some hotel and tour links are affiliate links (disclosure).
The short version
Trip at a glance
Schools
Old Dominion University (Norfolk, VA) · Norfolk State University (Norfolk, VA)
Days
2 days: ODU on day 1 and Norfolk State on day 2. The campuses are only about 10 minutes apart by car, so you could do both in one long day.
Fly into
Norfolk International Airport (ORF), about 14 minutes from ODU and about 12 minutes from Norfolk State with no traffic.
Best base
SpringHill Suites by Marriott Norfolk Old Dominion University, about a 7-minute walk from ODU's visitor garage and about 10 minutes by car from Norfolk State.
Car or transit
Rent a car: Norfolk State needs a visitor pass to park, and the sibling stops are spread around the city.
Registration
Book an ODU campus tour and a Norfolk State campus tour, each on the school's own registration page.
1. Who this guide is for
This plan is for parents with a high schooler, and maybe younger siblings, who want to see two public universities in the same city: Old Dominion University, on the waterfront in Norfolk, and Norfolk State University, a 134-acre campus near downtown.
ODU tour guests park in the 49th Street Stadium Garage or Visitor Lot 7 and check in at the Webb Student Center across the street. Norfolk State's campus is decal controlled, so visitors need a pass from the Office of Parking Services.
Why this order
Day 1: ODU runs undergraduate campus tours that you book online, and it also offers tours and events led by Spanish-speaking students and staff.
Day 2: Norfolk State's campus tour is an hour-long walking tour of academic buildings and student facilities with an NSU student ambassador, and staff answer questions afterward.
Plan ahead: registration and timing
ODU: tour sizes are limited, so book early. Parking registration details arrive by email the day before your tour.
ODU waives the application fee for Open House guests and for students who come on a daily undergraduate campus tour; the fee waiver is provided during your visit.
Norfolk State: registration is required for guided tours. Walk-ins are offered a self-guided tour instead.
Norfolk State's Visit Incentive Grant totals $4,000 ($1,000 a year) for students who visit in person before they complete their application; check the visit page for which terms qualify.
Tour availability varies by season.
ODU holds Open House events through the year, and they can fill up. If one is full, ODU suggests booking a daily campus tour instead. Check the Open House page for dates.
Groups: ODU has a group tour option for 10 or more attendees, and Norfolk State has a separate group visit registration.
2. The suggested 2-day drive
Drive times are no-traffic estimates from OpenStreetMap routing, and walking times use OpenStreetMap foot routing, with addresses geocoded by OpenStreetMap Nominatim. Drive times to ODU are to the 49th Street Stadium Garage, and to Norfolk State are to 700 Park Avenue.
Arrival: fly into Norfolk and check in near ODU
Norfolk International Airport (ORF) → SpringHill Suites Norfolk Old Dominion University
Driving (no traffic)
~14 min, 7.3 mi
Driving and walking
Rental car
Hilton Norfolk The Main downtown is about 15 minutes from ORF, and the Hampton Inn Norfolk-Naval Base is about 16 minutes away with no traffic.
Day 1: Old Dominion University, then the Virginia Zoo or the Chrysler Museum
SpringHill Suites → Virginia Zoo (3500 Granby St.)
Driving (no traffic)
~6 min, 1.8 mi
Driving and walking
Drive
SpringHill Suites → Chrysler Museum of Art (One Memorial Place)
Driving (no traffic)
~8 min, 2.5 mi
Driving and walking
Drive
Avoid metered and reserved spaces in the garage and lot, then walk across the street to check in at the Webb Student Center.
ODU's Coastal Virginia page puts Virginia Beach about 30 minutes and 25 miles away if you want an evening at the oceanfront.
Day 2: Norfolk State University, then downtown and fly home
SpringHill Suites → Norfolk State University (700 Park Ave.)
Driving (no traffic)
~10 min, 4.4 mi
Driving and walking
Drive
Norfolk State University → Nauticus (1 Waterside Dr.)
