We’re likely going to North Carolina and plan to rent a beach house this summer, so we can have Jen’s mom come hang with us, since she lives in Hickory NC. Looking at Carolina Beach, but doesn’t seem like many good options for vacation rentals - lots of beat up places. Charleston SC would be fantastic as well, but 2-3X the price of other areas.
Looking likely at mid July, perhaps July 14-21. Those who live or vacation in the area, what towns/beaches should we be looking at?
I haven’t been in several years but Oak Island NC is an option. Close to Southport which has some decent dining options and is a good spot to relive your favorite Dawson’s Creek moments. Houses are very hit or miss depending on budget and proximity to the beach. Likely quieter than some of the better known areas. Myrtle Beach and Wilmington are close enough if you need a change of scenery.
Depends what you’re looking for… we’ve been at Sunset Beach, NC the last 4 years. We’d never done the “week at the beach” thing, but kids were older and doing a week of nothing but beach, board games, cocktails, great food and great wine turns out to be right up my alley! Sunset is a small barrier island with literally nothing except houses, a small motel, a surf shop and a convenience store. Very relaxing, families (often multi-generational). We stop by Costco in Wilmington on the way in and do our own cooking and grilling. Great local fresh seafood able to be purchased to prepare, and some typical seafood joints nearby in calabash. We go for the quiet and the beach. If that’s your bag, then shoot for ocean front. We’ve used Sunset Vacations for rentals. PM or email me if you want any further details. Have fun!
I agree with Jason, it depends on the kind of beach vacation you want. Bald Head Island is very nice, expensive, no cars, no restaurants or “things to do.” Duck and north on the outer banks are terrific but again, not a huge amount going on but there are decent restaurants and such (we go to Corolla every year). Houses available at twiddy.com and lots of other places. If you are interested in more info let me know.
If you want golf, shopping, nightlife etc, better to head down to Myrtle Beach (shudder!)
We’ll have the kids (15 and 12) so we’ll need things to do, also. Don’t think the kids will be cool with JUST beach or sitting in the house, unfortunately.
I’ll check out twiddy.com, thanks
Outer Banks: They opened a water park on the mainland last year 10 minutes from Nags Head (as long as it isn’t on a weekend, in which case it could be an hour). There is the Wright Brothers Memorial in Kill Devils Hill. There are long stretches of national seashore with no buildings, just virgin beach and shipwrecks poking up out of the sand. There is a aquarium in Manteo. There is an 18th century lighthouse you can climb (if you aren’t claustrophobic). You can take a trip in a very low-and-slow flying single engine job up and down the beach.
That’s about it. Other that drinking and reading and vegging out
Has been a while since we’ve been back, but as Neal mentioned, the Wright Brothers memorial was cool, especially if the kids are older. Cape Hatteras lighthouse is a nice visit, as are the shops in Duck. OBX Brewing was also a decent stop. Not sure I’d stay in Wilmington, but the acquarium there was pretty cool. Didn’t realize Dawson’s Creek was filmed there; I do know that “I Know What You Did Last Summer” was filmed at my great-grandmother/grandmother’s house in Southport and they’re likely both rolling around in their graves thinking about it to this day…
Foodwise, you might consider a trip out to Vivian Howard’s place in Kinston, NC, especially if you follow “A Chef’s Life” on PBS. I’d LOVE to take the family back there, as we’ve seen quite a few of the episodes. If you’re in the vicinity of New Bern, an old wine buddy (Wes Ballance) had a place called “Captain Ratty’s” in the area. He had a pretty deep SQN allocation for the restaurant, which could make the wine list fun. I never made it out there, but again, depends on where you end up landing.
Other place we enjoyed was Isle of Palms, SC. Still able to enjoy the beach life, but also day trip into Charleston and Savannah, GA. Hilton Head is great, as well, but much pricier.
Rented on the Outerbanks many time in Corolla via Twiddy also. While there is not a ton to do there is enough. Go crabbing, by some cool kites there is fishing off the beach or in the sound. Some shopping also, mini golf etc. If you are looking at July you need to act quickly as the good properties go fast.’
George
I’m not sure you’ll believe me but we used to do the Carolina’s every summer (mostly Duck) and have switched to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. We will probably never go to the Carolina beaches again.
Fixed it.
You’d know way better than I
Can you eloborate on why?
It has been 20 years since I have been to a NC beach, but we go to a SC beach almost every year. We prefer Sullivans Island and Folly Beach. Sullivans has great eating options, we usually do not go out when on Folly since it is usually with the whole family. Charleston is a short drive away which is pleasurable for shopping, people watching, and of course eating.
They are very different experiences. In the Northern Outer Banks, (esp Corolla and to a lesser extent Duck), there are few restaurants, no shopping to speak of, no nightlife, no golf, no boardwalk, no hotels, no fast food chains, no taffy shops, few t-shirt shops . . . comparatively little retail activity of any sort. HS kids don’t flock there, except with their parents. Rehoboth has lots of all that stuff. If you want relatively uncrowded beaches, fishing, water sports etc and not much else, the N Banks are perfect. If you want to “do stuff,” not your kind of place
we did Sunset Beach for several years until our combined families out grew available housing, now go to Pawley’s Island SC…great beach, mostly family housing, close enough to the upper beaches for the grand-kids when they need a break from fishing, swimming, crabbing, beach etc
To an extent the culture and restaurants are much better, you are correct, but Rehoboth has height restrictions and I believe only two hotels were built before then. Essentially it’s just a really cute city, great beaches, and awesome state parks on both sides. Lewes is close and has great history. The main street is perpendicular to the beach, is a blvd, and has zero setbacks, (compared to shitty suburban style development on the Outer Banks). The closer you get to the state park on the north, I would say the beach is less crowded than anywhere on the Outer Banks, including Corolla. Joe Biden lives there. There are no high school kids (you can take a ferry to Cape May if you want to see them). The state park to the north (Cape Henlopen) has great bicycle trails that lets you ride to Lewes and is an old WWII base with interesting sentinels and artillery still in place. The state park to the south is a huge bay great for sailing and fishing. The restaurants are significantly better. It’s objectively better in every way for me–but I also hate the suburbs. There is a state highway that connects Rehoboth to Lewes that is full of outlet malls, tourist traps, and fast food (i.e. suburban style development) but it is well outside of Rehoboth. There isn’t a single fast food place in Rehoboth.
Another good option for beautiful uncrowded beaches, fishing, etc. and not much else is Topsail Beach, south of the pier, ocean front, off Ocean Blvd. Most of the newer and nicer ocean front places are already booked though. My family has spent a week there for many years.
Hi Todd!
When I was the age your kids are, our family trip was always Hilton head island. There is golf, shops, some restaurants, beaches, but also the island is very accessible to bike trails which we always loved when younger. It also is a great base if you can’t decide between staying in Savannah or Charleston, because both are easy to get to (you can see Savannah from the west-facing beaches). its a good way to spread family friendly nights at Salty Dog with possibly nicer nights in the other two cities.
also, I took my kids that age to the Lost Colony - they enjoyed it, but it is not for everyone
If you decide on Chas I’ll be happy to make recs and do a little legwork for you.
For restaurants, Chas is the choice.
We booked a house in Carolina Beach (on Carolina Beach Ave North) so any recommendations y’all have (did I do that right?) we’d be much abliged (did I do that right?)