Thanksgiving in the OuterBanks, NC
 

I am thinking of taking a bunch of friends down to the OuterBanks during the Thanksgiving holiday. (Just those 4 days).

We are from Maryland and I would like to understand if it is advisable to take a vacation home for those 4 days & 3 nights near the beach.. and thinking of beaches.. will we be able to get down to the beaches at all? How bad is the typical cold there at that time of the year?

Any advice and alternatives are most welcome :)

-VIP

"will we be able to get down to the beaches at all? How bad is the typical cold there at that time of the year?"

What does "get down to the beaches at all" mean? Obviously it is not swimming weather. Are you asking if the beaches are closed altogether where you can't walk on them?

You can check historical averages of temperature on any of a number of websites.

www.weather.com
www.wunderground.com

Thanks for the reply. I did check the historical temperatures,and I know its not swimming weather (unless am crazy)..

I was trying to get some first hand information - will we end up being locked in the home, or will we be able to walk and play on the beaches.. I hope this clarifies my question.

You may find that many places won't rent homes for "just those 4 days" at all or until the very last minute. It's a popular place at T-giving.

Yes you will be able to walk and play on the beaches. The weather will not be that much different than Maryland but slightly warmer. No guarantees on rain of course.

You don't sound all that much interested in doing this trip.

I like playing the Devil's advocate :)

Oddly enough that doesn't translate well in typeface on the internet. :-)

I have spent Thanksgiving in Nags Head. In fact, it is the only time I have been to Nags Head. So, for what it is worth . . .

Good: warm weather; beaches in crowded, empty in some places; easy to get on the Ocrakoke ferry both Friday and Saturday

Bad: long waits and slow service at casual restaurants (as you would expect off season); traffic going down Thanksgiving morning and no place open to get breakfast; and very heavy traffic coming home, probably twice as long as going down.

I enjoyed it a lot, but that is because our group liked staying home and cooking in. YMMV

Last time we spent Thanksgiving on the OBX we had rented a place for a week in Salvo; there were some places for rent for just the holiday period but you'd have to check with the MANY agencies that do those rentals to see if anything is still available. The prices can be very favorable even if you don't stay for a full week.

That time around it was wonderfully warm at the beach; we wore shorts almost all week. We ate in mostly since below Nags Head there aren't as many restaurants open off-season but it can be a great time to be there since it is much quieter than in season.