I think we paid around $6100 for a week this past summer for a house in Duck, oceanfront, private pool, hot tub, private decked walkway to the beach, 2 MBR w/ king sized beds (rooms w/ private jacuzzis), 2 MBR w/queen sized beds, 1 MBR w/ 1 pyramid bed & regular bunk bed, 1 bedroom w/ full bath w/ 2 sets of bunk beds, game room w/ pool table. FYI, MBR means bedroom with private bath. The room with the set of 2 regular bunks, we shut the bathroom door to the game room to make that a private bath. We split this cost between 6 families. Is that specific enough for you? <BR> <BR>The house was new and nice. I prefer the beaches further north from Duck, since the the beaches at Duck are notoriously shallow, i.e., very little distance from the dunes to the water. Usually we bring a volleyball net and set it up on the first morning, taking it down on the last afternoon. We did not feel there would be enough room at this house for that without interfering with beach usage for others, so no volleyball this year.

S, <BR>Thank you very much. The info was great! Hope I didn't appear to give "attitude" about the *exact* price. Sorry. <BR> <BR>$6100 is a bargain, really, for beachfront with a shared rental. A grand / week for each family - for oceanfront. I see why you will return. Sounds like you didn't have a 2 week minimum, either. Our only Duck experience was at Thanksgiving - too cold to really get a feel for the beach. How about lifeguards? Are they on most/many Duck (or Corolla) beaches? Was this through Sun Realty? [sorry, more question, but thank you in advance] <BR> <BR>

Sorry, I don't remember which realty company it was through. I didn't make the reservations. <BR> <BR>Since you can't read my mind, I'll tell you why I wasn't specific to begin with. This coming summer we won't be able to get 6 families to commit with cash upfront to a weeks vacation on a specific date 6 months in advance. With a core group of only 3 families, I started checking out homes with oceanfront, private pool, and minimum of 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. It was still running at a minimum of $1000 per family. Even allowing for a separate bedroom for all the kids or the possibility an extra couple or two to be added at a later date, the houses I found started at a minimum of around $1000 per week per family. <BR> <BR>There is an ATV mounted beach patrol, equipped for life saving, etc., but the beaches on OBX are not crowded - the draw of the area. Don't expect the tall lifeguard post you might find at Myrtle Beach. <BR> <BR>The key to a vacation at OBX in a rental house? 1) Decide on your location priorities. (Are you willing to pay the extra to be right on the beach? The prices drop considerably even across the street from the beach. But it's hard to beat the convenience of getting up from your beach chair, walking a few feet to your own private walkway to the beach, and running back inside the house because you forget to bring out ____.) 2)Facilities requirements. (Will you really use a pool - does it have to be private? We found that the whole crowd manages to rotate from the pool to the beach and back. The hot tub is essentially irrelevant - if they have a pool, they generally have the hottub.) 3) Number of bathrooms. (If you've ever had to share the bathroom with someone who can totally trash it and not even think about cleaning it up, then a private bathroom for each family is a MUST!) 4) Last, but by NO means least, are your housemates for the week. CONSIDERATION is mandatory. Keep your messes to your room. All adults have the authority to tell any child in the group to behave. Keep all bitchin' to a minimum. One of our last crew complained bitterly about how hot their room was - but left the blinds open all day on the west side of the home - Duhhhh! If you don't like the meal of the evening, that's OK, there are plenty of leftovers and you can cook tomorrow. 5) Oh yeah. All food costs are shared evenly - once you stick your hand into the first bag of communal chips! (Regardless of whether one family goes out to eat every night - you know teenagers can consume that much or more during the day!) <BR> <BR>Have fun. We'll really miss it this year. We might head up north and hit a coupla days at the Pittsburgh Steelers' Training Camp, instead.