OT-OuterBanks NorthCarolina?

[momtwo4]

Could anyone give me information on a family friendly beach
location in the Outer Banks area? We are looking to go on a beach
vacation in June, and thought this area looked interesting.
We would have to rent a house as we will be 2 adults and 5 kids
but we don't know where to start our search
Thanks for any suggestions

 

[lawone]

Sure!!! We go every year.

Most of the vacationers there rent houses, although there are some oceanfront and off ocean hotel rentals. I would opt for the house... and try to get a pool!

Question is: What type of beach are you looking for? How far do you want to drive? Are you looking for a little solitude... fishing... ability to drive right on to the beach? Or are you looking for a place that is a little more commercial/populated?

 

[ashlansmom]

Oh we love the Outer Banks! We usually stay in Duck and like being able to follow the walkway into town if we want. There are a lot of cute shops, restaurants, etc in the town of Duck. We always rent a huge house with friends and we usually get one with a pool. We find the rentals to be very reasonable depending which month you go. I'm not sure the website that my friend uses every year- she is the one that spearheads the rental, but if you search for Outer Banks house rentals I'm sure you'll come up with a number of them. You can usually then search them by number of bedrooms, location, beachfront or not, etc... some of them offer game rooms, volleyball nets, hot tubs, pools, etc. There are so many great homes to rent. I will tell you, we went around the end of May one year and while the weather was hot, the ocean was COLD! But, then we went another year in the end of June and the ocean was still cool. We were glad we had rented homes with pools both times because we used the pool way more. Usually kids don't care about the ocean temp though huh?

 

[Ashlander]

We go to Duck every year as well - it is nice because most houses have pools. We have also been to Topsail Island...very nice and quiet. The beach here is much quiter than further north. I like it because people are not on top of each other on the beach and it is easier to keep track of the kids. We are headed to Duck this year - but luckily we have an oceanfront house so hopefully we'll be visiting the beach when it is not so crowded.

 

[momtwo4]

Thanks lawone
We are going for the beach with close kid activities like mini golf & kayaking.
A vacation home on the beach or within walking distance would be ideal.
Do you have any suggestions for kids friendly beaches with less undertow and don't drop off fast?
I don't see us fishing much, other than maybe a short time with 5 kids, we will scare all the fish away! We could drive for a fishing excursion though
Thanks Again!

 

[momtwo4]

Thanks for the replies!
i will search Duck too
Any ideas on rental companies? We just returned yesterday from Orlando,
and we stayed off site for the firsttime. I was a little nervous we would show up and have nowhere to stay!
Everything turned out great-we stayed at Windsor Hills, but that was after reading many recs on the Dis

 

[supermommyof4]

I was going to try Topsail, NC. It's a little further south than OBX and signficantly cheaper rentals. Try rentabeach.com

 

[mcqueen n' sally]

add another vote for duck!
we went the past 2 summers, once with my parents and sister and her boyfriend and once with another family... we got a house, plenty of room, short walk to beach... we stayed in an area that had a pool for the development but i think this year we might get a house with a pool...

you cannot go wrong anywhere in OBX... it is a great time...

 

[luvmy3jewels]

I also vote for Duck. It lacks the commercial feel of Kitty Hawk/Kill Devil Hills/Nags Head, but is still convenient to everything. (If you go, you have to go to Duck Donuts!! Delish!!! )

I would recommend Sun Realty from everything I have heard about them (we have a family cottage, so we never rent when we go).

 

[MyDizneyBoyz]

We stay in Duck for a week every year. I recommend it based on the bike trails, beach, shopping and restaurants.

If you want more activities a bit closer, you can stay in Nags Head which is about 15 minutes south of Duck. Nags Head is a bit less expensive than Duck and is closer to mini-golf, strip malls, Wright Brothers monument, Jockey's Ridge park, etc. than Duck.

To me, Duck is a little bit pricier and more refined than Nags Head and it just feels more relaxing as it's a bit more secluded than Nags Head. But Nags Head has the advantage of being so close (or right on) the beach and right next to all the traditional family attractions.

