Outer Banks with Little Kids
 

Hi all. We're thinking about visiting the Outer Banks in early September with our kids that will be 5 1/2 and 2 1/2 at the time of the visit. We want nice beaches but not too far from activities as a whole week of all day/every day at the beach is too much for us. I guess my first question is is OBX the place for us or is it just pretty much beach when you are talking about kids that age? If so, where would you suggest? I've briefly looked around Duck on VRBO and it seemed like there is not alot of selection for places for only the 4 of us as the houses are HUGE!

Did you check around Kill Devil Hills or Manteo?
If you want to look farther south, check Atlantic Beach/Salter Path area with Morehead City nearby.
Take the ferry from Cedar Island to Okracoke and then drive all the way (including free ferries) to Manteo.
The things to do are pretty much fishing, camping, and walking the beach. Wind can be a problem there if you are camping.

Thanks Tom. No the only place I checked was Duck and only a quick check since we just started planning.

I've been to the OBX, Corolla area, with kids from age 6 months or so to 16, and they all had a great time. But it is definitely a relaxing type vacation; they tended to go from pool to hot tub to beach back to pool again! (Except for maybe a lighthouse and crabbing excursion, and the traditional souvenir buying trek on the last day...) Come to think of it, they did bike riding, too, even some of the littles.

I like Manteo a lot, but then I don't like those giant houses designed to take vast intergenerational groups.

But I stayed in one of those houses, so I can't give you a recommendation.

If you go to the Banks, you're going there for the beach. It's not a wide beach unless it's low tide. The surf can be rough, or not, depending on the day.

There are some smaller cottages back off the beach. All are elevated so be aware you'll have to go up steps. If you want lots of entertainment other than the ocean, you might have to bring some toys.

Hmm, I'm thinking that this might not be the best choice for us for a full week. We stayed at the beach outside Charleston for a week last year and loved it but ended up spending 1/2 the day exploring and then a few hours at the beach. This might be too much beach for us...

Good thinking. The 5 1/2 will do fine, but the 2 1/2 will love these beaches when they are older. A whole day on the beach now is probably too much, and that isn't even asking your pediatrician about how s/he feels about kids this small in the sun.

We went to the OB quite a while ago when our kids were in elementary school. Like you, there were 4 of us and we didn't need a gigantic house. We rented a condo a little north of Duck (Corolla?). They do exist. We liked the condo, as it was a 5 min walk to the beach and the complex had a really nice swimming pool. I will search to see if I can find the mgmt company we used. If you sort the VRBO site on # of bedrooms low to high, you will see the smaller 1 & 2 bedroom places, which are usually condos.

You might want to check out The Lost Colony in Manteo, it is a play about the arrival to the New World and has a lot of history in it. It is very interactive and I think your kids might enjoy it. Ours were a little older. It was a great introduction to the history of the area and my kids really liked it. http://www.thelostcolony.org/index.htm

OK so here is our revised plan. Please feel free to comment. By way of background, we're road tripping from Chicago.
Day 1-Louisville and maybe Lexington area-I'm thinking Churchhill Downs and maybe a visit to one of the horse farms near Lexington.
Day 2 - Asheville- Biltmore + ?
Day 3-6 Outerbanks. I'm thinking Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk, Okracoke. I'd like my daughter to see wild horses and she's way into pirates so any tips here appreciated.
Day 7-8 Raliegh/Durham- We're big ACC fans so UNC/Duke are on the roster.
Day 9-10-home

What does everyone think? I'm going to post separately for each area but I'd appreciate all input.

Oops. Should be Raleigh.

Thanks Aliska. I went to the Lost Colony as a kid and remember liking it as well. I think maybe I can take my daughter and the little guys stays with Dad or vice versa.

For you stay in the Outer Banks, be aware that most houses/condos rent for a minimum of 1 week, so you might have to stay in a hotel. You might be able to find something on VRBO for 3 nights, but most rental agents have the 1 week minimum. I could be wrong, but I thought the wild horse population was in Corolla and there are far fewer than there used to be.

Thanks Kathy. There seem to be a few on VRBO near Duck that rent for 3 nights. We're looking at after Labor Day so I'm hoping that they'll be more flexible with their schedules after then too.

