OBX, Duck in July
 

I need some practical information, please. We are renting a house just south of Duck for a week this month. We will have a rental car and drive from the airport. My idea is to stop at a grocery store before hitting OBX. Any hints from experienced visitors?

Also, is it worth it to rent bikes for a week? It's certainly cheaper per day to do that, but I wonder how much biking a family of four with two elementary aged kids will want to do.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.
Nancy

I'd suggest getting a map and checking it out.

In common with the Florida Keys, the Outer Banks are very linear. And traffic-congested during the peak season(s.)

A grocery-store stop before getting to the house is an excellent idea. I suspect you'll want to check out your surroundings before venturing out too much.

I doubt that bikes are a good idea.

On our stay, we were a little south of Nags Head. Made a day-trip up to the Duck/Corolla area, and another down to Ocracoke. I remember a lot of mileage. And being glad it was mid-September, and not in peak season.

Are you flying into Norfolk or someplace north of the Obx? If so, you'll encounter two huge supermarkets about a mile after you hit the island. Seamark on your right and Food Lion on your left. You'll find everything you need there. There are lots of produce & seafood stands on your trip down Rt 158. Grandy Market has some fabulous pies and cookies. There supermarkerts on your way down (couple of Food Lions) but the only advantage to stopping there might be smaller crowds. Buy a cooler for the perishables, tho, in case you hit a traffic backup (very possible in July).

There are a number of produce stands and a gourmet grocery in the Duck. Prices are MUCH higher there but if you want a buffalo streak or some other esoteric item, it's available.

Just south of Duck is Southern Shores. Are you staying there? Bikes are great in SS and most of Duck. You can ride on the very quiet Ocean Blvd in SS and there is a bike/walking path adjacent to Duck Rd. There are other places in the Obx to ride as well...can't think of what they are this early in the morning. Do a search here or let me know and I'll dredge up the info. I'd be inclined to rent bikes by the day if the whim to ride strikes you.

Have a great trip!

OBXGIRL; Thanks for the info! We are flying into Richmond and driving from there. Yes, we are staying in the Southern Shores area. I planned on taking a cooler with us and using it on the drive in.

Has it been your experience that bikes to rent are in good supply?

Also, can I ask about who you would recommend for a four wheel tour of the area north of Corolla? I promised my daughter I'd take her to see the ponies.

Thanks for your time.
Nancy

Nancy: I have been looking into Corolla OUtback ADventures (www.corollaoutback.com) for tours of the area north of Corolla where the horses are, as we are staying in Corolla for a wk. in August (and then in Nags Head for a wk). Years ago, we used to have them right on the beach and around the houses we rented in the northern OBX (not good for them obviously, but they were lovely), and would like to see them again now that the kids are older. I may do a separate post asking about experience w/them unless someone responds here about experience w/them.
Re bikes: We always rent before we go. We use Ocean Atlantic Rentals; they have a Duck office (252-2614346), as well as Nags Head and Corolla. www/oceanatlanticrentals.com
They do seem to have bikes available in front of the their stores, but the advantage of renting before you go is that they will deliver the bikes to the house and they will be there when you arrive. If you wait til you get there to rent, I don't think you can get them delivered right away, you have to go there and ride them away.

What day/time are you driving from Rickmond? We may be able to help you a bit more in that area, as the drive can be congested at certain times, adn you may want to rearrange your drive time due to that, or have alternate things to do so that you arrive at the famous bridge traffic at a better time rather than a worse one.

obxgirl, isn't that a 4-5 hour trip?

It has been a long time since I've made that drive so my memory may be sketchy. We also hit traffic.

It shoudl be 4-5 hrs., but can be alot longer than that from Richmond depending on when you do it. We have tried to leave on Friday early afternoon to just get to Norfolk to stay overnight so we coudl get up early and just haev a shorter drive to the OBX, and that was a disaster- it took 7 hrs. just to get to Norfolk that time. We find it best to get up very early the day the rental starts, and leave northern VA by 6 a.m. the latest, get across the bridge btwn 11 and 12, and then have lunch and shop til it's time to get in the house.

Nancy,

We've been on the wild horse tour with Wild Horse Safari (http://www.outerbankstours.com/wildhorsesafari/). It was a good tour and the guides were well versed in the history and ecology of the Outer Banks. I'm not familiar with the company emd mentioned except that I've seen them advertised.

Another suggestion if your daugther is an animal enthusianst would be a "dolphin cruise." The tours are typically taken on covered pontoon boats in the sound and dolphins frequently swim along side of the boats. It's also a great way to cool off on the water when the temperatures are up there.

Go_T, the trip should take them 3.5 hours from the Richmond airport without traffic burps. Alas, traffic burps are almost a certainty.

Nancy, as emd asked, if you post your arrival time/day, we can give you some hints for possibly avoiding the worst choke points.

