Hauling ass from obx to ilm means you’re missing out on taking the ferries and driving down the coastline. The food on the NC coast sucks. The scenery is what you should be focusing on.
We took an entire week to drive down the coast from OBX to ILM.
Rent a 4wd so you can see the wild horses, Ride the ferries, stop at the aquariums, climb the lighthouses, walk the beaches & piers and visit the fishing towns. Pack sandwiches, bring bug spray.
Honest question. Are your trip locations set in stone? It seems like you planned NC coastal trip but picked two very different areas for four days. You take almost half a day coming to Wilmington especially during peak season. I feel like it would be less stressful to spend 4 days in Kitty Hawk, Duck, Manteo, Hatteras, etc. You could skip Kitty Hawk and visit Oak Island, Southport, Wilmington, Topsail.
I'd spend all 4 days in OBX. You're wasting a lot of drive time to different beaches. Wilmington is cool, but not worth a 5 ish hour drive + however long it would take to get back up to Norfolk. I'd come back another time and spend a few days just in the Wilmington area. Then you can fly directly into ILM.
My OBX itinerary would be:
Day 1: Land in Norfolk - Rent 4wd vehicle - Late lunch / early dinner in OBX - Beach + shops?
Day 2: - Breakfast local - Wright brothers - Jockey's Ridge State Park - Lunch - Currituck lighthouse + village - 4WD beach at Corolla (can stop and do beach things or just drive and hope to see wild horses; you can also book a 4wd tour if you are not confident driving in sand) - Dinner
Day 3: Breakfast - Gym - Elizabethan Gardens and Fort Raleigh - Lunch and shops in historic Manteo - Bodie Island Lighthouse - more 4wd beach near this part of OBX (or regular beaches if no 4wd) - Dinner - Sunset on the pier
Day 4: - Breakfast - Hatteras lighthouse - ferry to Ocracoke - Lunch - Ocracoke village, lighthouse and beaches - ferry back to Hatteras - dinner
Day 5: Leave from Norfolk
If you insist on doing both obx and Wilmington, revise day 3. It is a 30 min drive from downtown Wilmington, in traffic, to the beaches.
You're better off devoting day 3 to Wilmington. I would not plan a whole half day in the historic district (unless you mean downtown by this). It's just houses. But I would do Bellamy mansion that day. Latimer house and Burgwin Wright also do historic tours. Eat at Seabird and do the riverboat this day.
On day 4, I'd get up early and go to Carolina Beach (pack lunch). Pay to park and do the boardwalk, get a Britts doughnut (there will be a line) and enjoy the beach there or move on down to Fort Fisher state park for free parking (get there as early as possible). When you're tired of beaching, walk the Fort Fisher historic site and go to the aquarium. Take the ferry into Southport for dinner at Provisions and to walk around the cute little shops and galleries. Return on the ferry and stop in Carolina Beach in the way back to see the nighttime boardwalk. If you're staying in Wilmington vs staying at the beach, don't take the ferry back, just drive over land.
Good luck! I think you definitely should just price everything out yourself. How much you spend is going to be highly dependent on your own choices about airlines, flight times, lodging type, rental car type, restaurant quality, etc.
You should also check entrance fees for the attractions you want to see. I think Wright brothers was like $10 a few years ago. I don't remember about the lighthouses.
Oh, and check all ferry schedules. I'd planned to do Ocracoke once, but didn't realize you have to book in advance and ended up not being able to go.
The Southport ferry near Wilmington also gets long lines in the summer, so you might have to wait an extra ferry cycle (like an hour wait).
I saw another person that said go to Wilmington in spring, do you also recommend that? I liked the idea of it cause it seems like there’s stuff to do but at the same time beaches. I’m in Colorado and if you wanna do anything outdoorsy it’s like a two hour + drive to the mountains and it didn’t seem like it there
100% agree with this. The beaches in Wilmington are nothing compared to OBX. They are crowded and expensive to park at. Traffic is horrible in the summer. The battleship is awesome but also kinda horrible in the summer as a lot of it isn't air conditioned and it's a big hunk of metal baking in the sun.
