At the end of May, we took the kids on their first Outer Banks beach vacation. I came here as a child and have been here countless times so I couldn’t wait to introduce them to this special place. We had been holding out for more maturity, but decided we really wanted to go and they had been asking to go, so we decided to give it a try. I honestly expected the worst, but we had a fantastic trip and the kids did really well.
I love the Outer Banks because while there are developed areas, you can still find so many small towns and undeveloped land because of all of the protected areas, like the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, Alligator River, Currituck National Wildlife Refuge, etc. Life just feels simple here. Just the waves, dunes, birds and sea grasses.
The very first day after we arrived late afternoon and checked in, we went out to dinner and then went straight to the nearest beach. Watching the kids see the ocean for the first time was so special. They stood at the beach and that first wave rolled in, touched their little toes and they went wild squealing, laughing and running. Seeing and hearing their laughter was a true joy for me. They were more scared than I thought they would be. They loved getting as close as possible to the water without touching it and waiting for the waves to roll in to try to outrun them. The water was frigid — maybe that’s why they ran! They ended up getting completely soaked in their clothes and it was a magical start to our trip.
Here are some pictures and some travel advice down below.
Nags Head Sunrises
I wake up at 0-Dark-Thirty every day, so I took advantage while we here and snuck out of the house for the 1-minute drive to the beach every morning. I seriously think that you really can’t beat drinking coffee on the beach watching the sun rise. It’s my favorite thing to do and where I truly feel at peace. Listening to the waves, seeing pods of dolphins and watching the pelicans swoop down in unison.
Bodie Island Lighthouse
Coquina Beach
Pea Island at sunset
North Carolina Aquarium
Fish Head’s on the pier
Jockey’s Ridge State Park
Jeanette’s Pier
Where should you stay?
The Outer Banks encompasses a huge area that goes essentially from the Virginia border down to Okracoke. It really depends on what you want to do. If you want to explore and do things, I’d say Southern Shores, Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk or Nags Head are your best bets. There is lots to do, it’s centrally located between the northern parts of Currituck and Duck; and the southern areas of the national seashore all the way down to Cape Hatteras. However, it might depend on where you find a house that you really like. You really can’t go wrong in any area as they all have their own merits.
From north to south:
Corolla – beautiful area, wild horses (!), stores and restaurants, many of the houses are 4×4 accessible only, more isolated to the rest of the Outer Banks
Duck – We visited Duck on this trip and thought it was a really cute town with a nice number shops and restaurants. Not too far north to be difficult to visit other areas.
Nags Head, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills – lots of things to do, lots of restaurants and stores, centrally located to visit any area. Potential downside for some: crowded beaches. Our fix for this was to drive 10 minutes away to Coquina Beach. See more below.
Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Buxton, Frisco and Cape Hatteras – less crowded, but very few restaurants, stores, etc. More isolated to be able to visit other areas.
Okracoke – an island at the far southern tip of the Outer Banks, must take a ferry to get there.
Types of Lodging
The Outer Banks is kind of different for lodging.
Hotels – The typical option of hotels isn’t all that popular here because there aren’t many of them. And, most of them are really not very interesting or nice. The one exception is The Sanderling Resort in Duck. We stopped by just to check it out and would definitely stay here.
House Rentals – Most people rent houses in this area and there are a handful of rental companies if you search. However, unless you are coming with a large group or least someone else to split the cost with, they are really cost-prohibitive, especially because the nicer houses or the houses in the most desirable locations (on the beach) are massive mansions with 5-12 rooms typically. There are also smaller places, but in my experience of house-hunting, they are kind of dumps as they are older and non-renovated. We have rented a house on the sound before and a house on the beach. The house on the beach was my favorite as you just can’t beat waking up to the sounds of the ocean, but we were able to split the cost between three couples.
Airbnb – Since we were coming as a family of four, we decided to give up on the waterfront locations and we rented a home/apartment on Airbnb. It was perfect for us, as it was in Nags Head, close to everything, a quick 1-minute drive to the beach and a very nice and comfortable place at a very reasonable cost. Also, I really liked that while it was plenty big for our needs, it wasn’t a ginormous house that would have been difficult with my kids running and hiding everywhere. I found much smaller (but still nice) options on Airbnb.
