OBX

obullfish

obullfish

Carolina Trail Blazers
Joined
Nov 21, 2011
Location
Candler N.C.
I have never been to most of the Outer Banks and me and the wife are thinking of a 7-10 day vacation in late September. Where to stay and what to see and do? Looking at the northern IBX area and a rental house somewhere kind of in the middle to get out and explore the coast. What you all think?
 
We drove it back in 2010 or so. Just the two of us. Stayed in different place every night, so got to see and experience a lot on the way. Hit a B&B in ocracoke, and mostly the older fishing motels up from there. Good way to do the trip. 4 or 5 nights between Morehead and Elizabeth City.
 
Go to Morehead/Atlantic beach for a day or 2, see Fort Macon and maybe do some fishing. Drive up to Davis and get ferried to Core Banks and drive all over a wilderness beach w excellent fishing, return to davis and north to Cedar island and the ferry to Okracoke/Hatteras/northern OB a few days, then drive home taking 264 to Greenville and home.
 
Are you looking to stay on pavement? Or REALLY get out there on the sand to the 4x4 only houses out with the wild horses?
 
Plan on driving the Jeep so all terrain is an option. Would like to stay in a central location for the entire trip to save $$ on rental and not worry about packing up every day or two. Definitely want to do plenty of fishing and the wife wants to chase the horses around.
 
You've got a few options with that. I've done it 2 ways

I rented this incredible house on the 4x4 only beach back in 2013. It was by far the most memorable vacation my family has ever taken. We were "off the grid" with the exception of the wifi :rolleyes:

but...there were no distractions, and no "can we go to.... (insert time-suck activity that cause me to drive then try and find parking)"

We were on our own! And it was fookin SPECTACULAR!!!

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But the drawback was....you had to make that trek on the beach for 30 minutes to get to a restaurant, groceries....etc and there was always some dumbass from Ohio stuck along the way in their "4x4"
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The next year we stayed at Kitty Hawk right off the main drag and commuted during the day up to Corolla. That was a good hour one way, for a days worth of play. We rented a 4dr JK for 4 days that time. Wasn't nearly as enjoyable (IMHO) but the wife liked being closer to civilization. The kids were like me and liked the 4x4 only beach better.
 
Look at the Avalon area of Kill Devil Hills . It is mostly beach houses and is pretty low key. It is close to all of the restaurants , and any shopping you may need to do. It is a short ride up to Corolla (beware the traffic in duck) where you will find the horses (typically back on Ocean Pearl not on the beach) and beach driving. Currituck lighthouse is worth the few bucks to climb and the Whalehead club/Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education next door are also pretty neat.

Kill Devil Hills is also close to Nags Head , Manteo , Jockeys Ridge ( go to the back entrance off of West Soundside) and Oregon Inlet. If you make it down to Oregon Inlet you might as well run down to Hatteras with a stop at Bodie Island along the way. Stop at the Orange Blossom bakery in Buxton if you're down there , the Apple Uglies are crazy good. The Cape Hatteras lighthouse is a nice stop and its amazing to see how far they moved it. Once you're that far South you might as well take the ferry to Ocracoke , just make sure to check the schedule and allow for delays as the tourists love the free ferry. The Ocracoke lighthouse is the humble one of the bunch , but is well worth the visit. The British Cemetery is humbling and if you are a history buff worth the stop.

Places I eat are Tortuga's Lie , Johns Drive In , The Rundown , Goombays , Chile Peppers, Dare Devils Pizza , Sam and Omies , and if you want a ridiculous buffet that actually has good seafood Captain Georges is your spot. Kill Devils frozen custard has good frozen treats and Duck Donuts is also worth checking out. If you head North to go home through Elizabeth City the Coinjock Marina serves great food at a reasonable price as well.

I grew up there and still go back home a few times a year. There are a ton of other things to see and places to eat but this is what catches my attention even after all these years.

We take 58 through Virginia down through Elizabeth City via 17 to get there and typically come back through Manteo on 264 just so we can see something different each way. The main road that goes South through Currituck is 158 and it is awful Friday afternoons and Saturdays .

Hope this helps.
 
I spend 6-8 weeks a year in Nags Head, even got married at Bodie lighthouse (more Oregon Inlet). That time of year will be extremely reasonable for rentals. Our wedding we rented 3 12 person houses for a week, the 2nd week of Sepetember and it was only $5k. We use Village Realty. Beyond that, I'll echo everything @sammi_davis said...except Dare Devils Pizza..haha. I swear there's not a place out there that can make a decent pizza, except maybe Lucky 12 Tavern.
 
A couple of years ago we rented a house in Corolla. It was the last neighborhood before road turns to sand. It was a good compromise, quick trip to beach but also easy to go south for other activities.
 
If you want touristy and populated, go Kitty Hawk/Nag's Head. If you want true undeveloped, barrier island OBX, go south of Nags Head....or do both. Go to the top of Jockey's Ridge sand dune, explore Manteo including the outdoor drama, check out the Wright Brother NP, park at Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge anywhere along 12 just north of Rodanthe - walk over the dunes to your typically private and secluded beach and spend the day... One of cool things to do is to drive to Swan Quarter on the trip to OBX and catch the 2.5 hour ferry to Ocracoke.....VERY relaxing and nice way to end the long driving journey. There's so much to see at OBX...been there dozens of times and still manage to find something new every time I go. Almost always stayed at a different village every time we go. Camped there, resorted there and housed there. My bucket list item is to stay at one of the 4x4 houses as mentioned above.
 
obullfish said:
Thanks for all the info. We need to start a tour guide company. Trying to find a 4x4 house that's not booked up now.
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I'm gonna text my friend they lived down there for a couple years and his wife worked for one of the horse tour companies, they live out on the dunes. She might know someone.

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Good pizza can be had at the Black Pelican Restaurant in Kitty Hawk. They also have great seafood. I look for the ever changing chef specials.
 
obullfish said:
Knock on wood they will not be taking any of my money. Will be taking my TJ and I've had quite a bit of seat time in a sandbox. Anyone know what fish are running mid September?
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I completely understand....however, the tour companies have the rights to several acres, and only THEY can go on those trails. I was tempted to take my vehicle on them, but all the warning signs kept me legit.
 
I get you wanna drive to find these horses...but there have been times in Corolla where I'll just go walk on one of the observation decks over the sand and you'll see a half dozen horses.
 
UTfball68 said:
I get you wanna drive to find these horses...but there have been times in Corolla where I'll just go walk on one of the observation decks over the sand and you'll see a half dozen horses.
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THIS

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That was all right at our house. That is my youngest daughter (she'll be a junior next year :rolleyes:) and she's an english rider, and competes nationally....she was enamored with all the wild horses. That last pic if you click it and zoom you can see the herd right behind her head
 
Not a huge fan of horses unless it's cooked just right. Lol. We just want to relax and explore what the other end of the state looks like and get some Jeep time in.
 
obullfish said:
Not a huge fan of horses unless it's cooked just right. Lol. We just want to relax and explore what the other end of the state looks like and get some Jeep time in.
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Since the increase in beach driving permits a couple years ago...the sand should darn near be yours and yours alone.
 
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