We are planning a trip to the Outer Banks area in late May of 2004. It'll be my husband, and 3 kids at that time they'll be 8, 6 and 5 yrs old. Things to do for them???? If we stay in S.Duck (more than likely) we have rental house that we are looking into. How far am I from like the Aquarium? What about the Wright bros. museum? Lets say we want to go down to like the Orkacoke area, do we drive or do we have to take a ferry down that way? How far would it be from S.Duck? There is so much I want to do but I'm just not sure if its going to be doable. We are planning on staying 5 days maybe 6--probably 6.

Thankyou for any input on any of this!!
Tracy

mslacie70,

All the information you need. http://www.outerbanks.org/

I just did a Google search and entered outer banks, north carolina. Simple.

Curious

Duck to Wright Bros Memorial is about 12 or so miles and 20 minutes by car.

Duck to the Aquarium (on the other side of Manteo) is about 45-60 minutes by car. The kids will enjoy the aquarium.

Duck to Okracoke is about 3 hours plus ferry time. It's a day trip and a lot of time for 3 kids to spend in the car. Beautiful place though.

Pick up a copy of the Coastland Times (published Sunday and Wednesday) which will list the week's activities for the entire Outer Banks area.

Stuff for kids to do (other than the beach):

Take a dolphin watch boat ride on the sound.

Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge (right after Oregon Inlet, 30 minutes or so from Duck) has small and easy going hikes with great bird watching. There are some Jr Ranger activities. Nags Head Woods Preserve also has good kid themed nature activities. Light and easy hikes there too.

If you do go to the aquarium, Manteo is a cute little town with shops and restaurants. Kids usually love the Christmas Shop which is room after room of lighted and decorated Christmas trees.

The usual line up of commercail stuff (mini golf, bowling, paint your own pottery, movies)

There's one of those monstrous tubular playgrounds on your right after you cross the bridge to the island. There's an admission fee.

Rent bikes

Fly kites

Have an ice cream cone and watch the sun set over the sound (Waterfront Shops in Duck).

Have fun!

The Wright Bros. mem'l is not much (last time I was there, maybe there's something new for the centennial), but Jockeys Ridge (enormous sand dune) is nearby and would probably be fun.

The wright brothers museum you should see for sure. Its there claim to fame.

I must say that it will take more the 15 min. to get there though. Traffic getting off of Duck can be a pain. Its only 2 lanes.

Your kids will want to spend alot of time on the beach so I wouldnt pack it with activity.

I also like Manteo when I was a kid. I still love the Christmas shop.

I went there for the first time when I was in the 2nd grade and have been visiting for the last 22 years. Its a great choice for a family vacation. I stayed in Corolla past Duck for the 1st time and loved it. Nags Head and KittyHawk are much too over developed for me.

I also loved Ocracroke. We did it one day when it rained. There was fun stuff to do and see, but wouldnt give up a beach day for it.

But there is mini golf in several places, lots of shops. I love the Kite store in KittyHawk and the Dunes. They are fun to watch people hang glide.

Enjoy!
JK

Thankyou everyone for your input. I've printed out the replies and stuck them all into my folder for our vacation! I can NOT wait to go!

Tracy