Wilmington advice?
 

I will be flying into Wilmington, NC in two weeks and spending about a day and a half there (solo) before meeting up with a friend and driving to Charleston. I have a few questions about Wilmington, so that I will be able to have fun during that first day and a half:

1) Is it a walkable city? Can I get away with just taking a taxi from the airport to the hotel and walking around? Or is renting a car recommended in order to see the sights?

2) What, exactly, are the sights? Or I should say, should I see in my short time there? (i.e., the "must see" destinations).

3) Restaurant suggestions? (seafood, bbq, anything authentically "Southern" or "Carolinean" would hit the spot). (Yes, I am indeed a Yankee tourist!!) Also nightlife suggestions would be great.

3) Any recommendations for inexpensive but centrally located hotels / motels?

I realize that's a lot of questions, but anything will help. Thanks!

Matt

You can take a taxi from the airport. It shouldn't run you too much of a tab. The waterfront is nice, walkable, and with several restaurants. I've eaten at Elijah's and it is quite fine. I am intrigued by Grouper Nancy's which is close by too. I've seen it advertised and it seems to have a chef who makes interesting seafood. If you are in the mood for Mexican, I heartily recommend El Vacquero, which is on Route 17 inside the city limits. I forget the name of the town street, maybe Collge Avenue or something or other. Genuine Mexican food from Jalisco. The Wilmington/ Wrightswville Beach sprawl is rather ugly but typical in our modern age. Traffic can get grim. Wrightsville has some fine dining but it is not walkable. You'd need a rental. There's a Greek place in Wilmington somewhere near Route 17 that I find intriguing. As for other sites in town, you can take one of several boat rides on the Cape Fear River. They look like good fun. One of the boats is an old-time steamboat. Acroos the Cape Fear, the battleship NORTH CAROLINA is moored and can be toured. South of Wilmington, past the resorts, is Fort Fisher, the fort that protected Wilmington from Northern invasion. Wilmington was the last Conferderate seaport taken by the Yankees. Near Fort Fisher is an aquarium, a good place to go when you have several young children, like me, and it rains all day on a vacation day.

Thanks for the reply. It sounds like a car will be advisable. I'm used to New York where everything is in walking or subway distance.

I bet a rental would be rather inexpensive in Wilmington.

To make the drive from Wilmington to Charleston, take the new Carolina Bays Parkway around Myrtle Beach.

Yeah, renting a car is not that expensive in Wilmington (something like $30/day). But since my buddy is coming with a car a day after I arrive, I'm would prefer to avoid the hassle of having to pick it up, return it, etc. So if everything there is to see in Wilmington was clustered by the river, I could probably get away without renting a car for that day as long as I find a hotel near the river. Of course these seem to be the priciest hotels.

Anyone ever used Priceline successfully in Wilmington? (Yes, I checked biddingfortravel.com and didn't see any testimonials there...)

Priceline for hotels, that is.