Message: Obxgirl has got it right. No need to buy your groceries too early--Seamark and Food Lion are large grocery stores, though I prefer Seamark.

Ditto about the bicycle paths, especially in Duck. Ocean Blvd. is nice and quiet.

Emd, what type of info are you seeking about the wild horses? We stayed in the 4WD area last summer and saw the horses frequently and close up, especially morning. Tours of the area are offered using three-wheelers which go into the dunes, but hopefully those are banned by now.

I'm not going to engage in dueling drive times here, but the trip from the Richmond airport to the Obx is not normally 4-5 hours. It can take that long in summer traffic. Again, let us know when you're arriving and some alternate routes can be provided.

2nd timer: We will be driving a 4 WD vehicle down to the OBX. But I have never driven it in sand. I am concerned about getting stuck (I know, that's the point of a 4WD, but I just am not versed in how to drive it in sand). Do you think I can safely drive up in that area? I gues you did it, and others do. If so, I could eliminate the tour and just drive up there at our leisure, and hopefully catch up w/some ponies to see.

Oh sure you can drive in sand. My husband did most of the driving, but I did some as well. I highly recommend it--it's not scary unless you try to do something stupid. A weekday morning would be wonderful. (Weekends are full of daytrippers.) Drive up north as far as Carova if you can.

Here are some tips off the top of my head:

Deflate your tires in Corolla at the convenience store/gas station on left side of the road (probably a Winks), before end of the paved road, then air them up again. Sorry I don't recall the poundage.

Easiest to drive a low tide--don't get too close to the water or too close to the dune. We probably drove @ 15 mph when people and traffic and sand conditions were such. At low tide when the beach was empty, we reached 35-40 mph (and it feels like flying).

DO use your turn signal to communicate with other drivers. Drive slowly and safely.

My husband likes to put our Tacoma in already-formed tire ruts--hands off--and let it drive itself. LOL.

The only tricky part I can think of is getting over any dune in order to drive into the wooded area where you are bound to see the horses. You only want to go over a dune that is a designated "road" which is simply graded sand. You have to start a ways back from the dune and have momentum.

Great information here. I do appreciate all the responses. OBXgirl, we are flying in on a Sunday, which after reading the posts I'm even MORE happy about. I expect that we will be landing sometime in the early Sunday afternoon and renting the car.

I'll check into the wild horse safaris and dolphin cruise, too. Both my kids will like those activities.

Thanks again for helping!
Nancy

OH HAPPY DAY! I just got off the phone with hubby; when I read we had potentially a 4 hour drive from the airport I blew a gasket. He double checked the info he gave me and---!!!---we fly into Norfolk. Whew. Land around 2pm on Sunday afternoon.
Nancy

My family and I are going to OBX next weekend. We are driving down from Maryland and staying over in Hampton, Va. Friday night.
We are planning to go to Kitty Hawk, Nags Head and then a liitle farther south. We want to drive around that road circle on the next island over(I forgot the name) and then back. This will be a one day event, then back to Hampton for one more night before going home.
What would be the best time for us to leave Hampton (about 21/2 hrs. away) on Saturday to avoid the traffic in OBX?
Best time to go back?
Also, our 4 year old grandson will be with us. Any suggestions for him?

Thank you!

I'd really rethink a Saturday day trip to the Outer Banks, especially with a 4 yr old in tow. Sat. is the day the majority of rental homes turn over so you'll encounter megacrowds coming and going all day long. On the return, you'll be sharing I-64 with the Va Beach/Norfolk daytrippers.

If you do make the trip, I'd leave Hampton as early as you possibly can. Backups at the bridge/tunnel into Norfolk can start as early as 8 am on a Saturday with a good weather forecast.

For the 4 year old, I'd recommend the beach! There are public beaches in Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head. Another reason for getting the earliest possible start....parking spaces are in short supply for public beach access. At 4, my daughter's favorite outing (after the beach) was a couple of rounds of miniature golf and an ice cream cone.

Sorry to be so pessimistic. I hope your trip goes smoothly but there is the potential there for ending up with some tired adults and a crabby kid. May the traffic gods be with you.

What time does the departing traffic going back to Hampton usually start?

For info purposes. From norfolk it will take you about an hour to cross the bridge to the OBX, then about 30-45 mins with traffic to SS/Duck. Faster if no traffic, but not going to happen this time of year. Wait to buy food, not that much more expensive and I recommend checking in first, because you will probably find things you forgot about or will want, and why make more than 1 trip. As for 4 wheeling, the sand is very firm and you only have to worry about the first 100 feet onto the beach, otherwise you can probably put it back in 2 wheel drive. Rent bikes for the week if you are off or away from the main road, the side streets are great for biking and if you go early enough(before 9am), it is quite peaceful. Hope you have a great time.

Thank you for the information. I appreciate it.
Nancy