gollum

I'm planning a family reunion of about 13 adults and 7 kids somewhere in the outer banks area in mid to late June. I am from DC and most people will be flying into DC for a couple of days first so ideally we don't want the drive to get more than 5-7 hours. I have only been to Duck, NC once about 7 years ago. I thought it was fine, nothing great, although the beach was nice. It had a little bit too much of a standard American touristy feel to it, not a lot of charm. We are looking for an area with nice kid-friendly beaches but not too crowded. Would Corolla be a better choice than Duck? I'm also wondering about Okrakoke and Hatteras Island. A little off the beaten track would be ideal although I'm not sure that is possible in the summer in the Outer Banks. Thanks for your help!

obxgirl

If you didn't like Duck I don't think you'd be impressed with Corolla. Ocracoke and Hatteras are more remote with fewer commercial businesses but I wouldn't call them, or quite frankly any of the OBX, charming. Charming connotes quaint and twee to me but I may not be understanding what you mean by "charming."

If by family friendly beaches you mean beaches where families with kids visit, then they all qualify. If you mean beaches with surf gentle enough for young kids to play in unattended then most of the NC and SC barrier island coast lines won't apply -- all are subject to rip currents.

Mid to late June is high season so you won't be alone and you may be behind the curve in getting a nice rental to accommodate 20. You might consider the northern most beaches in Carova which are off the beaten track b/c they require an off road vehicle to reach them.

gollum

Thanks for the info. I was using the word "charming" loosely.
A town with some character and/or personality would be nice. Duck seemed very developed and packed with people. Gentle surf is not a must as long as one can go in the water with kids and it is not always huge waves and rocks. Carova sounds interesting although logistically more complicated as we will need to rent a couple of SUVs. Perhaps it is still worth looking into.

Dukey1

If you are looking for BIG houses for a group of folks you might try Carolina Designs. We rented a place in Nags Head a couple of years ago with 12 beds with 12 bathrooms and an elevator, etc....THAT sort of place.

As to charming and not too built up and all that...JUST WHERE on the East Coast and close to DC are you realistically thinking?

Cape May? probably too far.

Rehoboth? talk about crowded beaches

Virginia Beach?

BTW, would you and the kids be happy with an oceanfront house and a POOL at the beach? About as gentle as it gets. And there are plenty of those available on the OBX.

scolao

A LOT has changed in Duck over the last 7 years. Maybe not the place you'd want to stay with a large group, but I would encourage you to at least pass through it again while you're here. Great restaurants, shopping and all very cute and quaint. If you're looking to stay somewhere more remote, Corolla or anywhere on Hatteras would probably fit the bill. (Corolla will be quite a bit pricier than Hatteras tho...fyi) Ocracoke is really cute, but really remote - and a 45 minute ferry ride back to Hatteras. As far as kid friendly beaches...they all are, and many of the larger houses have a pool. Hope you enjoy your stay here on the Outer Banks!

taitai

If you want kid friendly, I would avoid the SUV beaches. There are cars driving up and down the beach all day long, often at very fast speeds. That is not kid-friendly. Constantly watching and worrying that the kids would get hit by a car is NOT fun or relaxing.

Last summer we stayed in Corolla and had a great time. Great beach and not very crowded at all even in August. Huge house with lots of room for everyone and a great pool. I wouldn't call Corolla cute or quaint but it also wasn't built up tacky strip mall. Just a nice, rather upscale community on the beach.

It is super late to be planning for this summer so I highly encourage you to get online asap and try to find someplace. We used Twitty Realty to book our house and had a good experience.

Good luck.

gollum

Thanks for all the suggestions. I really appreciate the warning about the SUV beaches as I was considering them.
Corolla is probably the best for us. Hatteras may be better but possibly too far. Good to know that Delaware beaches are more crowded as I was wondering about going there. I guess DC is not the best place to find stand-out vacation spots within easy driving distance. New York and Boston offer so much more with the NY lake region, New England and Cape Cod/Nantucket/Martha's Vineyard.

gollum

Two more questions -

Is there much of a distinction between Duck and Corolla or are they very similar and it does not matter if one stays in either town?

Is the bridge crossing into the Outer Banks also a nightmare in June or is it really bad only in July/August?

taitai

In my opinion, there really isn't much difference between Duck and Corolla. They kind of blend together. Both are nice, upscale, etc. At this point, you are so late to the game in terms of finding a house, that I would just go whichever area is available.

