North Carolina Beaches

sea-nile · Post by **sea-nile** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 1:43 pm

Does anyone know of a nice beach in North Carolina? Will there be any possiblity of it being WARM in early April there? I know it isn't STJ, but it is the best I can do and it IS the ocean at least.

TrvlJohn · Post by **TrvlJohn** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 2:15 pm

It will probably not be warm enough in April to swim (unless you are tough), but the weather is usually in the 70's during the day in April. The water temperature is usually in the Low 60's in April.

The Outer Banks (http://www.outerbanks.org/) are very nice and have places that are very secluded. It is more difficult to get to the outer banks if you are flying to NC. You would probably have to fly to Raleigh and drive 3 hours to the outer banks.

Wrightsville Beach (http://www.visitwrightsville.com/) is also very nice but is definitely more developed than parts of the outer banks but there is a reasonably sized airport in Wilmington, NC which is just over the bridge from Wrightsville.

Topsail Beach (http://www.topsailbeach.org/) is another good choice and is on the south side of topsail Island and about 30 minutes North of Wilmington.

Hope this helps. If you are more specific about what you are looking for in a vacation, I might be able to be narrow down the list.

-John

KatieH · Post by **KatieH** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 3:33 pm

I was just looking at the Outer Banks destination yesterday. We have some Southwest vouchers that we need to use or lose and I think that you can drive from Norfolk (Va Beach) to OBX in 1 1/2 hours.

shelli0001 · Post by **shelli0001** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 3:47 pm

we rented an oceanfront duplex on Emerald Isle for the 1st week of june last summer. i think EI is described as the southern outer banks. anyhow, it was really nice, very quiet in the off season. i know there are a few big condo type places, we were near one called Pebble Beach. i was afraid it would be freezing and brought shorty wetsuits, but i think the water was 76 degrees. maybe you could bring wetsuits? we even learned to surf fish, caught flounder, and baby sharks! the waves are pretty big, but good for boogie boards. every morning i could see dolphins swimming while i had coffee, very cool!

this is who we rented our house from:
http://www.bluewatergmac.com/CrystalCoa ... eraldIsle/

but there are a few other rental agencies too.

have fun!
shelli

Heather · Post by **Heather** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 3:55 pm

I live in NC and my favorite beach areas here are Bald Head Island and Kiawah. Both very unique and family friendly. Bald Head is reached by ferry and the only transportation on the island is by golf carts. They come with most rental properties, but can be rented seperately too. Kiawah is also an island but reached by bridge and private gatehouse. Almost evertyone parks their cars for their stay and rides bikes. The whole island can be reached by gorgeous bike paths. You can even ride your bikes on the beach. The sand on the upper part is hard enough to not sink. Both are beutiful in different ways. Quiet, but with plenty to do also. The water will not be warm enough at that time of year for anything more than a quick dip. If the weather is good it's still nice to be on the beach though.

pipanale · Post by **pipanale** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 5:13 pm

shelli0001 wrote:we rented an oceanfront duplex on Emerald Isle for the 1st week of june last summer. i think EI is described as the southern outer banks. anyhow, it was really nice, very quiet in the off season. i know there are a few big condo type places, we were near one called Pebble Beach. i was afraid it would be freezing and brought shorty wetsuits, but i think the water was 76 degrees. maybe you could bring wetsuits? we even learned to surf fish, caught flounder, and baby sharks! the waves are pretty big, but good for boogie boards. every morning i could see dolphins swimming while i had coffee, very cool!

this is who we rented our house from:
http://www.bluewatergmac.com/CrystalCoa ... eraldIsle/

but there are a few other rental agencies too.

have fun!
shelli

I second any positive comments on EI or Bluewater. We'll be there in 10 days. We've rented from Bluewater 4 times now and they're great.

I could get into a whole speech of how I'm starting to like EI better than St John, but that's a story for another time.

It's a beautiful place with just enough to do to keep the kids entertained while having enough nothing to make you feel bliss.