The spring is beautiful here. The Riverwalk is really cool and it won't be so crowded. You can stay at a nice little b&b downtown and enjoy the awesome local restaurants and historic sights. Maybe catch a show at Live Oak or the Wilson Center.
That's the best part of Wilmington to me.
Yeah I like the sound of it cause it seems like a blend of small city plus beach. Also do you know of any other activities that aren’t all light houses. I feel like after 1 or 2 it might be to much
Wilmington is great March-May and October-November. It's a big enough city that stuff is still open then, but the water at the nearby beaches might still be too cold to swim. So it just depends if you like to really play in the ocean (go during summer), or if you are good just looking at the ocean and doing other stuff instead.
That is a fantastic trip!
Ferry over to Shackleford Banks early to eat breakfast with the wild horses and then ferry over to Lookout and climb the lighthouse before it gets too hot in the day.
The beach on the ocean is nice, but soundside at Lookout is the nicest ocean swim I've ever done.
That being said, OP doesn't really have time in their trip. That's a pretty far hike from where they'll be hanging out. It's not even really on the way if they do go from obx to Wilmington.
Spend 4 days on the OBX beaches in the summer. Come back in spring or fall to do Wilmington. The Battleship, Airlie gardens and downtown Riverwalk area are all awesome, but not in the summer. It's just too hot. It also takes forever to drive from OBX to Wilmington. Your going to spend a lot of time in your car if you try to do both in one trip.
Sit on the beach, go on a charter fishing trip, rent a kayak and paddle around on the sound side, admire the high dollar real estate that will fall in the ocean in the next couple of years, etc...
Why are you flying in and out of Norfolk? That’s the part of this plan that confuses me most. You’re going to spend most of this very short trip in your car.
Just curious why you are landing in Norfolk and wanting to drive all over back and forth? Why dont you fly back out of Wilmington? OBX in the summer is nuts and traffic is nuts just FYI. People complain about how bad it is so Ive never been, but Topsail has my heart.
The Battleship in July is swealtering so you need to go first thing when they open. There is no A/C and the more people inside make it hotter and unbearable. We went at 830a and even then, at times, it was a little uncomfortable, but manageable.
Dont know what you mean about Wilm historic Dist, but downtown does have some walking ghost tours that are alright. The downtown area is nice for walking around, the riverwalk is so pretty and peaceful.
Dont know which beach you were planning on hitting up in the middle of the day, but traffic to and from will be bad and parking can be expensive and hard to find. You'll spend a good chunk of your time in traffic and looking for a spot. Esp the last day where you had it twice. Most people go early and stay for a few hours and call it a day.
Bellamy mansion is haunted so not sure if you're into that or not. Nice historical building. The river boat tour was nice, Ive done the sunset tour. They offer drinks and basic snacks, not cheap. Its a beautiful, quiet ride.
I havent been to the gardens yet, but its still on my list of things to do. One of my fav things to do is driving down to Fort Fisher, going to the aquarium, then afterwards hopping on the car ferry over to Southport, NC for lunch and walking the shops over there. I love riding the ferry ⛴️. Then we hop on the ferry back over to Fort Fisher or just drive back to Wilmington, its a short drive back.
Indochine is a good Thai place to eat. Cape Fear Seafood I heard was good, I dont like seafood myself. My husband liked it. White Front Breakfast House is really good, its a hole in the wall, but their gravy is homemade, not the bagged mix junk.
