Outer banks, NC - worth visiting?

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

trying to come up with a vacation for my gf after i graduate

[mike_c]

1. 75 years ago....

Do you like condos and beach houses?

[kick-ass-bob]

32. Go south of Nags Head - national beach - no buildings pristine land

one of the most gorgeous places on Earth.

[bertha katzenengel]

2. Mrs. V. and I are going there for a long weekend next month.

Sounds like a nice trip to me. I need the beach, and growing up in So. Cali., I'm used to it being lined by buildings.

[Borgnine]

3. I'll say no.

Just because I'll never understand that stupid "OB" car sticker fad.

[purr]

28. I saw that and thought tampons...

OB brand tampons.. I asked my cousin why she was advertising for OB and she smacked me upside the head lol.

[two gun sid]

4. Cool place....

pretty laid back. I went a couple of times when the bluefish were running. Local hotel would clean and cook your catch.

[BlackVelvetElvis]

5. I went a couple of years ago.

I had the best time. I stayed in Avon, just north of Hatteras. I took a ferry to Ocracoke a few times, visited the lighthouse, fished, went crabbing and ate some great seafood. My friends and I rented a beachouse so it wasn't that expensive.

[amber dog democrat]

6. In a word , yes.

I would check out Ocracoke Island as well and see the Cape Hataras light house.
Its one of the nicest places to see the Atlantic. Don't leave out the dunes at Kitty Hawk.

[Merope215]

7. I spent a summer at the Duke Marine Lab

on Pivers Island just outside of Beaufort, and I highly recommend it. The town is old and quaint and the beaches are very pretty. Also, you can take boats out to the national seashore (Cape Fear), where there are wild horses and very, very deserted beaches and hummocks and such. There are all sorts of fascinating things in the area. The rest of the Outer Banks I don't know much about, but I've heard good things. If either of you like old buildings, quaint-ish but not too kitschy seaside towns, the ocean, seafood, wild horses, or marine creatures (there are lots of dolphins and seahorses and stuff like that) then I'd say go for it. I'd love it if my SO took me there. :P

[carpetbagger]

8. Yes. It's the best beach between Mass and Florida.

Certainly better than West Virgninia's own patch of sand otherwise known as Myrtle Beach SC. It's getting overrun by condos, but this is buffered by good-sized chunks of park land. It's got lighthouses, decent surf, an interesting botanical makeup with many spp reaching their northeastern limit, big dunes (Jockey's Ridge SP) and quite a bit of history (Wright Brothers, Roanoke Island Colony site).

Also, if you take the ferry to Swan Quarter (I think that's where it goes from Okracoke), there's some quietish beach towns on the route to Wilmington, a couple of decent museums, and then you can just hop on the freeway to get back up north.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

9. i'm from wv`

and am avoiding myrtle beach because my family drug me there year after year

[carpetbagger]

10. That's why when they retire to Florida...

...they all move to Sebring, about as far away from the beach as you can get in Florida.

I used to live in the Eastern Panhandle.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

12. my grandparents have a place in sebring

your insight is rather creepy

[BlackVelvetElvis]

11. MIne too.

Myrtle Beach has gotten way out of control. I can't stand that place.

[Aiptasia]

22. What a load of horse crap

And I own property on the outer banks (I have a lot in Kill Devil Hills). Who cares about botanical make up if your on your honeymoon.

The outer banks are fine if you want to relax and unwind, walk around the dunes and up to jockey's ridge or see the wright brothers memorial, but..

The ocean side beach is super shelly with rip currents that will carry your ass way off shore if you're not careful. There is very little nightlife and the houses/condos are popping up despite the 40 year old sewage capacity building moratorium. Okracoke, Blackbeard's famous island, is all ritzy houses and marinas now.

I can remember when the pony inn was the only hotel on Okracoke. I'd just assume stay in Maneo and eat steamed spiced shrimp and save a buck or two on the bayside than on the OB itself these days.

Anyway, Myrtle Beach has much nicer beaches (over 60 miles of soft sand beaches) and a kicking nightlife. They don't call it the Grand Strand for nothing. Places like North Myrtle Beach and from Surfside beach to Pawley's Island are very charming. True, parts of it are a tourist trap (pavillion area), but if you know where to go, you'll have an amazing time. Especially for a young couple on a honeymoon.

And yes, I do sell t-shirts over at muh fenced in area (SNL joke).