Aside from the horses, is there any reason you're not thinking of a closer beach? Wilmington area? (Battleship North Carolina) or on down toward Ocean Isle, etc. Lots to do, good beach.
It isn't "authentic" but there is a sailing ship (tall ship) out of Georgetown SC that does "pirate cruises" that is really pretty cute and really fun for kids. The crew all dresses up, tell pirate stories, climb the mast. The kids get to pull on the ropes, etc. It is very cute.
There is Kentucky Horse Park at Lexington.
You are doing a good bit of sightseeing en route, and may not be allowing enough time. I would not do Biltmore with your kids.
Also, you may want some insurance for hurricanes that time of year. It is absolutely THE most beautiful time to be at any beach in my opinion.

Link to Assateague Island Pony swim. http://www.assateagueisland.com/ponyswim/ponyswim.htm

This happens in late July. This is a very well attended event but you can see wild horses there anytime.

Thanks everyone. Gretchen, you're right-we're ditching the Biltmore on further review. As for OBX as opposed to a closer beach, I was there as a kid and loved it and my DH has always wanted to go. I've looked a bit more and there are plenty of places by the day after Labor Day so we're ok there. Any suggestions as to what towns are best? We definately want to go to Okracoke but should we stay there or is it too hard to get everywhere else?

We liked Nags Head or Corolla Light when our kids were younger. We have gone to both many times and have been to both in the last 3 yrs.

Corolla Light has nice outdoor playgrounds for the kids and nice pools (one is right close to the oceanfront) and an indoor pool complex in case it rains. You can rent bikes (with a carrier for the kids) and ride around the bike paths at Corolla Light then ride down to old Whalehead Club and Currituck Lighthouse. The sound side of Corolla has a nice pier to crab off of, the kids loved that and we just threw the crabs back in the water. It is a great family vacation, with lots to do for kids besides the beach. They have organized kids events in the summer.

Nags Head has some nice features for kids like mini-golf places right off the beach, and amusement parks. We like the beach there much better than in Duck; some areas in Duck can have quite a drop off a short ways out. Jockey's Ridge is close by Nags HEad and is nice in the evening, lots of kite flying there. Nags Head is also close to Manteo and the nice NC Aquarium there. That aquarium is a fun half day for kids, lots of interactive exhibits like kids can touch turtles and rays in shallow pools inside, etc. There are condo complexes that rent for long weekends in Sept. We have stayed many times at Heron Cove condos where there is a nice oceanfront pool. There is also a nice bike riding path on the beach side in Nags Head and a nice long fishing pier where it is fun to take kids and they can watch the fishermen bringing in their catch, and you can fish w/the kids there. Nags Head is very much an old time family resort area; Corolla Light is much more organized w/programs for the kids.

With kids that age it is all about having options to keep them engaged and busy with something fun and interesting for them (and wearing them out so they drop off early at night, and you two can get some down time alone, right?). Corolla Light and Nags Head are good for those things.

You're right on the money emd-it's all about wearing them out! I'll check out your suggestions. Anyone else have any suggestions?

What are everyone's thoughts on Nags Head? We are looking at the Sea Spray Cottages. Has anyone stayed there?
http://www.vrbo.com/global/siteFrame.aspx?l=235813&k=1

For several years we rented in Corolla with another family for the last two weeks in August. We had some bad weather experiences at that time of the year. MANY no swimming days due to rough surf. I absolutely love the Outer Banks, but since our vacations have to be in late August, we have been going elsewhere.

Hmm good to keep in mind. Has anyone else experienced this in mid September? The upside to having small kids is that we aren't really swimming but more wading and playing in the sand but still...

That is always a risk at the beach. A storm can be way off the coast and provide rough surf even in nice weather.

Re the Sea Spray cottage: I looked at the location. Generally that is a great location. From the map on the VRBO site the cottage appears to be on the beach side of the highway (HWY 158) which is the main road and is a very busy highway. You still have to cross "the beach rd." (hwy 12) which is a two lane rd., to get to the beach, but that is not a big deal, you just have to hold onto the little ones as you cross that rd.

But I can not get any feel for exactly where this cottage is in relation to the beach. I have stayed in small houses at milepost 11 and also at 11.5, in the same neighborhood, and there are several streets there btwn Hwy 158 and the beach. I would ask for an address to the cottage so you can look at maps online and figure out where it is in relation to the beach. It can be a bit of a walk with your stuff from some of those cottages to get to the beach, some cottages are much closer than others to the beach.