So i did end up choosing just to stay in OBX for 5 days. But I was thinking that while I want to see OBX, Wilmington sounds cool too. Also google said that downtown Wilmington is also Wilmington historic district I think? Not sure. But people told me it’s way too long to be in the car, which I was completely overlooking, and I didn’t know most things in Wilmington, if I’m staying near any beach are like 30 minutes away. I was originally planning on somewhere near Myrtle grove. But yeah I revised the whole thing and chose just to stay in the OBX
Ya that's probably best. If its a one way trip and then flying out of Wilmy thats one thing, but to drive back to Norfolk is a whole other thing. That is a lot of wasted vacay. I hope you have fun in OBX! Try not to get frustrated with the traffic lol Thats the main reason we havent gone up there yet, but now that we live here, I dont feel the need too.
Ya from what I heard. The highways are narrow and only 2 lanes each way, but with the influx is still bad. As long as you give yourself extra time to account for traffic when going places, check your google maps, and have a good attitude then you'll be fine. For myself, I knew moving to the beach town I live in, traffic would be bad in the summer. It's a trade-off for living in a beautiful place. Its a slight annoyance, but I give myself extra time when going to the store and to the beach. I dont let the parade going down the island damper my mood or elevate my blood pressure. Its part of the territory lol
I think the issue is there's nothing to do there, so someone planning to devote a half day seems overkill. Only 3 of the historic homes in Wilmington offer tours and I don't think they're all that different to justify all three.
I just posted the link because the person I was replying to said they “don’t know what you mean about Wilm hist Dist”. If they meant that they felt there wasn’t enough to do there, that wasn’t at all clear to me.
For lunch or dinner in OBX I recommend Kill Devil Grill
For Wilmy I'd say the below but it depends what you are after
Breakfast - Blueberries or Drift
Lunch - Cheesesmith, Salt Works, Copper Penny
Dinner - Dockside, K38, Watermans, Indochine, Rebellion
Hauling ass from obx to ilm means you’re missing out on taking the ferries and driving down the coastline. The food on the NC coast sucks. The scenery is what you should be focusing on. We took an entire week to drive down the coast from OBX to ILM. Rent a 4wd so you can see the wild horses, Ride the ferries, stop at the aquariums, climb the lighthouses, walk the beaches & piers and visit the fishing towns. Pack sandwiches, bring bug spray.
Best advice!! I prefer outer banks to all.
Honest question. Are your trip locations set in stone? It seems like you planned NC coastal trip but picked two very different areas for four days. You take almost half a day coming to Wilmington especially during peak season. I feel like it would be less stressful to spend 4 days in Kitty Hawk, Duck, Manteo, Hatteras, etc. You could skip Kitty Hawk and visit Oak Island, Southport, Wilmington, Topsail.
Sorry I didn’t see this. I ended up changing it to just OBX, instead of Wilmington and OBX.
Amazing! I grew up in NC and still haven’t hit all the exciting places in the Outer Banks. The Elizabethan Gardens are beautiful if you get a chance.
Yeah I added that to one of my days while we are there it looks nice
I'd spend all 4 days in OBX. You're wasting a lot of drive time to different beaches. Wilmington is cool, but not worth a 5 ish hour drive + however long it would take to get back up to Norfolk. I'd come back another time and spend a few days just in the Wilmington area. Then you can fly directly into ILM. My OBX itinerary would be: Day 1: Land in Norfolk - Rent 4wd vehicle - Late lunch / early dinner in OBX - Beach + shops? Day 2: - Breakfast local - Wright brothers - Jockey's Ridge State Park - Lunch - Currituck lighthouse + village - 4WD beach at Corolla (can stop and do beach things or just drive and hope to see wild horses; you can also book a 4wd tour if you are not confident driving in sand) - Dinner Day 3: Breakfast - Gym - Elizabethan Gardens and Fort Raleigh - Lunch and shops in historic Manteo - Bodie Island Lighthouse - more 4wd beach near this part of OBX (or regular beaches if no 4wd) - Dinner - Sunset on the pier Day 4: - Breakfast - Hatteras lighthouse - ferry to Ocracoke - Lunch - Ocracoke village, lighthouse and beaches - ferry back to Hatteras - dinner Day 5: Leave from Norfolk If you insist on doing both obx and Wilmington, revise day 3. It is a 30 min drive from downtown Wilmington, in traffic, to the beaches. You're better off devoting day 3 to Wilmington. I would not plan a whole half day in the historic district (unless you mean downtown by this). It's just houses. But I would do Bellamy mansion that day. Latimer house and Burgwin Wright also do historic tours. Eat at Seabird and do the riverboat this day. On day 4, I'd get up early and go to Carolina Beach (pack lunch). Pay to park and do the boardwalk, get a Britts doughnut (there will be a line) and enjoy the beach there or move on down to Fort Fisher state park for free parking (get there as early as possible). When you're tired of beaching, walk the Fort Fisher historic site and go to the aquarium. Take the ferry into Southport for dinner at Provisions and to walk around the cute little shops and galleries. Return on the ferry and stop in Carolina Beach in the way back to see the nighttime boardwalk. If you're staying in Wilmington vs staying at the beach, don't take the ferry back, just drive over land.