The bridge crossing is really painful on Saturday and Sundays from about 9:30/10am-4pm. We have only been to the OBX in August so I can't comment on the June issue. My guess is that anytime school is out, they are bad. Pretty much ALL the rentals on the OBX are Sat/Sat with some Sun/Sun so the bulk of the traffic is on those days at those times. Your best bet is to cross the bridge as early as possible and then have a plan for how to spend the day until your rental is available. I know Twitty allows early checkins for a small charge.

Gretchen

Does it HAVE to be OBX? Lots of good houses in lots of other NC and SC beaches--and maybe easier to get to.

Gretchen

Oh, and I believe you better get right on it--that is not very long, and at our beaches, the good nice places are rented a year in advance.

gollum

Virginia Beach or Sandbridge would be a shorter drive. I think other NC and SC beaches may be further. I'm assuming that OBX is nicer than Virginia beach although I may be wrong. Any thoughts?

obxgirl

Virginia Beach is more like Ocean City. Sandbridge is a smaller community of older homes -- you will have trouble finding a place to accommodate that size of a group and there is very little in the way of shopping, dining or recreation.

I think "the charm" of the Outer Banks are the beaches, especially those south of Oregon Inlet. I'm not a huge fan of the development that's taken place from Southern Shores north to Corolla but it is what it is. And that's a very popular beach destination with some fairly high end shopping and dining. And, in some areas, monster sized homes.

I don't mean to be negative but you just aren't going to find an out of the way charming little fishing village. Manteo is a small southern town with lots of character but it's sound side, not ocean side. Hatteras and Ocracoke still retain more of the old OBX flavor but they are both another 2+ hours away once you cross the bridge onto the island.

Perhaps Gretchen has some specific suggestions for you. We spent a week at Sunset Beach in NC a couple of years ago and it was lovely.

Gretchen

Sunset is indeed great, and they have finished the bridge. I think your assessment of not finding the queaint little village any more is correct.
The beaches up around Wilmington are beautiful--and I think more accessible than much of the OBX.
Pawley's Island IS still quaint and beautiful.

suewoo

I live in a quaint fishing village that has turned interesting since so many people from off want to live in a quaint fishing village.

In the South, beaches get hit by hurricanes so many of the old beach cottages are gone, to be replaced by McMansions. Pawley's and to some extent, Sullivans Island have some historic cottages. SUllivans has no B&Bs. Maybe Gretchen knows if Pawley's does.

gollum

Thanks for all the help! You folks always come through.
We are now booked for a week in Corolla at one of the super big McMansions there. Hope it works out. Would love ideas for day trips that might make it a more interesting week. We like the beach but it is always fun to have other things to do as well
(and I don't mean outlet shopping).

emd3

Wright Bros. Memorial/museum

Jockey's Ridge at sunset

The NC Aquarium in Manteo

Bodie Lighthouse

you could visit 2 of those one day, two another

tomfuller

What you need to know about climbing the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse: http://www.nps.gov/caha/planyourvisi...lighthouse.htm
The NPS moved the lighthouse to keep it from getting undermined and falling.
My DW and I rode the Cedar Island ferry to the southern tip of Ocrakoke and all the way north to Manteo on our honeymoon.

gollum

Is the Wright Bros. Memorial/Museum pretty good?
It definitely sounds like a cool place to check out.
The lighthouses and Cedar Island ferry are also great ideas.

Can one rent a boat to go fishing in June?

Thanks,
Samar

emd3

YES, the Wright Bros memorial and museum is very good. The US Park Service runs it and they have very good presentations for adults and for kids (I still remember, "pitch, yawl, and roll", lol). There is a lifesize replica of their plane inside, and outside there are markers that are part of the tour regarding where they took off from, landed, etc.

There are charter fishing boats at Oregon Inlet. There are places to rent smaller boats, kayaks, etc on the sound side.

In Corolla we like to rent (or take our own) bikes and bike around the Curritick Heritage park where the Whalehead Club is (google that)and the sound side close by where there are some cool shops (a very nice bookstore in particular)in very old buildings, an old one rm. schoolhouse you can visit (w/kids activities), and the Corolla lighthouse there.