lmrussell

Coming from PA at the end of March. Hoping for 60's temps. Looking for great beach, shopping, restaurants, etc. Want to rent a home on the beach for the family ranging in age from 9 months to 85 years old. Any suggestions would be helpful, we have never been the NC coast.

cmcfong

I suggest you go to Wrightsville Beach. It is very close to Wilmington and plenty of shops, restaurants, etc. The water will still be pretty cool this early in the spring.
Another option would be to go to Atlantic Beach or Emerald Isle which gives you a chance to visit Beaufort and Southport. There have been several postings lately about the Brunswick Beaches and Wilmington.

cmcfong

Also visit Swansboro, small town near Emerald Isle. If you have the whole crowd with you have lunch at Yanna's...great fritters and milkshakes!

lmrussell

Thanks for the great info!! It was very helpful and gives me a start on where to start looking.

Julz

I haven't been to NC coast in March, but have gone several times in early May, and the weather and water has been gorgeous each time. We got huge rental houses, right on the beach, in the Cape Hatteras area. I liked Avon the best - lots of great places to eat, beaches are beautiful, and just a short drive down the coast to villages like Buxton and Hatteras, and best of all, the ferry to Okracoke. There are a few big real estate companies who handle all the beach houses, and you will not believe what a great place you get for the price. The last one we stayed at had 4 big bedrooms, 3 baths, ocean-view porches (one with hot tub for 6!), jenn-air grill, basketball hoop, video, book, & game library, you name it! Price was about $1200 for 7 days (we split with another couple). WAY worth the money. NO crowds, and no lines anywhere (except the first day at the grocery store when the whole island seemed to be there stocking up for the week. That was a few years ago, and they only had ONE supermarket on the island of Hatteras - probably more now!) I thought that the Outer Banks was one of the loveliest areas of U.S. Have a great time, whereever you go!

lmrussell

Thanks for the information on Hatteras and Avon. Does anyone know of any reputable real estate companies for these areas? I am looking for high end/oceanfront. I am planning on this being a very special vacation for our family. Thanks for all the info.

Julz

We used Hatteras Realty (hatterasrealty.com) and were very satisfied. Did the whole thing on line (you can browse through ALL the beach houses, pictures, etc.) All we had to do was stop in at office when we arrived and pick up a key. No hassles at all. Two others I can think of were Midgett Realty and one called Surf or Sound; heard good things about both. We also went from PA - about 11 hours if I remember.

We also stayed once at a place in Buxton called The Lighthouse - and have friends who stay there every year. My friends stay at the houses that Lighthouse offers and they love it, because you also have access to the hotel's pool and jacuzzi. By the way, lots of the houses that were offered by the real estate place had private pools (some oceanfront!) and MOST had hot tubs. My kids loved Hatteras - beaches are so empty and wide that you can build fires at night (or at least, you could then!) and have volleyball games or just walk for miles. It is totally different from going to Ocean City or Wildwood or any of the places we used to go in NJ and MD. (Those were fun because of all the things to do, but I liked the serenity and quiet of NC.)

Oh, P.S., our favorite place to eat was a place called Dick's Crab Shack in Avon - what a fun place! You can imagine what kind of funny t-shirts you can get!

lmrussell

Thanks for the information on the realty companies. It is fun looking at all of these unbelievable homes!!! It appears as though, even though these home claim to be oceanfront, they are set back far away from the water due to the dunes. Are their any areas where that is not the case, where actually you dont have to walk far to get to the ocean (I am thinking of my 85 year old grandmother..)Thanks.

Julz

The houses that say "oceanfront" are the ones that are on the beach - ALL houses are behind the dunes, and there are wooden walkways over the dunes. The ones that say "oceanview" are really a row back from ocean (but still nice) the "sound-front" and "sound-view" are the same but on the sound, rather than ocean, side. (I, personally, don't like the sound as much - I'd rather be on the ocean.)

Most of the beaches, themselves, are actually screened somewhat from houses by dunes, but that doesn't mean that you aren't right "on" the beach. You are.

Shane

You might want to give Topsail Island, 35 minutes northeast of Wilmington, a try. The best realty companies on the island are Ward's, Bryson and Century 21. All three have web sites with photos and descriptions of their rental homes- type their name, comma, and then Topsail Island. From having rented from them before, I would not trust Topsail Realty.

christiegr

I would go to Ocracoke Island,I live in NC and go there alot. It is pretty.Also Duck NC is nice too.On Ocracoke you can rent bikes and ride around the small town and shop,it is really neat.If you have a 4 wheel drive , you can drive on the beach.The outer bank islands are alot better than the beaches like Wrightsville beach etc. Also if you like to fish , the Outerbanks is great for DSF and surf fishing.I am not sure if the temps will be in the 60s by the end of March.Right now they are in the 40s.I am sure you will have a good time no matter what the temp. if you go to Ocracoke.If you go on the beach real early , right after high tide , you will find Sanddollars on the beach.
The island is not too big , so you can enjoy yourself with everything being convienent.

lmrussell

Thank you so much for the information, I will look into Ocracoke Island. It seems like all the postings say to go there, even if you stay somewhere else so it must be good! I will look into accomodations there and I appreciate the info.

Gretchen

Look at Litchfield Beach and Golf Resort. You can get some very good rates there. And being a bit further south, it may be a bit warmer. Another nice beach community is Garden City which might have more houses than Litchfield. It is just north of Litchfield (Pawley's Island). Nice quiet beach area.

christiegr

You are welcome for the information.Ocracoke is a family island.You can see the Lighthouse from most anywhere on the island.At night, it is beautiful.The shops are in neat little houses.

PDCNurse

I like South Nags Head because it is close to shopping, activities and lots of restaurants, but not too far away from uncrowded beaches and sightseeing areas. If you go in March, it gets really cold, so take a coat.