1 1/2 weeks Chapel Hill and then beach-help

How long will you be in Chapel Hill? Its a fun area with alot to do depending on your interests.
My son is a graduate student at Carolina and recently saw the new BB recruits on campus - kinda' hard to miss a group of 6+footers in a group. So you never know! If he's interested in attending, your son should take the admissions tour, although he can easily poke around on his own - its a beautiful campus.
You can pass a day walking campus and Franklin St.- shops, restaurants, etc. Your son will be amazed (well, I was, anyway)at the level of Tar heel support - buses, fire engines, police cars-all Carolina Blue! Its a fun place for a fan. Just don't mention that you're looking at Duke!

Wilmington is a straight shot down I-40 from Chapel Hill and Durham area. The beach at Wrightsville is fun. Check out the Holiday Inn there, beachfront and very nice. A second choice might be Shell Island.
The battleship is still open for tours and is very popular. The real pirate areas are more like Bath and Beaufort and the Outer Banks.
You will have quite a bit of fun in Chapel Hill (and it kills this old Demon Deacon to say it).

Hi annette,

I just moved up to Madison, WI this past winter from NC and it was a long and boring 1,000 mile drive.. I also spent some time at Camp Lejune as a Marine and grew up in the eastern part of the state in a town called Goldsboro. I hate to say it but I think your time may be better spent going up to the Williamsburg, Va area or maybe south towards Charleston. It depends on what your taste are.

There's a really nice theme park in Williamsburg called Busch Gardens that your seventeen year old would probably love. Both areas have plenty of historical sights as well. If you want to just lay back on the beach then Kure Beach is pretty nice. It's south of Carolina Beach, not too far from the battleship and I believe there's a newly renovated aquarium there as well.

Have Fun!

Chapel Hill is a great place and you can easily spend a day or two walking around Franklin Street and campus. Definitely have your son take the admissions tour.

Even though you are going to visit Duke as well, I'd still stay in Chapel Hill- it is just SO much prettier than Durham!!! However, if the Durham Bulls (3A baseball) have a homegame, you may want to catch one. If your family is interested in sports, the games are a lot of fun.

Camp Lejune (Goldsboro) isn't the most attractive part of the state; however, if you want to breeze by Camp Lejune on your way to New Bern or Atlantic Beach, that may be worth it.

Wilmington is a straight shot from Chapel Hill on I-40. The battle ship is still open. You can stay in "downtown" Wilmington on the water- neat stores and restaurants. Or, you could stay on Wrightsville Beach- a great beach, family friendly.

I definitely wouldn't waste your time driving all the way to Williamsburg from Chapel Hill... it's a pretty good ride and not worth it, IMO.

I love visiting the Triangle area and I live in Williamsburg. I wouldn't drive up to Williamsburg either. Williamsburg is definitely worth the drive but it doesn't sound like an area like Williamsburg is the focus for your trip. You can reserve that trip for a Virginia college tour.

I don't know how your son is deciding on what colleges to look at but while you are in the area Wake-Forest isn't too far from Chapel Hill and NC State is very close by. There is also UNC Wilmington near the beach.

Chapel Hill is a cute town that can be covered in a day but my favorite place to stay is the Washington Duke Inn across the street from Duke (unless I'm staying down in Fearington).

This is old info but when I used to work at Memorial Hospital, across the street from the UNC basketball stadium, you could just wander into the stadium and take your pics. After they opened the stadium, this fact greatly increased the number of men coming to appointments with their wives!

Hope you get to see it--its thrilling. I'd guess that the UNC campus tour would tell you what you need to know about getting onto the court.

Don't waste your time going to NC State..I went there and it sucks. One of the ugliest campuses in the country.

If this will be your last time in the area, then I would recommend the drive to either Williamsburg or Charleston. Especially since you said your son likes historical places. NC doesn't really have anything that can compete with either of these places. It's most definitely worth the 3 hour drive in either direction.

I wouldn't spend too much time in the triangle...it's just one strip mall after another. Go see UNC campus etc. and get out of there.

If you just want to relax on the beach then there are multiple beaches near Camp Lejuene. Carolina Beach is further south and will probably be more crowded.

