SeaSkye

We have 10 days in July to drive from Orlando to Chincoteague Island, and are looking for suggestions about places to stay, eat, and explore. My husband will leave the trip on day 8 from New Bern NC, so we're trying to figure out a good itinerary for the jointly traveled 8 days plus the solo couple of days to follow. Already on the itinerary are Savannah and Charleston, and we're probably not lingering in Florida. We like poking around the waterways and beaches, but this won't be a sit on the beach kind of trip - at least not much. We'd rather rent a motorboat and explore an interesting river or bay. We enjoy hiking/walking, discovering local eateries, seeing historic sites. We're not big shoppers, although I am keen on local handicrafts and anything relating to textiles. For hotels, we're hoping to stick to a relatively moderate budget, so probably no expensive resorts in the Outer Banks. We like small towns with character, and are wondering about New Bern and Wilmington as places to stay overnight. In a nutshell, we'd like to visit anyplace coastal that is more small town than resort.

We hope to at least get a glimpse of the Outer Banks at the end of my husband's part of the trip - so around day 7-8. Two questions about that: is it reasonable to stay in New Bern and just take a day-trip drive over there on a Wednesday or Thursday? Or is there a reasonably priced hotel in OBX that's an easy drive to New Bern (flight leaves in the afternoon). After I drop him off, are there any must-see places between New Bern and Chincoteague?

Another big question is whether it's even reasonable to try to fit in OBX before he flies out on day 8. With a couple nights each in Savannah and Charleston, it seems like it could work, but we're open to suggestions that we should slow down!

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

harriet_hughes

Georgetown and Beaufort, SC are both nice smaller towns along the way, worth a couple of hours exploration. Don't know about places to stay in either but Beaufort is a very short drive from Savannah, while Georgetown is quite close to Charleston. Look for the ladies selling sawgrass baskets in Georgetown on the waterfront.

suewoo

I recently enjoyed driving on A1A in Florida for a bit just south of St Aug. It goes right along the beach. Are you using I95? Or 17? 17 through NC does not go right along the coast and goes through little town. I like that, but it might take you too much time.

Why New Bern? It's nice enough, but if you want to see any of the Banks you might want to spend the night there in a hotel. I wouldn't begin to attempt a day trip on a Saturday in July. I'm sure you've looked at the map, so you know the Banks are long and skinny. Have you picked a town there you want to visit?

New Bern isn't on the coast. Wilmington is.

You might want to consider kayaking in the Charleston area, rather than motorboating in the waterways. The tides, currents and depth are complicated and, I think, best seen with somebody who understands that. My buddy Ralph is excellent:
http://www.kayakcharleston.net/

I like Beaufort as well. While you are in that area visit the Old Sheldon CHurch ruins and Hunting Island. See if Gullah Grub is open while you are there. Sometimes he is, sometimes he ain't.

I like driving 17 from Charleston to Wilmington. Stop at the great Seewee restaurant north of Mt Pleasant. 17 through Mt. P is aka "Sweetgrass Highway". (Sorry, helen, it's not sawgrass. That made my day!) Basket makers sell baskets along the road up there. If your budget allows, stay in the historic districts in both Savannah and Charleston. It's worth it.

Look at stopping at Hopsewee Plantation and Brookgreen Gardens up by Myrtle. Take the bypass around Myrtle proper unless you enjoy traffic.

Since you plan on spending time outdoors in July, prepare yourselves. Hydrate and GET. BUG. SPRAY. Do your most strenuous activities in the morning.

Post back when you pick hotels and I can help you with the ones in Charleston.

Gretchen

How did you choose New Bern to fly out of? Just curious.

suewoo

I was thinking Raleigh.

SeaSkye

Thanks for the responses - this is exactly the kind of info I'd hoped for. Driving the back roads really appeals to us. The day trip to Outer Banks would be on a Weds or Thursday; would traffic be much less of an issue then? If we do stay somewhere in OBX, do you have any towns to recommend that are easy to reach? We love ferries, but won't have tons of time to spend at that point.

Flying out of New Bern seemed just as good as flying out of Norfolk or Wilmington, and we didn't want to spend time driving further inland. So we picked it fairly randomly, having no sense of whether we would want to stay there. Sounds like other options will be better, and we just drive there for the airport drop-off.

suewoo

Okay, got it.

I can only guess that New Bern has puddle jumpers. I'm not sure. If you need a bigger airport consider Raleigh. It's not far off I95 and might be more efficient.

There are 2 roads onto the Banks. The ferry is great but you probably would have trouble getting a reservation this late. You should probably use 64 into Manteo, then out to Nags Head. Wednesday or Thursday will be fine.

I think you need to decide how you want to get from Wilmington up to the Banks. If it were me I'd just do 40 to 95 up to 64. However, if you want to see more coast, you could take 17 up to Jacksonville and cut over to Morehead City And the lovely Beaufort NC. Yeah, there's one in SC (byoofurt) and one in NC(bowfurt). I love that area and it's not far from New Bern. I guess you need to decide where you want to spend most of your time.

SeaSkye

These tips will help us decide, so thanks again!

New Bern had surprisingly good and reasonable connections via Charlotte (flying to Seattle), but we won't plan on staying there.

It sounds like 17 from Charleston to Wilmington will be an interesting drive. Is Wilmington worth an overnight visit, or more of a day trip kind of place?

Thanks for a route for our drive to the Banks. If we decided to find accommodations there, would Nags Head be a good place to look?

And in Charleston, I'm thinking of just doing Priceline so we can stay in the Historic District without paying retail. But if anyone has suggestions of well-priced and well-located hotels or b & b's, please chime in!

charsuzan

Don't discount some time in New Bern. It is a charming little town with a nice downtown on the rivers. We did a day there last summer with a cruise on the river. Tryon Palace was a great place to visit.

suewoo

New Bern is great. I just wanted to make sure the OP knows it's not on the coast.

Nags Head is probably your best place to look for an overnight. You may want to book now. It's the beach in summer.

Wilmington would be a good overnight stop.

Use kayak.com to find hotels. It will compare all the opaque sites. Rates fluctuate according to demand. I will warn you against any cheap place in North Charleston. Stay in the Historic District of Charleston if you can. It isn't cheap, but in the heat, you'll want to be near your hotel.

SeaSkye

Great - thanks for the clarification on New Bern. I realized it wasn't coastal, but had hoped it might be a reasonable base for a day trip to the Banks. But I'll see if lodging on the coast is an option too.

Gretchen

You might look at hotels.com. You can choose the actual hotel, and we've found the prices to be pretty good.
The drive from Charleston to Wilmington is only about4 hours. Just out of Mt. Pleasant is the Seewee. At least stop in, and maybe get some fried pickles.
Then at Pawley's/Litchfield there is Brookgreen Gardens. It is well worth a visit for a couple of hours at least.