Virginia Beach has long been a solid pick for travellers who like their beach holidays with a side of activity rather than just a towel and a lounger. Surf lessons, kayaking, and cruising the boardwalk on a beach bike are all part of the standard routine here. But over Labor Day weekend the resort city gained a new reason to visit: the Super Girl Surf Festival made its Mid-Atlantic debut.

The event is free to attend and runs for three days, anchoring its 20th-anniversary tour with a first-ever Virginia Beach stop. It began in Oceanside, California, back in 2007 with a small crowd, and now bills itself as the world's largest women's sports, music and lifestyle event, with a second regular stop in Jacksonville, Florida. The inaugural Mid-Atlantic edition drew around 90,000 spectators and thousands of female athletes competing across a surprisingly wide spread of disciplines: World Surf League surfing, tournament-style beach volleyball, and an open 5K run.

The vibe is as much festival as competition. Live music runs throughout — one band that caught travellers' attention on the sand was Hello Sister, a pop-punk trio of sisters from Orlando. So even if you have zero interest in picking up a surfboard, you can spend a day splitting time between the contest heats, the 5K, and the stage.

Beyond the festival, Virginia Beach works well for what you might call soft adventure. The ocean here is forgiving enough for beginner surfers, the calm waters of the Chesapeake Bay side suit kayakers and paddleboarders, and the famous three-mile boardwalk is built for slow beach-cruiser rides rather than hardcore cycling. Add in a generally relaxed, family-friendly atmosphere and you get a coastal break that keeps you moving without demanding an athlete's resume.

For anyone planning a late-summer trip, the timing is convenient: Labor Day weekend marks the tail end of the warm season, when the water is at its warmest and the summer crowds start to thin. If the festival returns for a second year — and its scale in year one suggests it will — it's worth building your dates around it. Check the lineup in advance, arrive early for the surf heats, and leave room in your schedule for a kayak session and a long, unhurried bike ride along the boardwalk.

Whether you come for the sport, the music, or just the mellow coastal rhythm, Virginia Beach is quietly positioning itself as a place where a beach holiday and an active one are the same thing.

Story first reported by Matador Network.