I am looking for a great beach in NC to take a vacation to? and a great hotel on the ocean..? Is there anywhere in NC that has a boardwalk with games and rides?? Also, we are not looking to travel too far, we now live in NJ, so I guess no more than 8 or 9 hours. Can anyone help us out?

I don't think any NC beaches have boardwalks. There are some mini-golf places near the beach but I don't remember any game and ride places. Maybe in Nags Head? Though you could take you chances and climb the recently reopened Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.

I know Ocean City Maryland has a boardwalk with shops and an amusement park at one end. The first time I went there I was awed by the setup.

I hope others respond to this.

Sounds like maybe you would like Myrtle Beach S.C. - great beach - crowded but so are the Outer Banks now.

Wrightsville Beach or Carolina Beach may be more of the type place you are looking for.

And I disagree with the comment above about the Outer Banks being "crowded" as it depends opn which part of the OB you are staying in..Nags Head...yeah, that's the usual jam up...Hatteras and Ocracoke...many many fewer folks even at the height of the season.

Have you considered Sunset Beach, NC, only a few miles north of Myrtle. Very middle to upper middle - nice homes for rent - flat, terrific beach. Not crowded. Easy walk to the beach. Contact Sunset Properties. A house sleeping 1-12 near the beach normally runs about $1200 or so for the week during the summer season.

Sunset Beach, Ocean Isle (just above Sunset), Wrightsville (at Wilmington).

With due respect, if TiffanyLynn is lookinf for an Atlantic City NJ, Ocean City Md type of beach, I don't think any of the ones mentioned will fill her bill.

Wrightsville has no games or rides or miniature golf or anything along that line, and no boardwalk. There are very few restaurants and only 3 hotels that even approach "resort" status. There is certainly a lot more to do in Nags Head by way of games and rides, etc., and Carolina Beach has more restaurants, etc., looks a tad more like Virginia Beach. Sunset and Ocean Isle are still a bit modest when it comes to entertainment, although more than Wrightsville, perhaps.

But Tiffany, suggest you consider Virginia Beach or accept the idea of going on all the way to Myrtle is really going to get you closer to what you want.