We've used Twiddy Realty to rent our house for the past 5 years. We've also had great success with Sun Realty. I recommend both of them.

http://www.twiddy.com/
http://www.sunrealtync.com/

When looking for rentals, keep in mind that some houses will come with linens (bed sheets) and some won't so you'll have to rent them or bring your own. Be sure to talk to the realty company so you understand exactly what you'll need to bring, or purchase on your first day there (like toilet paper, etc.).

 

[estherhead]

I just wanted to pop on & say to skip Rodanthe & Southern Shores area. It's tempting because it is cheaper than Duck & Kitty Hawk. But if it rains and you can't go to the beach you are really far away from shopping and activities. We go often to Outer Banks and love it for a family trip but have only done Rodanthe once and said never again. Corolla is a bit better of the cheaper, further away ones but Duck is best.

 

[astro784]

We usually go every year to Emerald Isle - a bit farther south but very family friendly and less crowded. Houses are right on the beach - can sit on the porch and watch dolphins swim by - and the waves seem more "kid friendly" than when we stayed in Corolla - that year we had a lot of days when the red flags were flying - maybe just a bad year.

We have rented many times from http://www.bluewatergmac.com/ and they have been great - we are renting from them again this August!

 

[starann]

We have been lucky enough to stay with friends in Avon...which is really far south (not far from the Hatteras lighthouse).

We like that it is away from all the commerical stuff, for us it makes it feel more like a vacation. We heard up 'north' usually 1 day to go shopping and do lunch. We also went to the aquarium last year. We do 1 day at Hatteras, another day taking the Ferry to Okrakoke Island. Last time we went to the Wright Bro Memorial, which hubby liked, but the boys were too little to understand.

We are hoping to go back again this year, but rent a house (as our friend was diagnosed this past summer with throat cancer and while we would visit, we don't want stay for fear of him being too tired with us there). I was looking in the Hatteras Realaty....I will now be checking out the others!

 

[cmaee]

We love the Outer Banks. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the beaches. Our favorites for the northern part of the Outer Banks is South Nags Head. It is all residental homes, but not too far away from the resturants and shopping. Nags Head Realty has a great deal of selection. Go to www.outerbanks.org and it will give you a wealth of information.

If you are looking for a laid back vacation, try Ocracoke Island. It is great. The experience of riding the ferry makes it worthwhile. There isn't any oceanfront property, but rather a village set off of the beach. There is a beach access that is lifeguarded and a 4x4 wheel drive beach access. I am not sure if that area is lifeguarded as we do not have 4x4 wheel drive vehicles to try it. You can rent bikes and bike around the whole island....from the ferry docks, to the lighthouse, to the main strip in town. It really is a relaxing place. You have to take time to eat at Howards Pub. Our kids like it because they serve kids meals on Frisbees that they take with them. The hotels are all 'mom and pop' kind of places, so it feels like you are thrown back into time. Even if you don't stay here, it is worth the drive down Hwy. 12 to drive around for the day. The ferry from Cape Hatteras is only 30 minutes long and I think it runs every 1/2 hour in the summer months. The other 2 ferry's on the other side of the island are much longer (2+ hours) and I think they only have 2 or 3 of those a day. Our kids also love to stop at Teaches Hole. It's a pirate shop with tons of Blackbeard the Pirate stuff.

 

[K and K's Mommy]

We have been lucky enough to stay with friends in Avon...which is really far south (not far from the Hatteras lighthouse).

We like that it is away from all the commerical stuff, for us it makes it feel more like a vacation. We heard up 'north' usually 1 day to go shopping and do lunch. We also went to the aquarium last year. We do 1 day at Hatteras, another day taking the Ferry to Okrakoke Island. Last time we went to the Wright Bro Memorial, which hubby liked, but the boys were too little to understand.

We are hoping to go back again this year, but rent a house (as our friend was diagnosed this past summer with throat cancer and while we would visit, we don't want stay for fear of him being too tired with us there). I was looking in the Hatteras Realaty....I will now be checking out the others!