[Cush]

13. been there twice (Nags Head)

but that was back in the mid / late 80's. So it's probably changed since then

[caledesi]

14. In two words...God's Country. nt

[Hissyspit]

15. Absolutely! Take the ferry to Ockracoke, only way to get there...

The ferry ride itself is great fun. Stay in a bed and breakfast on the island. Great fun to just walk around the island, visit all the shops, the lighthouse, and go to the beach. There is a campsite on the beach, too. There is a cemetary which is the only British land on the continental U.S., deeded to them in honor of British naval men who died near the island. Eat seafood. Then go to Hatteras island and walk up the lighthouse there.

I'm so romantic... :loveya: (Took my British-born girlfriend there a couple of years ago. She's not my girlfriend anymore, but that doesn't have anything to do with the trip.)

[kodi]

16. i used to camp out on ocracoke or frisco every year

ocracoke is a fantastic vacation spot if you want to get away from things. the national campgrounds are right on the water.

only problem is the horse flies. bring the cutter's spray if you don't want to get eaten alive.

hey, i forgot the ponies!

[tigereye]

17. go way out the island - it is very beautiful -

like everyone is saying. We always went to Hatteras. And I agree that Ocracoke is really cool. I saw more stars near Hatteras beaches at night than I have ever seen. Just watch out for the fishing lines in the surf. ( lots of people fish there)

[noshenanigans]

18. look out for skeeters

I love the Outer Banks (I prefer to just stay at Hatteras, though, instead of going out to OBX), but if you go in the summer, watch out for the MASSIVE AMOUNT OF MOSQUITOS.

That's all I really have to add.

[Squatch]

20. He don't lie.

Mosquitos abound. We tried camping on Bodie island a couple years ago, and didn't get a wink of sleep because of all the mosquitos.

[Bonhomme Richard]

19. Love it and I would recommend renting..................

a house in Southern Shores. Just as you come onto the island it's the first town to the north. The reason I like it is because there is none of the hubbub and congestion and the beaches are kinda private because the only people that use the beach tend to be the people staying on that street. That's because there is no street parking and the beach is an easy walk from the house. It is only homes but it is close to all the places you might want to visit.
I also recommend the Wright memorial, Jockey Ridge and The Pig Man barbecue.

[commander bunnypants]

24. I got horribly sick at Pigman's

:puke:

CB

[livetohike]

21. It was beautiful thirty years ago

uncrowded, peaceful, lots of places to get away from anyone you did see.....

I guess it depends on what you are looking for. I was very sad the last time I was there in 1993. We kept driving on down to Ocracoke which was much as I remembered it. The rest of the strand is like Myrtle Beach. Disgusting, imo.

[commander bunnypants]

23. going in 3 weeks

been doing it for years


CB

[TK421]

25. Definitely! We usually get a house in Corolla every summer

Heed my warning,though.....bring the best insect repellant you have and bring LOTS of it. The mosquitoes are the worst I have ever experienced; I had giant whelts on my legs from scratching the hell out of them.

[TK421]

26. Oh, don't forget the souvenirs from Dirty Dicks Crab House

No joke...there is a restaurant there with that name.

[liberalpress]

27. Absolutely..

...especially in the off season.You're basically on a sand bar in the middle of the ocean. Rent an Oceanfront home, drink wine, stare at the ocean.. a week has gone by... you're so relaxed you're limp!

[all.of.me]

29. absolutely! i'd move there if i could. it is gorgeous.

[tsakshaug]

30. stay in ocracoke

forget the rest of the obx. we rented (for our honeymoon) a little place with a kitchen. Rode our tandem bike everywhere. Went to the beach every AM at about 8, walked, hung around until it got crowded (about noon when we could count 12 other people on the beach) went home and ate, then got on the bike to the fish store and veggie market to get stuff for dinner and tomorrows lunch.
grilled fish or seafood most every night, walked on beach in the evening. ;-)
good time, great place.
Oh- I don't like people and "night life" so it is a great place for me

[Mike Daniels]

31. My grandparents grew up there and retired there .....

so I spent about 1/3 of each summer there pretty much till I was out of graduate school. I lived in Virginia Beach so it was pretty easy trip.

Anyway, it's nice and scenic and pretty laid back but it's nothing like it used to be when you had to drive from there to Elizabeth City, NC or Norfolk, VA if you wanted to do any real shopping. A lot of development has taken away a lot of the open space that used to exist but if you drive to the further islands of Hatteras and Ocracoke you can still enjoy some nice scenery along the way.

Great food and cooking abound although, as someone said earlier, if you're looking for an active night scene I'd go somewhere else. There's a couple of clubs on the bypass road and the ocean road between Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head but nothing exceptional.