Outer Banks, NC vacation

hoffmasa

hoffmasa

Cathlete
Has anyone been to the Outer Banks for a family vacation? If so, did they like it? Where did they stay? What did they do?
I have 2 small boys - age 5 and 2. Looking for a condo type place with a pool, ocean front.

thanks for any info!
sharon
 
We go to Emerald Isle, which is on the southern most Outer Bank, often. My dad lives there. There are a lot of nice houses and condos to rent in the area. I'd recommend picking an island - most are very nice with lots of family things to do - then calling a rental agent in the area. Just a plug for our island - it's very quiet with lots of family entertainment. You cannot park on the streets, so everyone on the beach rents a house or a condo - and the beaches are not crowded. You can rent bikes, kayaks, go to the Pine Knolls Aquarium (which is really nice, actually - not quite the Monterey Bay Aquarium, but not too far off), ride bumper boats, go to a series of water slides (for all ages), fish, crab, boat... And there are a ton of restaurants that range from sandwiches to fine dining. Here's the town website - http://www.emeraldisle-nc.org/

But where ever you stay - have a great time. I know our kids LOVE it there - even at 16 and 20, it's the one trip were they do not try to ditch us.
 
I'm so jealous! My ex & I stayed in Duck for a week (northern end). Really beautiful & super shopping. Also pretty inexpensive for a beach vacation.

Have a blast!
 
andtckrtoo said:
We go to Emerald Isle, which is on the southern most Outer Bank, often. My dad lives there. There are a lot of nice houses and condos to rent in the area. I'd recommend picking an island - most are very nice with lots of family things to do - then calling a rental agent in the area. Just a plug for our island - it's very quiet with lots of family entertainment. You cannot park on the streets, so everyone on the beach rents a house or a condo - and the beaches are not crowded. You can rent bikes, kayaks, go to the Pine Knolls Aquarium (which is really nice, actually - not quite the Monterey Bay Aquarium, but not too far off), ride bumper boats, go to a series of water slides (for all ages), fish, crab, boat... And there are a ton of restaurants that range from sandwiches to fine dining. Here's the town website - http://www.emeraldisle-nc.org/

But where ever you stay - have a great time. I know our kids LOVE it there - even at 16 and 20, it's the one trip were they do not try to ditch us.
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We go to Emerald Isle every year and our kids love it (three teenage boys and a little girl). Honestly, I'd like to go somewhere else for some variety, but it makes my kids so happy to go there that I agree. There is an old military fort that you can visit there, too - can't remember the name.

Also, they have a rec center there with a fitness room that you can use for $20/week. They have treadmills, an arc trainer, elliptical, stationary bikes, free weights and weight machines. They have classes, too, for an additional charge.

Erica
 
We go every summer and have gone for the last 7 or 8 years. We love it!! We stay at www.pirates-cove.com We rent a house on the Sound there and drive to the beach (about a 4-5 minute drive) when we want to see the ocean.

The community where we go is in Manteo, which is next to Nag's Head. We love Pirate's Cove, since it is a small gated community. They have a community pool and tons of daily activities for the kids. We like it since the kids can ride their bikes and roller blades and skate boards all around and no one drives more than 20 mph.

I would recommend going to Jockey State park where the sand dunes are. It is so beautiful there! We also love going to see the Wright Brothers Memorial. There is so much history there!

The lighthouses are awesome to see, too.

The beach is great, too!!

We have rented a house on the beach before, but like going to our little Pirate's Cove. Also, when you go to their website, the kids on the left side of the website (girl with hat and boy with pirate bandana) are my kids. We won a photo contest a few years ago!

Any more questions, please ask!!!
Jenn :)
 
chefkate said:
you need collinsmom! pm her & she'll be able to give you lots of helpful info!:D
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Hey, thanks for the shout-out Kate!!

Yup, my family loves the OBX and we vacation there every summer -- my DH and I even got married on the beach there last year!

We always rent a house on or close to the beach, and we love this rental company...

www.villagerealtyobx.com

I am not sure if they offer condos, but I will look into it a bit more.

As others have mentioned, you need to decide is where you want to stay -- Coralla, Manteo, Kitty Hawk, Nags Head, Hatteras, etc. Do you want to be soundside, beach front, etc? We always stay in the Nags Head/Kitty Hawk area and we love it there.

Once you know where you will be staying, I can give you more specific recommendations of stuff to do and where to eat.

My family absolutely LOVES the outer banks and I am sure that yours will too!
 
We adore the OBX, too! We lived in Havelock, NC (DH was a Marine) and we went there a couple of times for day trips!

All I can say is Howard's Pub! Absolutely the best place to eat! Our favorite place! Don't forget to go to Kill Devil Hills and visit the Wright Brothers place where they flew the first airplane!

Can't wait to go back!

Tricia
 
If you go there is this great restaurant called Mama Kwan's. I don't remember what town (Nags Head or Duck, etc) but worth going to whether for lunch or dinner. It is kid friendly. We always make sure we go when we are down there. Have fun.
 
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