I’ve mentioned in my recent blog posts that we are down to our last few months in the Jacksonville / Camp Lejeune area, so earlier this year we put together a list of things we want to do in North Carolina before we leave. One of the big things on my NC bucket list was a road trip up to the Outer Banks!!
The Outer Banks (frequently abbreviated OBX) are a 200-mile string of barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina and southeastern Virginia. They line the top half of the North Carolina coastline, followed by the Cape Lookout National Seashore barrier islands, then Bogue Banks (Atlantic Beach/ Emerald Isle). The OBX are a very popular summer destination for people in North Carolina and Virginia, for obvious reasons. You probably heard about it from the popular Netflix TV show.
So we decided to plan this trip for the end of April. This way we could avoid the extremely hot/humid weather, the large crowds (especially with COVID still around) and the higher prices that come with visiting during the summer months (peak season). It ended up being the most perfect time to visit and I cannot recommend visiting in the off-season enough.
I went straight to Pinterest to research all things Outer Banks and found some amazing blog posts from others who have road tripped or who have just traveled there. I then opened my trusty Google Docs app and I got to planning! Below I listed all the things to do and places to eat that I wrote down before our trip. The places listed with an * asterisk * at the end are the ones we ended up doing, but I’m leaving the rest so you can add them to your list.
Day 1:
Jacksonville > Cedar Island
2hr drive
Cedar Island > Ocracoke Island
2hr 15min ferry ride – $15
Ferry schedule
For the Cedar Island > Ocracoke ferry you must book online in advance! We booked the 7:30AM ferry which is the first ferry of the day during the off-season. We left Jacksonville at 5AM, because you have to be at the port 30 minutes before departure to get a secure spot on the ferry. It ended up being only us and 4 other cars on the ferry. You can either stay in your car, go up to sit inside the ferry or out on the deck. We docked on Ocracoke at 9:45AM and we had until 4PM to explore the island before our check-in.
Most blog posts I read recommended not staying on Ocracoke Island and instead just spending the day there, then getting on an afternoon ferry to Hatteras. But since we had 5 days I decided to book a stay on Ocracoke and I’m really glad we did, because it was our favorite out of all the areas in the Outer Banks.
Stay: The Castle Bed & Breakfast
This bed and breakfast was super cute and charming. The room I booked (Ginny’s Room) was a little weird, but it was one of the cheaper ones (lol!) and since it was just one night it wasn’t too bad. It also included an okay breakfast.
As of right now (07/21), if you are a military member you can use *promo code: MILITARY* to get 10% off when booking directly on their website. They also have these other promo codes if they apply to you > AAA, AARP, HometownHero (for hospital, police, EMS, fire, and educators).
Things To Do:
– Ocracoke Lighthouse*
– Books To Be Read*
– Village Craftsmen
– The British Cemetery*
– Ocracoke Beach
– Springer’s Point Beach Sunset*
Places To Eat/Drink:
– Ocracoke Coffee Company*
– Magic Bean Coffee Bazaar
– Eduardo’s Taco Stand*
– Dajio
– Howard’s Pub and Raw Bar*
– 1718 Brewing Ocracoke*
The first thing we did on the island was get coffee and bagels at Ocracoke Coffee Company, then we visited the adorable Ocracoke Lighthouse (pictured above). By far my favorite place on the island was obviously Books To Be Read!! I was actually pleasantly surprised by how many independent book stores they have in the Outer Banks, but this one blew my mind!! They had a huge selection of books and I ended up buying The Baddest Girl On The Planet by: Heather Frese, which is set on Hatteras Island! We had a light lunch at Eduardo’s Taco Stand.
We walked along the shops by the ferry port but most of them were closed, since it was a Sunday; but most were already open for the season. We did go into a small candle shop called Sea Break that was open, got ourselves and our friends a souvenir candle. Decided to walk to the historical British Cemetery, then we went to 1718 Brewing Ocracoke for some mid-afternoon beers to kill time before checking into the B&B. After a bit of relaxing we decided to walk to Springer’s Point from the B&B to see the sunset. Once the sun went down we basically had to run back to the B&B to grab the car so we could make it to dinner at Howard’s Pub before they closed. Do not recommend doing that, lol!