Driving (no traffic)
~7 min, 2.1 mi
Driving and walking
Drive
Norfolk State University → Norfolk International Airport (ORF)
Driving (no traffic)
~12 min, 6.1 mi
Driving and walking
Drive
Norfolk State's directions: from I-264 West, take exit 11B (Brambleton Avenue / VA-166/VA-168), then turn right onto Park Avenue.
Norfolk State is only about 12 minutes from ORF with no traffic, so it works as a last stop before an afternoon flight. Allow extra time for the rental car return.
3. Campus by campus
Kaufman Mall and the Webb University Center at Old Dominion University, Norfolk (Jul 2015). Photo: Cmett003 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized and cropped
The tour is an hour-long walk around campus with an NSU student ambassador, and staff are available afterward for questions.
Registration is required for guided tours; walk-ins are offered a self-guided campus tour. A virtual tour is also available.
Visitor parking
Norfolk State is a decal-controlled campus with parking rules enforced 24/7, so every parked car needs a decal or a visitor's pass from the Office of Parking Services.
The Office of Parking Services is open Monday to Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., and you need a valid driver's license for a visitor's pass. With a pass, visitors can park in any Open Parking or Commuter Student area.
Visitor spaces next to Wilson Hall are for up to 30 minutes of business in that building and don't need a pass.
Getting there
700 Park Avenue is about 10 minutes by car from the SpringHill Suites, about 5 minutes from Hilton Norfolk The Main and about 12 minutes from ORF with no traffic.
What to know
Ask the tour office where to pick up your visitor's pass when you register, since the campus is enforced around the clock.
Contact
Norfolk State tours: tour@nsu.edu or (757) 823-8673.
Last checked Oct 29, 2026. Tour and admissions details change often, so confirm them on the school's official visit page before you go.
4. Where to stay: two nights by ODU or downtown Norfolk
Price tiers (Budget, Mid-range, Upscale) follow each hotel's star class on Expedia. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
Hotel · Our pickMid-range
SpringHill Suites by Marriott Norfolk Old Dominion University
4500 Hampton Blvd., Norfolk, VA 23508
Why here
Next to ODU, about a 7-minute walk from the visitor garage, and about 10 minutes by car from Norfolk State with no traffic. ODU's lodging page lists it 0.3 miles from campus.
Expedia lists this hotel as a 3-star property, so we place it in the Mid-range tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
Good to know
Expedia lists a free breakfast buffet and an indoor pool. Confirm details on the Expedia listing before you book.
Downtown on the waterfront, about a 4-minute walk from Nauticus, about 5 minutes by car from Norfolk State and about 9 minutes from ODU with no traffic.
Expedia lists this hotel as a 4-star property, so we place it in the Upscale tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
Good to know
Expedia lists a rooftop terrace, an indoor pool and three restaurants. Confirm details on the Expedia listing before you book.
Stay both nights by ODU so you can walk to day 1's tour; Norfolk State, the zoo and downtown are each about 10 minutes or less by car. Prefer downtown? The Hilton puts you a short walk from Nauticus and about 5 minutes from Norfolk State.
5. Meals between tours
Hours change, so check before you go.
Around ODU and Hampton Boulevard
The SpringHill Suites and the Hampton Inn both include breakfast, per their Expedia listings, which makes an early ODU check-in easier.
Downtown Norfolk
Hilton Norfolk The Main has three restaurants on site, per its Expedia listing, and it's a short walk from the waterfront and Nauticus.
6. Things for siblings along the route
With siblings
Nauticus & the Battleship Wisconsin
1 Waterside Dr., Norfolk, VA 23510
About 7 minutes by car from Norfolk State. This waterfront maritime discovery center includes the Battleship Wisconsin, one of the largest and last battleships the U.S. Navy built. It's closed Mondays.
About 8 minutes by car from the SpringHill Suites. Admission and parking are always free, and its glass studio runs free glassmaking demos at noon Tuesday through Sunday. The museum is closed Mondays.
At ODU, use the 49th Street Stadium Garage or Visitor Lot 7 and watch for the parking email the day before your tour.