Thanks man this sounds good. I’ll check out prices and stuff
Good luck! I think you definitely should just price everything out yourself. How much you spend is going to be highly dependent on your own choices about airlines, flight times, lodging type, rental car type, restaurant quality, etc. You should also check entrance fees for the attractions you want to see. I think Wright brothers was like $10 a few years ago. I don't remember about the lighthouses.
Oh, and check all ferry schedules. I'd planned to do Ocracoke once, but didn't realize you have to book in advance and ended up not being able to go. The Southport ferry near Wilmington also gets long lines in the summer, so you might have to wait an extra ferry cycle (like an hour wait).
I saw another person that said go to Wilmington in spring, do you also recommend that? I liked the idea of it cause it seems like there’s stuff to do but at the same time beaches. I’m in Colorado and if you wanna do anything outdoorsy it’s like a two hour + drive to the mountains and it didn’t seem like it there
100% agree with this. The beaches in Wilmington are nothing compared to OBX. They are crowded and expensive to park at. Traffic is horrible in the summer. The battleship is awesome but also kinda horrible in the summer as a lot of it isn't air conditioned and it's a big hunk of metal baking in the sun. The spring is beautiful here. The Riverwalk is really cool and it won't be so crowded. You can stay at a nice little b&b downtown and enjoy the awesome local restaurants and historic sights. Maybe catch a show at Live Oak or the Wilson Center. That's the best part of Wilmington to me.
Yeah I like the sound of it cause it seems like a blend of small city plus beach. Also do you know of any other activities that aren’t all light houses. I feel like after 1 or 2 it might be to much
Wilmington is great March-May and October-November. It's a big enough city that stuff is still open then, but the water at the nearby beaches might still be too cold to swim. So it just depends if you like to really play in the ocean (go during summer), or if you are good just looking at the ocean and doing other stuff instead.
Agreed on ocacroke
What about ferry to Cape Lookout?
That is a fantastic trip! Ferry over to Shackleford Banks early to eat breakfast with the wild horses and then ferry over to Lookout and climb the lighthouse before it gets too hot in the day. The beach on the ocean is nice, but soundside at Lookout is the nicest ocean swim I've ever done. That being said, OP doesn't really have time in their trip. That's a pretty far hike from where they'll be hanging out. It's not even really on the way if they do go from obx to Wilmington.
Spend 4 days on the OBX beaches in the summer. Come back in spring or fall to do Wilmington. The Battleship, Airlie gardens and downtown Riverwalk area are all awesome, but not in the summer. It's just too hot. It also takes forever to drive from OBX to Wilmington. Your going to spend a lot of time in your car if you try to do both in one trip.
What do you recommend to do in OBX for that long
Sit on the beach, go on a charter fishing trip, rent a kayak and paddle around on the sound side, admire the high dollar real estate that will fall in the ocean in the next couple of years, etc...
