My wife, 5 mo old baby, and me would like to try to get out to the Outer Banks for the 1st time. I'm looking fwd to getting out somewhere that's not as commercialized as Myrtle Beach. Any suggestions as to where to stay inexpensively and what places/restaurants to hit while we're there?

Are you talking about renting a condo or small house for a week? Or a hotel?

And when are you talking about going?

We're up for any of those lodging options. We'd like to get out there either the end of August or some time in Sept.

If you have a choice I'd opt to go in the latter half of September. The high season is over (rental prices drop dramatically), the kids have gone back to school and the really nasty heat & humidity has begun to diminish.

What's "inexpensive" for you? A number of the rental companies have their inventories on line. You can check prices, location and availability. Twiddy, Atlantic Realty, Southern Shores, Sun Realty are a few suggestions.

I like the Duck area myself. It's largely residential but not far from some good restaurants.

There are good discounted beachfront condos available for end of August. I just got an email the other day and considered going for the last week of August due to the discounts, and I considered going w/my daughter, just the 2 of us.

With a 5 month old, I would want a condo or small house with a kitchen so you are not going out for all meals, and I would want to stay right on the oceanfront so I'd be close to the bedroom for naps. With an oceanfront property one of you could walk on the beach while baby is napping, or you could use a baby monitor and be sitting out on the balcony enjoying the view while baby is sleeping. If you do not go w/oceanfrotn property, then be very careful of the locations of places you are looking at. Some places advertised as being 600 ft. from the beach may be 600 ft as the crow flies, but are actually much further to the beach access area where you can in fact get to the beach on foot. And those walks get really long when you are going back and forth w/a baby.

Since it would have been just my daughter and I going, I looked in particular at a nicely decorated 2 bedrm condo on the beach in Kill Devil Hills that has been discounted; I share it in particular only because I know it is discounted and available, comes w/high chair and playpen, is oceanfront w/a pool in the small complex.

http://seasideobx.vrmreservations.co...tSpecials.aspx

That realtor has good discounts going now for small unrented properties in August and Sept., more than other realtors I looked into for this last minute trip in a small condo.

You might want to look for similar small condos in Duck, a nice family area where you can walk to small quaint shops and restaurants. There might also be small houses in Duck within a block of the beach that are available for late August or Sept.

AS you will see on those sites, Sept rates are drastically less than August. And Sept is quieter, but restaurants and businesses are still open. If I had the flexibility I'd go in Sept.

Some realtors to check online for lower priced options and discounted specials are Village Realty, Sun Realty, Twiddy, Joe Lamb, Prudential, NAgs Head Realty.

FYI, there is a very good urgent care center on the hwy in Nags Head, right across from the OUter Banks Mall, if baby gets sick while you are there. We've gone there several times over the past few summers since they've opened and always get very professional good medical service.

Personally, with a baby that young, I'd stay north of South Nags Head, as I would not want to be down in the more remote areas away from good 24 hr. medical care if something should happen (as it frequently does w/babies).

If you start to find places and are confused about the locations, post back here for further help. It can be a bit confusing if you are not already familiar w/the areas.

obxgirl, I topped a post for you just now where someone is asking for cost of living info in Williamsburg.

Ok, I've checked out some of these rental sites and am wondering - are there any that don't require a minimum of a week's stay?

Rental agencies are moving away from partial weeks, but most still do it in the off season if its a month or less before. I know Sun Realty will...our house is listed by Prudential and I think they will as well. You have to call and ask. There are tons of houses available the last couple of weeks in September, which are always the best two weeks of the year. You can get a really nice house one or two houses back from the beach for $550-$700 a week up and down the beach. When you rent partial weeks, its always a little higher as a per day price.

South Nags Head or Duck are close enough to places to eat and shop, but not in the middle of it. Try not to get a house right on the beach road. Its so quiet after summer, you won't even know there are other people around.

Definately go the the Wright Brothers memorial. The lighthouses are all fun. Hatteras is a long drive if you are there less than a week. There isn't a lot to do...its really a place to relax. If you have bikes, there are plenty of places to ride. Fishing on the pier is always an experience. The Blue Point is our favorite higher end restaurant, but there are lots of great local seafood places. Sam and Omie's
and Goombays are our favorites.

I live in Virginia Beach, 90 minutes from the OBX. We make day trips there, but my seven girlfriends rent a big house there every year (for 20 years) in the off-season.

Off season rates are a great savings. I booked a last minute three day weekend last September for an amazingly low rate. I bargained just a little by telling them another agency had a house for less . . I'm not the kind of person who likes to do that, but it was true.

You might also consider Sandbridge Beach. It's the southern-most tip of Virginia Beach,nearly 20 miles from the "city center" through farmland and secluded like the lower OBX. See http://www.siebert-realty.com/ You could walk to the northern OBX if you like long walks. You can see the wild ponies best in Sandbridge in VA and Duck on the OBX or in between the two.

Sandbridge can be a better value than OBX but you also won't find the traffic (or shopping!) at Sandbridge. No lighthouse either--I recommend the two in Virginia Beach at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. There is one new large condo development that everyone hates, so if you rent, be sure you're not at the southern end of the developed area.

Virginia Beach is nice for families who want lots of activity. The boardwalk is over three miles long, great restaurants, good shopping, First Landing State Park (a real hidden treasure on Chesapeake Bay and inland waters) and the park has cabins.

Oops, the condo development is on Sandbridge, not at the Chesapeake Bay near the lighthouses--I wasn't very clear.

The condos are near the entry to the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge & False Cape State Park. The are both beautiful and nearly deserted. Lots of ponies.

You can get a sense of the beaches on the video at http://sanctuaryresortva.com/pages/webvid.asp--oh, and it shows the Nordstrom in Norfolk for those of you who must be near shopping.