Hello,

We are planning a trip to North Carolina in August. First, we will help our daughter move to UNC-Chapel Hill, then we plan on vacationing in NC. I realize NC is a long state. How long is the drive from Chapel Hill to Asheville & from Chapel Hill to the Outer Banks?

I have been doing some research & have talked to friends about the Outer Banks. One friend recommends staying in Duck & another recommends Ocracoke Island. Seems like northern Outer Banks are more crowded & that southern Outer Banks are less crowded, more pristine. We prefer unspoiled beaches, & don't need boardwalks, amusements, etc. Looking for beautiful beaches, great seafood, maybe some nature trails & kayaking. How long does it take to drive the whole length of the Outer BAnks?

What are some of your favorite towns to stay in & why? Many thanks for your advice.

About 2 hours to Asheville, roughly 4 hours to the Outer Banks.

Thanks, Hills 27.

We recently stayed on Nags Head and drove to Ocracoke and back for a day trip and this is what I would recommend. Ocracoke is a great little island and we had fun but in order to get there you have to take a ferry and the wait can be a little long. To stay on Ocracoke you would have to do that any time you wanted to go someplace else. Sounds like Hatteras might be a good choice for you and then you can visit north or south or stay put. The Outer Banks are laid back and you will love being there!

It's about 5 hours to Asheville (in the mountains) and under 2 hours to Asheboro (zoo) from Chapel Hill.

It's also about 5 hours to the OBX, but if you go to Ocracoke, it will be longer because of the ferry.

I would stay more towards Cape Hatteras, but really, anywhere is great.

It's seems like a really long drive, but we always go from Asheville to Fisher Island (south of Wilmington). I love this town, it's right down from Ft. Fisher and the national park, wild beaches, LOTS of wildlife, great food and not too touristy, while you can run right up to Wilmington, which is a gorgeous city, and get all citified if you feel the need. We got to Emerald Isle (mid coast) from Fisher in an easy day (taking ferries and looking about) and then then on Ocracoke. There is alot of history in the northern banks and they are pretty, but in my opinion, I love the Emerald Isle and lower banks, just really neat and not as developed. Lots of places to find solitude. JMO! Have fun!!!

Those who put the Chapel Hill - Asheville trip at 2 hrs. are way underestimating, but 5 hrs. is a little overestimating. We usually figure about 4 1/2.

Chapel Hill to OBX is another question, but you can't do it in 4.

From CH to Wilmington is only 2 - 2.5 hrs., but once you start trying to get to islands it gets much longer. CH to the Cedar Island ferry (for Ocracoke) is about 3.5 hrs (traffic permitting) but the ferry is 1.5 and there's waiting time before that (you need reservations).

To points north, you have to decide whether to work your way north from Ocracoke or work your way from one of the two bridges way up north to the seriously over-developed Nags Head area. I love Duck, but from Chapel Hill it's 5 hrs. in the middle of the night with no traffic; any other time you have to figure in time of day, weekday vs. weekend, etc. Those bridges get profoundly backed up around the weekend renters-in and renters-out flow, and approaches to them both on and off the island can be rough.

The whole length of the island chain is "only" 107 miles, BUT you won't be averaging 60-70 MPH anywhere there (more like 20-40, and 10 MPH in congested Nags Head-Kitty Hawk area), so without stopping it might be 4-5 hrs. but you'll want to stop here and there to appreciate the National Seashore, the less crowded towns, etc.

SOme of that was confusing. To clarify:

If you want to drive CH to the northern OBX, it's at least 5 hrs., in part because the roads aren't limited access highways. Then you have to deal with traffic/timing crossing out onto the islands.

You don't go through Wilmington to get to Ocracoke (see a map) but I mentioned that because Wrightsville Beach is the closest "real" beach to Chapel Hill in terms of time, and it marks the very southern end of the main OBX.

I think you'd like Ocracoke a lot, but you could look at Bald Head for a "different" experience.

HKP is correct--the closest beach to Ch will be south of Wilmington. Wrightsville, Topsail, Carolina Beach and Kure Beach will be easy to get to (more time on the beach). I live in California, but have been going to Carolina Beach for almost ten summers.

Duck is very, very nice, and not spoiled at all (well, relative to the rest of OBX anyway). Ocracoke is more rural - although less than it used to be. We no longer do the trip to Ocracoke, it's nice, but we've done it a couple of times and it is just too much being in the car all day for my taste.

Thanks to everyone for all your helpful advice. Sounds like we would be better off driving to Outer Banks during the week instead of a weekend. Right now our plan is to leave Chapel Hill on Aug 16, Thursday. It probably makes more sense to leave for Asheville on Thursay, stay a few days, then drive to OBX on Mon or Tues, which sounds like it will be a full day trip. We have only driven through NC in the past & want to see as much as possible, the mountains & the beaches. I'm sure I will have more questions as we make more plans.

I am highjacking your thread

What is the water like in the summer? Cold, warm or bath temp? There are nice sized waves, right?

Thank you!

You will have fun, and there are lots of choices for beaches. One thing to keep in mind, stay flexible and keep a close eye on the weather. Late August/ early Sept is prime hurricane time. If there is no storm, terrific! If there is a storm far away, fine. If there is a storm in the Atlantic, it could go anywhere, and even if a storm has decreased from hurricane to tropical storm strength before hitting land, it still dumps a ton of water and lots of wind. Don't worry, the local police have lots of experience at efficiently evaluating the area if necessary.

I meant EVACUATING the OBX. That is what I get for trying to post after a long day!
Also here is another suggestion. If you go east from Chapel Hill to Washington NC and Bath NC it takes about 3 hours. Bath is historic small town on Pamlico River, would make a nice stop on the way. You can then continue east and cross bridge over to Roanoke Island. Or take the Swan Quarter ferry to Ocrakoke.

Sounds like you have a plan, Kwoo, but urge you to find accommodations on Ocracoke a.s.a.p. Tripadvisor will give you a list -- but don't expect an Intercontinental-- which is part of its charm.

FYI: No accommodations, including rental houses, are on the beach at Ocracoke -- everything's clustered in and around the little town. That's why the beaches are so glorious.

We stayed in Beaufort NC - supposed to be for the afternoon but ended up staying a week - its a great town with history and you are not tied to the Outer Banks islands.

I hope you don't mind me throwing an Outer Banks question out there too.

What is the beach like in Avon. Anyone know? We stayed in Rodanthe last year and the beach was too rough. Someone said Avon was better but I am looking for confirmation. We need something child friendly in the Hatteras island area.

Thanks!