You will be across Hwy 12 from Jockey's Ridge, which will be nice, and you will be close to restaurants and shopping, but in a nice quiet neighborhood. FYI, is one of the kids gets sick, there is a very good Urgent Care center on Hwy 11 acros from the Outer Banks Mall, not far from that cottage. I have had to take my kids in there and I got treated myself in there once.

You'll be close to a nice small but cool minigolf place on the beach rd. at milepost 11, called Galaxy Golf. It is Star Wars themed. You'll be very close to the Nags Head pier. The restaurant on the pier is a great place for breakfast or lunch. Lots of fisherman and families hanging out there.

Go to the page below and click on "Bainbridge St." on the right side of the video screen. There is a short video of the Bainbridge St. entrance (access) to the beach. That is close to the Sea Spray Cottages. You will see the "beach rd." that has to be crossed to get to the beach. See how some of the cottages are right on the beach road? That is another reason to fidn out exactly where your cottage is. I would not want to stay in a cottage that is right on that beach rd.
Ask the owners of that cottage what beach access is closest to the cottage.
When in the neighborhood we use the Bonnett St. beach access, as it is more level, doesn't have the high stairs to cross that Bainbridge St. access has.

Here is the video of the Bainbridge access:
http://wn.com/stbeach

And here is a very good map of Nags Head and all of the beach accesses and other good info on this map. Click on it and enlage it several times to get a good map of what is around milepost 11.5 to 11.7

http://www.townofnagshead.net/vertic...8DD8F6F%7D.PDF

Finally, here are some other 1950s cottages called Pelican Cottages that we have looked into renting in that same area, at milepost 12. These cottages have private direct beach access, no crossing any rds to get to the beach, you are on the beach. And there is a private dune top deck. Also one really nice thing they offer is that access to the Nags Head YMCA complex is incluced in the cottage rental. There is a wonderful indoor pool at that YMCA, a real plus for small kids, and a great outdoor pool with all kinds of kids stuff, slides, like a little water park. The rates are similar to the cottage you are looking at for early Sept., and if you go after Sept 11 the rates are much lower. Personally, I would go for one of these cottages. You might want to check these out. Click on "cottages" for pics- you can see, they are on the beach- the beach is on front of the cottages and the bike path is behind them.
http://www.pelicancottages.com/index.html

Here is another site that has pics of the Pelican Cottages. These pics are good as you can see the layout of the 3 cottages in relation to each other. One is on the beach and the other two are right behind it, in a row.

http://www.ncbeaches.com/OuterBanks/...licanCottages/

Rough surf can happen at any time of the year. Regardless of the weather, kids that young should always be closely supervised even when playing in the surf.

>> definately want to go to Okracoke but should we stay there or is it too hard to get everywhere else?<<

With little kids, I wouldn't stay in Ocracoke unless you were planning to spend the huge majority of your time on the southern beaches. It's not hard to get elsewhere, just a long drive which doesn't go over well with the Are We There Yet set.

There are a couple of companies that run eco tours that include wild horse safaris. They normally run for a few weeks after Labor Day. I think they are mostly focused on the northern beaches. Google wild horse tours outer banks and you should get a good look at what's available.

Thanks everyone! The Pelican Cottages do look great and we'd be getting there just in time for the daily rates. It looks like the average temp is around 80 in mid-September. Does this seem right?

Yes. And mid-Sept. is a wonderful time in the OBX.

Please let me know by posting back here if you go with the Pelican cottages. I will be interested in your experience which I hope you will take time to post after you get back.

Just be aware that this is the height of hurricane season. If it were me, I might look for travel insurance that covers the cost of lost occupancy and evacuation.

While I normally agree with the rec to get travel insurance for a stay in the OBX, I'd check ahead to see if it's worth the cost for only a few nights. Some policies require you to be evacuated for 24-48 hours before they kick in with coverage. It is worth thinking about though.

Right. And some policies require mandatory evacuations. But it's hurricane season on the Banks. I'd get it anyway.

Good tip. I've never bought travel insurance in the past but this seems like a good time to start...