I can provide details as needed

sea-nile · Post by **sea-nile** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 8:07 pm

We will be visiting relatives about 2 hours from the coast so unfortunately this beach trip will be 2 days and one night only. E Island looks fantastic, but it seems they rent by the week. Any ideas for a one-nighter? Thanks!

shelli0001 · Post by **shelli0001** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 9:32 pm

i was looking at this sheraton when were thinking of going for a weekend, we didn't end up going after all, but it looks real nice for a hotel, right on the beach, and they have an indoor pool, which would be nice if the ocean is too cold. i think Atlantic Beach is a busier area, but probably not in april?

http://www.sheratonatlanticbeach.com/default.asp

and here is a link with other hotel/motels, but some of them don't look too great. i remember staying one night at the best western in EI, it was fine, but not right on the beach.

http://www.crystalcoastnc.org/accommoda ... lmotelinn/

good luck!

LovetoTravel · Post by **LovetoTravel** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 9:55 pm

I have been to almost every beach in NC. I live about 2 miles from Wrightsville Beach so I am a little biased. I LOVE Wrightsville Beach. I think it is THE most beautiful beach in NC. The water is DEFINITELY not warm enough to swim in. I have seen people swimming that time of the year, BUT NOT ME!!

There is a Holiday Inn on Wrightsville that is very nice.

I agree about Emerald Isle too!! EI is where we took all our family vacations when I was a kid. This is my second choice as far as beautiful NC beaches go.

pipanale · Post by **pipanale** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 8:20 am

sea-nile wrote:We will be visiting relatives about 2 hours from the coast so unfortunately this beach trip will be 2 days and one night only. E Island looks fantastic, but it seems they rent by the week. Any ideas for a one-nighter? Thanks!

If it's out of season, places sometimes open up houses or condos for rentals by the night. You'd have to supply linens yourself (Rent from Bogue Banks Linens), but it's possible. A nice condo at Pebble Beach might be a good idea. We did a 3-night rental in November 2 years ago.

The Sheraton looks nice and I almost had us stay there once. A little down the road and on the inland side is a new Hampton Inn. It used to be an Amerisuites and we stayed there on our first trip to EI (A Recon trip in advance of our weeklong stay...that was nice...touring rental houses beforehand to find the right one)

jimg20 · Post by **jimg20** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 1:50 pm

I had a nice trip for business purposes to Kitty Hawk recently. Yes, you can drive there in 1.5 hrs from ORD. Actually it can be done in less than that.

I had a hotel on the beach. I could open the window and listen to the surf. Let me know if you want to see photos or videos.

JIM

pipanale · Post by **pipanale** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 2:58 pm

jimg20 wrote:I had a nice trip for business purposes to Kitty Hawk recently. Yes, you can drive there in 1.5 hrs from ORD. Actually it can be done in less than that.

I had a hotel on the beach. I could open the window and listen to the surf. Let me know if you want to see photos or videos.

JIM

Really? ORD? O'Hare?

(Yes...I'm an airport code geek)
ORF, however...I can see that being done.

Puddlejumper · Post by **Puddlejumper** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 4:13 pm

I also vote for Emerald Isle. My favorite NC beach, though Wrightsville is close behind. Heck any of the southern facing beaches are the best. I go to EI often as family has a house there. Call Bluewater and see what they say. Also don't forget to check VRBO. For flying in closer try New Bern or Jacksonville, NC. Both have commuter flights. Though I believe New Bern is only served by US Air. Raleigh (RDU) is an easy drive to EI.

shelli0001 · Post by **shelli0001** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 4:29 pm

LovetoTravel wrote:I live about 2 miles from Wrightsville Beach so I am a little biased. I LOVE Wrightsville Beach. I think it is THE most beautiful beach in NC.

your post made me think, it's really awesome that you live in a place you describe with words like love & beautiful.

we move every few years due my husbands work. when asked, "how do you like it here?", i usually just say, "it's alright."

anyhow, good for you! i think we have it backwards, we should live somewhere great all year, and use vacation to visit relatives still living in so-so ville. LOL!

jimg20 · Post by **jimg20** » Mon Mar 22, 2010 1:56 pm

pipanale wrote:
jimg20 wrote:I had a nice trip for business purposes to Kitty Hawk recently. Yes, you can drive there in 1.5 hrs from ORD. Actually it can be done in less than that.

I had a hotel on the beach. I could open the window and listen to the surf. Let me know if you want to see photos or videos.

JIM
Really? ORD? O'Hare?

(Yes...I'm an airport code geek)
ORF, however...I can see that being done.

Perhaps that explains all the Illinois license plates around the airport.

The D and F keys are too close together on my keyboard.

JIM

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