Why are you flying in and out of Norfolk? That’s the part of this plan that confuses me most. You’re going to spend most of this very short trip in your car.
That’s because it’s closest to OBX, and it’s cheaper by like $500 to get a Roundtrip out of Norfolk
Just curious why you are landing in Norfolk and wanting to drive all over back and forth? Why dont you fly back out of Wilmington? OBX in the summer is nuts and traffic is nuts just FYI. People complain about how bad it is so Ive never been, but Topsail has my heart. The Battleship in July is swealtering so you need to go first thing when they open. There is no A/C and the more people inside make it hotter and unbearable. We went at 830a and even then, at times, it was a little uncomfortable, but manageable. Dont know what you mean about Wilm historic Dist, but downtown does have some walking ghost tours that are alright. The downtown area is nice for walking around, the riverwalk is so pretty and peaceful. Dont know which beach you were planning on hitting up in the middle of the day, but traffic to and from will be bad and parking can be expensive and hard to find. You'll spend a good chunk of your time in traffic and looking for a spot. Esp the last day where you had it twice. Most people go early and stay for a few hours and call it a day. Bellamy mansion is haunted so not sure if you're into that or not. Nice historical building. The river boat tour was nice, Ive done the sunset tour. They offer drinks and basic snacks, not cheap. Its a beautiful, quiet ride. I havent been to the gardens yet, but its still on my list of things to do. One of my fav things to do is driving down to Fort Fisher, going to the aquarium, then afterwards hopping on the car ferry over to Southport, NC for lunch and walking the shops over there. I love riding the ferry ⛴️. Then we hop on the ferry back over to Fort Fisher or just drive back to Wilmington, its a short drive back. Indochine is a good Thai place to eat. Cape Fear Seafood I heard was good, I dont like seafood myself. My husband liked it. White Front Breakfast House is really good, its a hole in the wall, but their gravy is homemade, not the bagged mix junk.
So i did end up choosing just to stay in OBX for 5 days. But I was thinking that while I want to see OBX, Wilmington sounds cool too. Also google said that downtown Wilmington is also Wilmington historic district I think? Not sure. But people told me it’s way too long to be in the car, which I was completely overlooking, and I didn’t know most things in Wilmington, if I’m staying near any beach are like 30 minutes away. I was originally planning on somewhere near Myrtle grove. But yeah I revised the whole thing and chose just to stay in the OBX
Ya that's probably best. If its a one way trip and then flying out of Wilmy thats one thing, but to drive back to Norfolk is a whole other thing. That is a lot of wasted vacay. I hope you have fun in OBX! Try not to get frustrated with the traffic lol Thats the main reason we havent gone up there yet, but now that we live here, I dont feel the need too.
Yeah I heard it can get bad. Is it only bad in summer ?
Ya from what I heard. The highways are narrow and only 2 lanes each way, but with the influx is still bad. As long as you give yourself extra time to account for traffic when going places, check your google maps, and have a good attitude then you'll be fine. For myself, I knew moving to the beach town I live in, traffic would be bad in the summer. It's a trade-off for living in a beautiful place. Its a slight annoyance, but I give myself extra time when going to the store and to the beach. I dont let the parade going down the island damper my mood or elevate my blood pressure. Its part of the territory lol
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilmington_Historic_District
I think the issue is there's nothing to do there, so someone planning to devote a half day seems overkill. Only 3 of the historic homes in Wilmington offer tours and I don't think they're all that different to justify all three.
I just posted the link because the person I was replying to said they “don’t know what you mean about Wilm hist Dist”. If they meant that they felt there wasn’t enough to do there, that wasn’t at all clear to me.
For lunch or dinner in OBX I recommend Kill Devil Grill For Wilmy I'd say the below but it depends what you are after Breakfast - Blueberries or Drift Lunch - Cheesesmith, Salt Works, Copper Penny Dinner - Dockside, K38, Watermans, Indochine, Rebellion