See more from our Day 1 in the Outer Banks.
Day 2:
Ocracoke > Hatteras
1hr ferry ride – FREE
First come first serve
Ferry schedule on 2nd page
We had breakfast at the B&B, checked out right at 10AM and then headed towards the ferry terminal on the north side of the island. We didn’t have plans to do anything else on Ocracoke, but we did make a pit stop at the horse stables on the side of the road and then spontaneously decided to walk on Ocracoke Beach for a bit because there was an entrance across from the stables.
The ferry to/from Ocracoke/Hatteras is free and on a first come first serve basis. It runs every hour, you just have to arrive and wait until you get a spot on the ferry. We heard that driving up the Outer Banks is easier than driving down in terms of crowds. We definitely noticed that when we docked on Hatteras because the line of cars was incredibly long, while there were only maybe 10 cars on Ocracoke; so definitely keep that in mind!
Stay: Inn at Pamlico Sound
As soon as I saw this inn online I knew I wanted to stay there. It’s listed in most of the Outer Banks best hotels lists, and although it’s pricy (not too badly in the off-season though) it was amazing and well worth the price. Like their name suggest the inn is located on the Pamlico Sound which on the lagoon side of the island. They have a pool, a large variety of water activity gear you can use for free, a boardwalk to a fire pit area where you can enjoy the sunset, and more. They also have a café that’s supposed to be really good, sadly it was closed the day we stayed there, but if the food is anything like the free breakfast we had then I know it’s a winner!!
If you are an active duty military member make sure you book your stay on their website. When you search your trip dates click the ‘rate options’ tab and an option for Active Duty Military will pop up, this will give you 15% off!
Things To Do:
– Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum*
– Hatteras Lighthouse + Museum*
– Hatteras Lighthouse Original Location (on the beach)*
– Cape Point Sunset
Places To Eat/Drink:
– Dancing Turtle Coffee Shop
– Orange Blossom Bakery & Cafe
– Kat’s Deli
– Tavern on 12*
– Ugly Mugs Coffee House*
We docked on Hatteras Island at 1PM. We made the mistake of not heading straight to a restaurant as soon as we arrived. Instead we went to the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum first, simply because it was right next to the port. By the time we left the museum around 2PM most restaurants were closed. Thankfully we found that ‘Tavern on 12’ in Frisco was open. But both the coffee shop and the deli I had pinned were closed. Afterward we visited the Hatteras Lighthouse, the museum and then the original location of the lighthouse on the beach, before checking into the inn.
We got a beach driving permit online to see the sunset at Cape Point and sadly it did not work out for us… We have a 4WD Subaru Forester and got all the tools needed to be able to drive on the beach. As we were about to drive out a tow truck was coming out, the driver flagged us and recommend we didn’t do it. I guess only Jeep’s/large pickup trucks are able to do it without a problem. It really sucked and we were very discouraged. At the same time I’m glad we bumped into him and didn’t have to deal with the headache of getting stuck and having to pay an expensive tow truck to get us out.
See more from our Day 2 in the Outer Banks.
Day 3:
Hatteras > Kill Devil Hills
1hr 20min drive
We had an amazing breakfast at the inn, took a kayak out on the Pamlico Sound and before checking out I drove to Orange Blossom Bakery & Cafe to get their famous ‘apple uglies’ pastries but sadly I went too late… should’ve gone right after breakfast. I’m still super sad I missed out on these treats, so learn from me and go early!!! After checking out of the inn, it was time to start our drive north. The drive to our AirBnb in Kill Devil Hill was 1 hour and 20 minutes long, but we did a lot of touristy stops along Avon, Rodanthe, and Nags Head.
Stay: AirBnb
Since we stayed in 2 expensive places on Ocracoke and Hatteras, I decided to get an AirBnb somewhere central to the rest of the things on our list. Ended up renting this little studio apartment in Kill Devil Hills for 2 nights. The location was perfect, just a few minutes from the Wright Brothers National Memorial!