Certainly opinions vary, but I think Old Salem in Winston Salem is a very worthwhile area to visit. www.oldsalem.org It is an excellent historical renovation and quite interesting. It is a smaller scale than Williamsburg, but it is only about an hour drive from Chapel Hill. And you could fit in a stop at the Wake Forest campus (Go Deacs!) while you are here. Again, straight shot W from Chapel Hill on I-40.

Thanks for all the advice. We really want some time on the beach so any other ideas for that would be great. Just what is The Triangle area?! Don't want to do shopping, just sight-seeing and beach/relax. Is 3 days too much time in the Chapel Hill area to sight-see? Thanks everyone!

Great choice. Jordan Lake is nearby also. Duke is a must. On our last trip we happened to walk into the UNC Football stadium and a very nice man who worked there actually opened up the Museum for us on Thanksgiving and asked us if we could just shut and lock the door on the way out. Talk about friendly people!!
When we were at the Duke basketball Stadium a student opened the door for us so we could walk on the court.
We also saw a Duke vs. UNC Football game at UNC and it was great!! A little cold but very neat. Area is a Must see during the Fall season. Raleigh is not too far either if your child wants to see a concert or a Hockey Game near NC State.
Good luck.

Beach is not close. It is a few hours away. The mountains are also about the same distance. Asheville is beautiful. The Triangle area encompasses Raleigh,Chapel Hill and Durham. These areas house NC State,UNC,and Duke. 3 days might be too much for sight-seeing but if your son wants to get acquainted with the area it would be nice to stay a while and get a feel for the surrounding area.
Back to the Triangle. There is an area called the Research Trianlge Park or RTP which is an area that includes many big companies and medical facilities.

I think three days in the Triangle area would be a nice amount of time for what it sounds like you're interested in. You could spend one full day in Chapel Hill (campus tour, exploring Franklin Street/downtown area), one full day in Durham (Duke tour, exploring Ninth Street area), and then your third day either going back to one of those, seeing something in Raleigh, or exploring Jordan Lake, Hillsborough, Carrboro, or something else in the area that draws your attention. Unless your son is interested in going to NC State, I wouldn't spend time on a campus tour there.

The Triangle comprises the cities of Raleigh (NC State), Durham (Duke) and Chapel Hill (UNC - there are several other universities in the area, but those are the big ones). Over the last few decades the three cities have all sort of merged together, and some of the suburbs are now cities in their own right. As bigal4 mentioned, Research Triangle Park is situated between Raleigh and Durham and houses a lot of corporate offices. The area isn't as "Southern" as you might expect (at least, it wasn't as "Southern" as I expected when I first moved there from Tennessee), because so many people from other states and countries move there for school or jobs at the universities or RTP. It's an interesting area and has a lot of fun things to do and see.

Wilmington is about two hours from Raleigh, straight shot on I-40. The Outer Banks would be another idea; I think it's about four hours there, or Charleston, SC is about five hours. Just depends on how far you want to drive for the beach!

Wrightsville Beach is a very easy 2 hrs. 15 min. from Chapel Hill. Asheville is more like 3 1/2 hrs. - might be less hot than the beach, but if beach is what you want, Wrightsville's great - partly because it's easy to get from beach-side into restaurants and movies, etc. on mainland.

At Wrightsville, Holiday Inn is good (make sure you look for AAA rates, if possible), so is Surf Suites; Blockade Runner is a favorite for some, but not me. But check prices, they might surprise you.... if the places actually ON the beach are too high for you, try some of the places on the mainland near the causeway across to the beach - Hampton Inn, etc.

Re: Chapel Hill vs. Durham. I too would recommend staying in Chapel Hill, but because no one's really told you what's to see in Durham (other than Durham Bulls -- second that idea), you'll find the Duke campus quite pretty (and surprisingly not nearly as "old" as it looks) -- esp. the "chapel" which is more like a small cathedral, and the Duke gardens -- even if your son thinks that's a stupid idea, the ducks and turtles on the pond there are fun "for all ages". Then there's Cameron Station of course. Durham downtown isn't much to see but the 9th st./Broad st. area is where students/faculty are more likely to hang out -- some good cafes, shops, bookstore, etc.

Enjoy our area, but be prepared for humid heat AND chill indoors where everyone over-AC's and you'll freeze.

And if you ask where to get the best BBQ, prepare for a "debate" among posters!