Where to Eat
Here are some of my favorites. Many of these don’t look terribly exciting from the outside, but don’t let that fool you as they have a nice environment inside and great food.
- Blue Moon Grill – Great all-around place. I got a grilled BBQ chicken sandwich with pineapple and rice and beans and it was delicious!
- Tortuga’s Lie – One of my very favorites here. Love the vibe. Try the Coco Loco Chicken.
- Mama Kwan’s – Try the mahi mahi fish tacos!
- Fish Head’s – This is a bar/restaurant that is on a pier over the water, so you can’t beat the location. We came just for drinks and snacks one day and loved it!
- Miller’s, Sugar Creek or Tale of the Whale – all similar-ish, large seafood geared restaurants on the sound. It’s been a while since I have been to these, but you can’t beat the views and everyone loves fresh seafood!
- Waveriders Coffee – We love going here for some iced coffee and bagel sandwiches for a quick breakfast.
Other places that I haven’t been, but are on my list to try:
- Paper Canoe – more upscale, Duck soundfront
- Kimball’s Kitchen (at the Sanderling Resort) – beautiful sound views, a great place to come if you’re looking for something more high end or a place to celebrate.
Beach Recommendations
Usually the best beach is the one right where you’re at, so if you’re staying on the beach, then you’ll likely want to just walk right out of your house. All of the beaches are nice here, but we really enjoy uncrowded places and most of the beaches between Kitty Hawk and Nags Head are going to be more populated. We loved going to Coquina Beach which is a ten-minute drive south from Nags Head.
Here’s why we love it:
1) It’s not crowded. Sometimes, we were the only people there. (Warning: Not always sparsely populated evidently. One day when we were leaving, a school bus was arriving with local kids for a field trip. Dodged that bullet!)
2) It’s unspoiled. It’s part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, so no houses or hotels are dotting the landscape. Just dunes and grasses and shells.
3) It’s beautiful. Some of our friends were amazed at how blue and green the water was here. Also, there are lots of dunes for exploring, which I love.
4) They have a huge parking lot with wonderful facilities, including changing rooms, bathrooms, showers and water fountains. Important when you are not near your home/hotel or anything really.
What to Do
When I travel, I am not the kind of person who can just lay on the beach all day. I would be bored out of my mind, not to mention red and crispy. I do LOVE the beach and we went every day, but we went before or after an activity or sightseeing of some sort. Here are some of my favorite things to do at the Outer Banks.
- Day Trip to Currituck/Corolla – See my post for all of the details. It’s about an hour drive from Nags Head. We climbed the Currituck Beach Lighthouse, visited the Whalehouse Club, drove on the 4×4 beach and took a nature walk at Currituck Banks.
- Visit a lighthouse – Check out Bodie Island Lighthouse or Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. The Bodie Island one is right across from Coquina Beach.
- Take a Wild Horse Tour – See my post all about this here!
- Visit Jockey’s Ridge State Park – Jockey’s Ridge is the tallest natural sand dune system in the Eastern United States! It’s so beautiful and such a sight to see. I would love to go to the Sahara one day, but for now, this will suffice. 🙂 It’s so fun to watch and hear the sand blowing across. The kids did sand angels and slid down the dunes. It’s a great place for kids to run!
- Visit the aquarium – The North Carolina Aquarium is on Roanoke Island. I love visiting aquariums myself and of course, it’s fantastic for the kids!
- Visit Pea Island at sunset – Go watch the sunset on the beach — you can stand on the dunes and see it set on the sound side and watch the gorgeous sky on the beachside. You can park at the visitor center and just cross the road to the beach. Don’t forget your insect repellent. We also went the the wildlife refuge area on a different day during the day, but it was hot as blazes, zero shade, lots of bugs and the real buzzkill was that there was Virginia creeper everywhere (even on the narrow trail) and I’m highly allergic, so we didn’t stay. More info.
- Try an adventure activity – hang gliding is big here and so is kite-surfing! View all activities.
- Visit an English garden – The Elizabethan Gardens are an English-style garden and such a beautiful little spot to visit. A butterfly garden will be opening there sometime soon.
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