Things To Do:
– Avon Fishing Pier*
– Kinnakeet Clay (Pottery Studio)
– Rodanthe Pier
– Oregon Inlet Bridge*
– Bodie Island Lighthouse*
– Janette’s Pier*
– Jockey’s Ridge State Park*
– Avalon Pier
– Wright Brothers National Memorial*
Places To Eat/Drink:
– Uncle Franks OBX*
– The Dunes Restaurant*
– Mama Kwan’s Tiki Bar & Grill*
– Stack ‘Em High Pancakes and So Forth*
– Outer Banks Brewing Station*
We stopped at the Avon Fishing Pier (pictured above), saw the famous Inn At Rodanthe (from the Nicholas Spark’s movie Nights in Rodanthe), tried going to the Rodanthe Pier but parking was too pricy for our liking, so instead we had a snack at Uncle Frank’s OBX and the hot dogs truly hit the spot!! We took a break from driving and walked the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge area, visited the Bodie Island Lighthouse and then drove straight to check into the AirBnb. Later we visited the sand dunes at Jockey’s Ridge State Park, had dinner at Mama Kwan’s Tiki Bar & Grill and ended the day by doing some mini golfing!
See more from our Day 3 in the Outer Banks.
Day 4:
Kill Devil Hills > Corolla > Duck
50min drive
We started our 4th day with a southern breakfast at The Dunes Restaurant. After we were stuffed we visited the Wright Brothers National Memorial and stuck around for 2 hours. Did a tour with a park ranger, walked up the Kill Devil Hill, almost got on a self driving bus (more on that in another blogpost), and learned more about the brothers inside the museum. We then drove up to Corolla and got to go up the Currituck Lighthouse, then we explored a bit of Duck. We were SO excited to eat at Duck Donuts, because we’ve had it in Jacksonville, but just our luck it was closed. Thankfully Donutz On A Stick was pretty much the same, so we got our donut fix.
Things To Do / Places To Eat:
– Currituck Lighthouse & Historic Corolla Park*
– Ducks Cottage Coffee Shop / Book Shop
– Duck Donuts or Donutz On A Stick and Ice Cream*
– NC Coast Grill & Bar
– Treehouse Coffee Co.
– Duck Boardwalk*
See more from our Day 4 in the Outer Banks.
Day 5:
Roanoke Island > Jacksonville
3hr drive
On our last day we checked out of our AirBnb and had an amazing breakfast at ‘Stack ‘Em High Pancakes and So Forth’ before heading off to Roanoke Island. We visited Fort Raleigh and their small museum, then took a tour with a park ranger to learn more about England’s first New World settlements. The theater doesn’t open until end of May, so we didn’t get to see the popular Lost Colony Drama. We continued onto the Elizabethan Garden which was small but still lovely! We continued onto the downtown area to visit the smallest lighthouse in the Outer Banks, make a pit stop at Downtown Books, before having lunch at the Lost Colony Brewery.
Things To Do / Places To Eat:
– Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse*
– Downtown Books*
– Lost Colony Brewery and Cafe*
– Fort Raleigh National Historic Site*
– Waterside Theater (Lost Colony Drama)
– Elizabethan Gardens*
See more from our Day 5 in the Outer Banks.
After lunch we started our 3 hour drive back to Jacksonville. The trip didn’t go 100% according to plan (do they ever?) and a lot of things were closed on the days we visited, but we still had a wonderful time exploring these North Carolina barrier islands. It was also such a great way to dip our toes into traveling post-COVID!
I’ll be blogging about every part of this trip in the coming weeks and linking everything here as I go; so stay tuned for that.
Day 1: Ocracoke Island | Day 2: Hatteras Island | Day 3: Avon / Rodanthe / Nags Head | Day 4: Kill Devil Hill / Corolla / Duck | Day 5: Roanoke Island | Check out the rest of my North Carolina posts!
