Where to Buy Cheap Gas at Virginia Beach, Virginia

As of July 17, 2009, Virginia Beach gas prices average $2.292 per gallon of regular unleaded. This $2.292 watermark dramatically undercuts the U.S. Department of Energy's $2.528 National statistic. Cheap Hampton Roads gas is the order of the day, part and parcel with the region's sweeping port side transportation facilities and refining capacity at nearby Yorktown.

Furthermore, favorable Richmond gas tax policy effectively caps prices. Virginians are responsible for a bargain bin 19.1-cent gasoline tax at the pump. The American Petroleum Institute calculates that Commonwealth motorists pay the eleventh lowest duties at the register in terms of taxes.

Hampton Roads drivers must recognize the fact that Virginians crying Uncle over $2.40 gas would incite full scale rioting at $3 per gallon Los Angeles, New York City, and Chicago.

Per Virginia Beach, the locale represents the Old Dominion's largest "city" in name only, and is home to 433,746 residents. Personally, I must degrade the statistic as illusory and label Virginia Beach as one large county in actuality. Va. Beach accounts for 500 square miles and dominates Virginia's southeast corner from the Chesapeake Bay to the North Carolina border.

For the sake of comparison, Northern Virginia's Fairfax County covers 400 square miles and lists 1,015,302 residents per the 2008-estimated U.S. Census roll. Virginia Beach's curious status as an independent "city" is more so a function of Virginia's convoluted population density laws and colonial history than it is of anything else.

This article is more so concerned with the northerly-suburbanized sections of this enclave, than the rural areas of Virginia Beach, which run into the Dismal Swamp and Currituck, NC.

Of course, Virginia Beach remains an important travel destination for Richmond, Baltimore - Washington, and Raleigh - Durham revelers. Locals and thrifty consumers must remain vigilant in regards to the price pressure that arrives part and parcel with all tourist traps. Certainly, the perfect getaway occupies valuable real estate and is a beacon for out-of-state wealth.

The tourist "wealth effect" always undergirds skyrocketing costs, including those pertaining to gasoline.

Still, this important guide proves that saving gas money at Hampton Roads is more so a function of which areas to avoid, than that of isolated pockets of cheap gas to aggressively seek out. Affordable gas remains plentiful from all points within the Tidewater area.

Where NOT to Buy Gas in Virginia Beach

Do not buy gasoline at the typical ocean front Virginia Beach tourist trap.

Gas prices spike at Virginia Beach Boulevard east of Braddock Road and at U.S 13 / Northampton Boulevard due northeast of the I-64 / Hampton Roads Beltway. Both routes transition towards Oceanfront, Chesapeake, and Lynnhaven Bay property, which are all focal points for Hampton Roads leisure.

Per Virginia Beach Boulevard, gas prices drop heading west away from the Atlantic Ocean. Shell sets the tone by flashing $2.35 at the corner of Virginia Beach Boulevard and Birdneck Road. Prices gradually slip to $2.34, $2.29, $2.27, and ultimately $2.23 at the various service stations situated between Oceana and Lynnhaven alongside U.S. 58 / 58 Business.

Meanwhile, U.S. 13 unleaded fare costs surge immediately following the 64 exits into Virginia Beach. Certainly, "I-64" and "Norfolk" are colloquial terms, which separate the battered sections of Norfolk from the gleaming suburban sprawl at Virginia Beach.

U.S. 13 / Northampton Boulevard en route to the Chesapeake gas prices, rival all Hampton Roads locations in terms of expense. Chevron and BP front 5740 and 5765 Northampton to hawk expensive $2.39 87-octane fuel.

Virginia Beach motorists would be better served purchasing gas at select I-264 Expressway interchanges or within the City of Norfolk, prior to the Bay and Ocean beaches.

Where to Buy Cheap Gas at Virginia Beach

Beachgoers will exit the I-264 / Va. Beach Expressway at VA 411 / Rosemont Road for cheap gas. Off-brand wholesalers are peddling cheap petro for $2.24 in the Birchwood Mall area. BJ's, Hess, Wawa, and Roving Auto line Rosemont Road in both directions from 264 to move low-priced gasoline.

Fittingly, gas would be cheap at U.S. 58 / Virginia Beach Boulevard and 411, which marks the Great American Outlet Mall district.

Locals will also note that gas prices break the $2.30 floor to $2.25 west of I-64. Norfolk's U.S. 13 Military Highway between 64 and 264, alongside the Va. Beach intersection of Indian River and Providence Road are both pockets for cheap gas.

Citgo hawks $2.25 regular unleaded gas at Route 13 / Military directly to the north of 58 in Norfolk, while Hess serves thrifty Virginia Beach consumers for $2.26 at 6048 Indian River Road. These thoroughfares are identified with clusters of filling stations that perpetually jockey with each other to undercut the neighboring competition.

Hampton Roads veterans will discover that both locations are easily accessible from 64 and line the perimeter of the "Inner Loop." We must highlight the term "Inner Loop," because I-64 is often signed as "West" and "East" through the South Side, yet traces one circular ring around Norfolk, Virginia Beach, and Chesapeake.

Virginia is for Lovers.

Where to Buy Cheap Gas at Virginia Beach, Virginia, Sources:

Virginia Beach, Virginia, http://www.virginiabeach.com/

Hampton Roads News, http://hamptonroads.com/

Virginia Beach Gas Prices, http://www.virginiabeachgasprices.com/