tinkering

Hi all!

I'm thinking of taking a road trip from NYC to the Outer Banks (Ocracoke ultimately). I have 4 days and 3 nights.

I'm mostly after scenery and cool/interesting towns and places to visit along the way. I've never been to that part of the country so pretty much anything is fair game!

Should I take the Cape May - Lewes ferry or go around it? Is that pretty exciting or meh?

I'm thinking of driving along the coast on the way there and then going through Richmond/DC/Baltimore/Philly on the way back to make things more interesting -- is that a good idea?

What would be a good choice for midway points to stay the night, in both directions? By looking at the map I was thinking Lewes on the way there and then perhaps Richmond/DC coming back, but I'd actually prefer something off the beaten path.

Any other ideas on where to stop/sleep on either way?

thank you for any and all input!

-t

PS. I'd be leaving next week! (fri, sat, sun, and back on monday evening)

tekwriter

With the number of hours you'll need to drive to get all the way to Ocracoke and back, especially if you take the back roads, you won't have time to stop and see anything! Ocracoke is a tiny town with very little open in the off-season and if you're not there for the beach, don't bother. The entire trip will be pretty boring, I'd say, with nothing going on in the beach towns. I've just done the drive from Hatteras to Baltimore last June in a day, and there was plenty of the trip that wasn't particulary scenic. For most of the route, you don't drive that close to the shore to see it. This is a trip that you need more time for and much better weather. Seriously.

tinkering

Thank you for this. I was actually suspecting this may be the case so your comment was very helpful. I just saw that the Ocracoke ferry is closed right now, so even that is going against my plans.

In that case I'm open to any road trip suggestions. I have 4 days and I'm starting from NYC. I've been to Long Island and would prefer not to go north/NE up to CT/RI/MA, etc.

Anything else is fair game ... ideas??

starrs

What about Chincoteague Island?

nytraveler

At this time of year any road trip is subject to weather - which might be 40s or might be what we had in the last couple of days. If it were me I would hop a train to DC and spend time doing things indoors - rather than sitting in a car for umpteen hours (and this is from someone who loves road trips).

Dukey1

The driving distance is 515 miles if you use the NJ Turnpike and then take US Rtes 13/113 from Wilmington to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel and then Rte 158 to Nags Head and Rte 12 to Hatteras and the free ferry over to Ocracoke; that ferry runs all year.

When we had a beach house on the OBX we had several neighbors who lived in the New Jersey suburbs of NYC who made the trip almost every weekend and they're still doing it!

As to what you might want to stop and see on the way and what you may or may not find interesting I cannot answer. I just know the trip down is doable and if you don't stay in Ocracoke you could certainly stay further north in a place like Corolla or Duck or even Nags Head and environs; being at the beach during the off-season is a treat in and of itself for some of us.

Suki

IMO, it's a bad time of the year and you don't really have enough time to enjoy the trip. How about a trip to the Brandywine Valley area of PA? Longwood Gardens is open & the Brandywine River Museum and Winterthur are interesting to visit. You could do a day or two in Philly as well (go to the Barnes Museum!)
http://www.brandywinevalley.com/things-to-do/0

If I were to do this trip from New York, I would stop in Lambertville, NJ the first night and enjoy that town and its shops and restaurants and then drive through Doylestown and visit the Mercer Museum as I made my way south towards the Brandywine Valley. You could also visit Valley Forge.

OuterBanksConcierge

T,

if you are looking to come and enjoy the outer banks to unwind, then now is a good time. but check out the weather forecast to make sure it might be a good fit http://www.weather.com/weather/tenda...Hills+NC+27948

Hotel Rates are low check out visitouterbanks.com (Hotel/Motel Association Site)

Restaurants are starting to open back up which means no long lines.

Like the person stated above the weather might not suit you but if you are traveling with a significant other then it will make for some good alone time and it being Valentines Weekend you will want to check out Aqua S (Duck), Ocean Boulevard (Kitty Hawk) or JK's (Kill Devil Hills) for good eats and romantic dinners.

Just thought some local input might help!!!

travelinleaps

Hi. I do this trip several times a year..I live in Jersey. (I go almost every season, family lives there in KittyHawk). I agree with those above who said there is not much time however this time of the year you should be able to breeze down in 8 hours. This time of the year could be really cold still. But if you do want to go I would stay away from 95...that is way out of the way. Listen to what Dukey1 said. But if you must go...maybe stay in Duck as Ocracoke is a bit further down and does not have much going on now at all. Salisbury, MD is our "halfway" point if we leave at night...cuts trip in half. I actually did go to Ocracoke in March once several years ago and we were lucky as it was warmer but you never know down there!!! One of my favorite rest's in Duck is The Red Sky Cafe and "Outerbanks Concierge" offerd some great ones too!! I don;t know any rest in Ocracoke. So if you do go..stop by the sand dune in Nagshead and the Wright Brothers Museum n Kill Devil Hills. The lighthouses are nice too!!!! Oh and you mentioned the LEwes ferry. Better if the summer, I think. Enjoy!!

KathyK

You need more time for this trip. You will spend a full day driving there and another full day driving back (without stopping anywhere). I think you want to be there at leas 4-5 days to enjoy and explore the area.

KathyK

Least not leas

emalloy

Do part of the trip. Take the Garden State to Cape May and then the ferry to Lewes and on down to Chincoteague. Look for the ponies, and if the snow geese are still wintering there, you are in for a treat.

From there you could continue south, go over the bay bridge and then up to Yorktown, Jamestown and Williamsburg. Drive back to Richmond on route 5 and stop at a plantation or two, before the parking lot that is I-95 back home.