I will be traveling to the Outerbanks area in the last week of August and would love some advice in fun things to do, places to go, places to stay, etc. My husband and I will be travling with our 7 yr old son.

Any good fishing trips?? Private or group?

Anything that's a "must see?"

Please feel free to email me.

THANKS!!! Suzanne

Kitty Hawk and the museum commemorating the Wright Brothers' first flight. Really well done, I'm sure your 7 year old would be interested.

And how about Cape Hatteras? It's fascinating to see the lighthouse and learn how it was moved away from the sea which was threatening its foundations.

We stayed overnight at the Comfort Inn Buxton, perfectly adequate if you don't mind a standard chain accommodation. I'm sure others will have more inspiring ideas here!

Good suggestions from Rosemary. I'll add the aquarium in Manteo and if German food is to your liking, go to the Weeping Radish restaurant (also in Manteo). Yummy sausages and sauerkrauts and if you and/or your husband like beer, there are (according to my husband) lots of great ones. Enjoy your stay at the Outer Banks. We were there for a brief 2 days last year and look forward to going back.

Just got back from a week in Nags Head. We had rented a house with a pool which was nice and convenient to the beach access. We enjoyed Jockey's Ridge park where you walk to the top of this gigantic sand dune. It's kind of like being in a scene from "Lawrence of Arabia". There are hang-gliders you can watch and the view is beautiful. We also liked Manteo but the kids weren't too thrilled. We went to the Elizabethan Gardens on Roanoke Island and the kids actually did enjoy that. The adults liked the Wright Bros. monument but when we were there the museum was pretty much closed due to some sort of leak or something. The kids really weren't inspired. We also took a day trip to Ocracoke Island and rented bikes which was fun. Be forewarned, there is no place to park along the roads there so you pretty much have to bike or walk. The beaches are nice, the water warm. The kids mini-golfed about 3 times. We also ate at a restaurant on the sound side called Penguin Isle. We went without kids but there were a number of people with children there. If you like wine they have an excellent wine list and a beautiful sound side view.
The only negatives I have are that you really have to do a lot of driving to do anything. I'm glad we didn't stay farther south than Nags Head. Although I would do it without kids because it much more peaceful, my kids would have been bored stiff since we had 3 days of cloudy/rainy weather.
Enjoy!

One more comment- the Hatteras lighthouse was closed when we were there. They were repairing some problem so don't know when it will re-open. The only one open so that you could climb to the top was the one in Corolla and we never made it there because we didn't want to do the driving.

Couple more. It's been several yrs so I'd assume this stuff is still around.

1. A Dolphin Tour. It launched from the oecan beach (at the Sheraton in Nags HEad) and went to spot dolphins. We were on a catamaran (sp?) and were only feet above the h20 - great views of dolphins (several pods). Truly awesome. Safe.

2. Seining the sound. A program sponsored by the state park (Jockey's Ridge). Good for kids (and older kids!). The sound was a great alternative to the ocean, which was closed a few days we were there.