This is where we go also. We've stayed on Hatteras Island in Avon two years in a row. It is very laid back which I love. Mostly we go to the beach which is so uncrowded compared to Florida beaches that I have been to. We'll also do a day trip to Ocracoke. My DS loves the beach there because the waves are bigger - although maybe it was just the day! We use Outer Beaches Reality, I think, maybe it is Outer Banks Reality.

I've never been to Duck, but I have been through Nags Head and Kill Devil's Hill. They are too commercialized for me.

Have fun! The hardest thing I find is so many of the smaller houses are being torn down to make big ones. We want to go with just the five of us so we usually have to look for a smaller house. I love the one where we stayed last year so hopefully it will always be available!

 

[luckey-lasvegas]

My MIL lives in Topsail so our decission is easy. It's a nice area,the beaches are not crowded and there are mini golf courses, ice cream parlors, museums, turtule rescue and shops. We had a great time there last summer and we're blessed with some great weather. It's also fairly close to Carolina beach for another day trip.

 

[geogirl0626]

Could anyone give me information on a family friendly beach
location in the Outer Banks area? We are looking to go on a beach
vacation in June, and thought this area looked interesting.
We would have to rent a house as we will be 2 adults and 5 kids
but we don't know where to start our search
Thanks for any suggestions

My favorite place in the world!!! Well, besides WDW that is . We go almost every year the week of July 4th. We rent a house either in Duck or Corolla. This year it will Corolla. We're getting a huge house this time as we have a total of 20 people going! I'm so excited. It's me and my family, my parents, both sisters and their families, plus Aunt and Uncle, and two of my cousins and their families.

I prefer Duck and Corolla to the places further south (Kitty Hawk, Nags Head, etc.). There are several realty companies where you can search homes online. I think we are using Southern Shores Realty this time.

There is so much to do on the Outer Banks! This year we have plans to do a wild pony tour in Corolla, a fishing trip, a trip to the aquarium in Manteo, and of course all the usual stuff like visiting Jockey's Ridge, playing mini-golf and shopping. Not to mention just lounging by the beach or the pool! My mom, DH, and I are all tennis players and we go up to Pine Island to play tennis at least once during the week.

 

[momtwo4]

Thank you thank you!!
What great information everyone has given me.
I have been searching the realty sites since yesterday, looking
for a 4bedrm house in Duck either the week of June 13th-20th or
August 15-22nd. This is alot of pressure trying to find a house,
but it has been so much easier with all your relpies!
If anyone has a house they could recommend, please do!

 

[Tygansmom829121]

My family has been to the Outer Banks several times and we love it. If you want a really family friendly area I would go for Corolla. The beaches are huge and not very crowded. You are at the end of the paved road which means you can walk to see the wild horses everyday. There is also a nature walk. I have used Twiddy Realty and they are awesome. We had a house last year that was walking distance to the beach, 5 bedrooms 3 baths, view of the ocean from top deck and a swimming pool. We can't go back this year but Twiddy sent me an email for 10% off the same house so my brother and his family are going to use the discount for August.

 

[jana616]

My family (me, DH, and 1 year old and 3 1/2 year old sons) joined my parents and in-laws for our first trip to OBX last September. We loved it. We used Resort Realty and stayed in Corolla. Our specific house was Irish Mist #1818, 5 bdr, 3 back from ocean with pool and hot tub. Super close to ocean, the house was older but very clean and absolutely fine for us. We did see newer, fancier houses, but this one was really reasonably priced. I was very happy with Corolla. It's quiet and peaceful, which I really wanted. We drove through Nags Head and Kill Devil Hills, and they were way too commercial for my taste. Corolla is still close enough to take a day and go to Manteo, Jockey Ridge State Park (fun!), etc.

OH... most important thing when choosing a rental. Get the address (call rental company if it's not listed) and look it up on maps.live.com. It can be really hard to tell if a house is truly close to the ocean. This way you can see precise location for yourself. That was the best advice I got!