solitaire11

Hi

We are planning a week long family road trip from NYC metro area to the North Carolina. We will be traveling with my two kids (5 year old and almost 2 year old) along with my parents and my sister and her husband. We have never been to this part of the country before. A few questions:

1) Nags Head looks interesting..but not sure how crowded it gets in August. Is it like Martha's Vineyard in the summer? I don't want to end up there and spend time waiting in traffic and line everywhere!

2) If Nags Head is the place to go, where should we stop in between for an overnight stop? Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance for your help!

suewoo

There will be lots of people at the Banks in August, but nothing like the beaches up north. You should look for a rental soon, since many people rent the same house every year and things get booked. Look at Kitty Hawk too.

I would think where you stop depends on how long it takes you to get through DC. If you can get to Fredricksburg,VA, that might be a good place to stop.

Saturdays are check-in and check-out days for vacation home rentals. That's the worst day to try and get in or out. Any other day should be fine.

Gretchen

Do you want to go to the beach? NC has mountains and a lot of stuff in between!! LOL
The OBX is a wonderful place. There are lots of other great beaches south of it--and maybe easier to get to.
What kind of vacation do you want. You say "road trip".

gail

My first thought was what type of vehicle is going to hold 5-6 adults, 2 kids and luggage?

suewoo

A big one?

solitaire11

Thanks everyone! We probably will have two cars - ours and my sister's! Also, we since we are planning for a week...happy to do a mix of mountains and beaches. We are not the kind of people who like hanging out an amusement park or resort the entire time. Off the beaten is more our groove. And although the parents might not be up for anything too strenuous ...they will be delighted to spend time with the kiddos while we do our thing.

Good to hear that the beaches don't get super crowded like the North east!

Any suggestions for smaller towns near good beaches that might be a better bet for us?

Also, could we stop at the mountains on our way to or fro from NYC?

Thanks again!!

Gretchen

I have driven from Charlotte to outside NYC in 11 hours, up 77 to 81 to 78 (?) if that helps. If your trip is after mid-month in august, you will probably find the beaches even less crowded because school will have started down this way.
The NC beaches further south--Wilmington (Wrightsville) are lovely.
I am not getting the "rhythm" of this trip--all beach, some road, how long, etc.

suewoo

The Banks is full of small towns near good beaches.And it's closer to NY than the others. NC has beautiful beaches.

The mountains are not close to the beaches. If it were me, I'd pick one or the other and enjoy non-driving time together. But that's just my preference. I hate moving around when I'm trying to relax!

solitaire11

Thanks Gretchen and Suewoo. Your replies help! I guess I was overreaching a bit with all that driving considering we have so many different age groups in the mix! I am now leaning towards just driving down to the Banks and spending 5 to 6 days there exploring the area. Any suggestions on which town to pick as a base?

Thanks again!!

suewoo

Nags Head, Kitty Hawk, or Duck. But again, you need to research a rental as soon as you can. If you are looking for a house, you may have to rent it for a week. Many are available through VRBO.

Check out this link. Many owners are on this forum:

http://www.obxconnection.com

Dukey1

A LOT depends on which part of the OBX you choose to stay on. The area of Nags Head, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, is by far the most commercialized. The further north you go from that area as well as the further south, the less congested/crowded it is going to be because the towns/villages in both directions are considerably smaller and have fewer rental properties.

As someone above has suggested, you need to be looking for a rental sooner as opposed to later. Prices for rentals drop in mid August since many schools start going back into session AND the hurricane season (which actually starts on 1 June) is moving toward the time when many of the storms have occurred.

There will be another price drop after the Labor Day weekend and, frankly, for some of us that has been one of the best times to go because there are fewer people and the water remains quite warm.