At Norfolk State, get a visitor's pass from the Office of Parking Services (weekdays, 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and bring a driver's license; unpermitted cars can be ticketed, booted or towed.
Flying in and out
ORF is about 14 minutes from ODU's hotel area, about 15 minutes from downtown and about 12 minutes from Norfolk State with no traffic.
Weather by season (1991–2020 NOAA normals: Norfolk International Airport)
Spring: April averages about 70°F highs and 50°F lows, with about 3.4 inches of rain.
Summer: July averages about 89°F/73°F, with about 6.1 inches of rain.
Fall: October averages about 72°F/55°F, with about 3.9 inches of rain.
Winter: January averages about 51°F/34°F, with about 3.4 inches of rain and about 3 inches of snow.
Parent checklist
Book an ODU campus tour, and watch for the parking email the day before.
Register for a Norfolk State campus tour, and plan to pick up a visitor's parking pass.
Ask about ODU's application fee waiver and Norfolk State's Visit Incentive Grant during your visits.
Book flights into ORF and a rental car.
Book two nights near ODU or downtown Norfolk.
After each visit, take five minutes to jot down what stood out to your student.
8. Student-athlete recruiting visits
For families whose student hopes to play a college sport. Rules below are the NCAA's; each school's links were checked Oct 26, 2026.
Coaches arrange the recruiting part of a visit, not the admissions office. The tour sign-ups in this guide are for the regular family visit. An official (school-paid) visit is offered by the school, and contact with coaches follows NCAA rules that vary by division, sport and grade level.
Start with your sport's questionnaire, then email the coaches. The NCAA suggests emailing coaches with your achievements, highlight videos and interest in their program, including your name, position, NCAA ID and graduation year.
RecruitingWe found no department-wide recruiting page. Look for a questionnaire on your sport's team page at the athletics site ↗, or email the coaches.
Unofficial visit: any campus visit you or your family pay for. You can take as many as you like; in Divisions I and II each one has to come after the first permissible date for your sport.
Official visit: a visit paid for by the school. Each school can offer your student only one. Before a Division I official visit, your student must be registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center, be on the school's institutional request list, and the school must have their high school transcripts.
Division I (Old Dominion University and Norfolk State University): on an official visit the school can pay for travel for the student and up to two family members, lodging, up to three meals a day for the student and up to four family members, and up to $60 a person in entertainment, including five home-game tickets. On an unofficial visit there are no free meals, but the school can give up to three home-game tickets. Division I uses recruiting calendars with contact, evaluation, quiet and dead periods; in a dead period, no in-person contact and no visits.
Rules change. Confirm with the coach, or check the NCAA's recruiting page and recruiting calendars, before you plan dates.
Planning around the season
Check each school's athletics schedule (linked above) before you pick dates, so a coach meeting doesn't land on a road trip or game day for your sport.
Our recommendation, not a school rule: ask the coach whether they can line up an admissions session or tour around your meeting. If not, book the regular family tour yourself through the official sign-up links in this guide, and leave time between the two.
Add your dates and how you're getting there, and we'll pull this guide into one plan: tour sign-up links, the hotel base, parking or airport notes, the route and meals.
Coming soon
Planning more college trips?
Visit-season reminders and new trip guides from College Visit Guides. Newsletter coming soon.
Sources
All checked Oct 29, 2026. Tour schedules change constantly, so always confirm on each school's official sign-up page. Photo credits are under each photo and on our About page.
Expedia listing: SpringHill Suites by Marriott Norfolk Old Dominion University (star class and amenities, checked 2026-10-29) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Norfolk-Hotels-SpringHill-Suites-Marriott-Norfolk-Old-Dominion-University.h1789341.Hotel-Information)
Expedia listing: Hilton Norfolk The Main (star class and amenities, checked 2026-10-29) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Norfolk-Hotels-Hilton-Norfolk-The-Main.h16417334.Hotel-Information)
Expedia listing: Hampton Inn Norfolk-Naval Base (star class and amenities, checked 2026-10-29) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Norfolk-Hotels-Hampton-Inn-Norfolk-Naval-Base.h7982.Hotel-Information)