I am happy to help you. Just shoot me an email at: lpaolicelli@visitchapelhill.org or call 888-968-2060 and ask for Laurie. The visitors bureau offers free brochures and self guided walking tours. The campus has a great visitors center too and can arrange for a tour. Their visitors center is located next to Morehead Planetarium, next to the undergraduate admissions office. The campus is stunning, Franklin Street is fun and if you are here on a Friday night, be sure to go to the Carolina Inn for Friday's on the Front Porch.

lpaolicelli - I'm afraid what you've posted is a no-no under Fodors' guidelines. Even though the visitors' bureau is a "public service," this post amounts to a solicitation. Nothing wrong with offering your own personal recommendations, but not on behalf of your employer.

lpaolicelli - don't mean to put down a fellow TarHeel - just explaining.... I'm sure you meant to be helpful to annette.

I'm thinking that there should be a directory of "Visitors' Bureaus" somewhere on Fodors - a useful resource.

Wrightsville beach is lovely. And as others said, if you can't swing oceanfront, the accomodations near the causeway are nice and close.

I'd avoid Carolina Beach as it's become very tired. Drove through recently and saw many deserted, empty buildings and storefronts, and the tiny boardwalk is even smaller, if thats possible. Atlantic Beach is also an option, much nicer and more to offer.

Hi, Annette...as you know, having spent time there, Camp Lejeune is in Jacksonville, not Goldsboro, as a previous post stated. I mention this, not for the purpose of correction, but because the J'ville location opens up another beach possibility that I didn't see mentioned so far.

Have you considered Bogue Banks ? It's a short drive from J'ville and offers all sorts of options for a great beach vacation. My personal rec would be Atlantic Beach, which has a very good Sheaton right on the beach. Emerald Isle, Indian Beach and Pine Knoll Shores are great beachside communities, as well. All the places mentioned would have beachhouse or condo rentals available; Atlantic Beach is about the only one with a decent-sized hotel. If you go, the North Carolina Aquarium in Pine Knoll Shores is worth a visit. Carlton's is the best place, IMO, for an excellent meal.

Just over the causeway from the Banks is the quaint town of Beaufort. WOnderful for strolling, dining, shopping and there are several B&Bs. Pirate lore abounds throughout this whole area, and there are lots of activities built around it. Head "down east" on Rt. 70 from Beaufort to Harker's Island and take the ferry to Cape Lookout.

These are just a few suggestions that you may want to investigate. The area I've outlined would make a lot more sense than Wrightsville for your beach time IF you decide to follow through on your Lejeune idea.

BTW, if you were to head directly to Bogue Banks from the Triangle, you'd be looking at approx. 3 hrs' drive. Jacksonville and Lejeune are 40 minutes from the tip of the banks. Going straight to J'ville from CH area might be a bit faster, via 40 and 24, then you would still be only 40 mins. from the beach portion of your trip.

Sorry that I can't help re: the feasibility of getting on the base for a visit or tour. Good luck with your planning and enjoy the trip !

Anyone else catch the discussion of how to pronounce "LeJeune" currently running in N&O paper? People who actually have been there say "lezhern" apparently. Not supposed to say "leJoon"... just passing that info along, I have no expertise on the matter.

But if you are considering other places than Wrightsville, you can go anywhere east or west on the "Emerald Isle" coast including Bogue Shorts, Atlantic Beach (there's a Sheraton there, plus some smaller non-chain motels), Salter Path, etc.

Sorry, was editing it and it got away from me -- "Emerald Coast" including Emerald Isle, Bogue ShorEs, etc...

And now I see I've duplicated what lifes2short wrote -- okay, it's Monday, may I go back to bed please?

I agree with lifes2short's suggestion. Base yourself either in Atlantic Beach or Emerald Isle and be sure to visit the aquarium. There's also many good seafood restaurants in nearby Morehead City.

I would spend a few days in Chapel Hill and Durham touring the universities and then move on. There's very little else there that's worth your attention. Sorry.

You can take HWY 70 East toward the coast and stop by Wilbur's Barbecue in Goldsboro if you want to sample some of NC's best barbecue. If your lucky, maybe you'll catch some F-15 flyovers while you're there.

I also would consider going up to the outer banks for a few days since you said you were going to be down for a week and a half. After about three days you may start to get bored at Atlantic Beach.

Have Fun.