Best coastal town ? (Raleigh, Wilmington, Beaufort: rental car, rental, theater)

[fallgirl]

Currently living in Florida just south of Daytona Beach. Am looking to leave like everyone else ! Which towns offer the best bang for the buck and are not too overloaded with tourists or special events? Even something 15-30 mins from the ocean would be okay.

Thanks,
Fallgirl

[dsobotta]

The right town depends on what you are looking for in a coastal town.

Aside from Wilmington, NC's coastal towns are small.

Carteret County has a total population of about 65,000.

It's a great place if you don't require a lot of night life or crowds. Cape Carteret, Cedar Point, and Emerald Isle are some of the nice small towns.

Most people who come are ones who really enjoy the out of doors and some privacy.

Check out this post for reasons why the area met our needs.

This is one of my favorite pictures. It is a sunset from the Point at Emerald Isle.

[MnMark]

Hi dsobotta,

I planning to surprise my girlfriend and take her somewhere special and propose to her! We live in MN and it's cold and snowy here right now so I wanted to take her some where warm. I also think it would be amazing to be on the coast. I have never been to North Carolina, but the plane tickets are reasonable to fly from Minneapolis to Raleigh. I was trying to find a nice coastal town and that's how I found your post.

Would you recommend visiting one of the cities you listed in your post? How is there weather there now? What activities could we do over a 3 day weekend (we both like hiking and the outdoors)? Do you know of any nice Bed and Breakfasts?

Sorry to lay all of those questions on you out of the blue! I appreciate any help you can give me!

Thanks! And best regard!
Mark

[macjr82]

Go for a B & B in Beaufort. There's walking trails across the sound at Fort Macon.

N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation: - Welcome to Fort Macon State Park
Fort Macon Historic Site - Atlantic Beach, NC
Fort Macon State Park - Atlantic Beach, NC
Fort Macon - Atlantic Beach - Reviews of Fort Macon - TripAdvisor
Fort Macon State Park - Atlantic Beach - Reviews of Fort Macon State Park - TripAdvisor

If you're real adventurous there is the Neusiok Trail, plus a bunch of other trails in the area in the Croatan
Neusiok Trail

There's the Aquarium:

North Carolina Aquariums » North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores
North Carolina Aquariums - Pine Knoll Shores, NC
North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores - Pine Knoll Shores - Reviews of North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores - TripAdvisor

Maritime Museum:
About the NC Maritime Museum in Beaufort
North Carolina Maritime Museum - Beaufort - Reviews of North Carolina Maritime Museum - TripAdvisor
North Carolina Maritime Museum - Beaufort, NC

There's charters where you go to Shackleford Banks
Wild Horses of Shackleford Banks
Shackleford Banks - Harkers Island - Reviews of Shackleford Banks - TripAdvisor

Parasailing dinner cruises, fishing charters are all available as well.

Well, I guess this would be a start.

[HP91]

Originally Posted by MnMark

Hi dsobotta,

I planning to surprise my girlfriend and take her somewhere special and propose to her! We live in MN and it's cold and snowy here right now so I wanted to take her some where warm. I also think it would be amazing to be on the coast. I have never been to North Carolina, but the plane tickets are reasonable to fly from Minneapolis to Raleigh. I was trying to find a nice coastal town and that's how I found your post.

Would you recommend visiting one of the cities you listed in your post? How is there weather there now? What activities could we do over a 3 day weekend (we both like hiking and the outdoors)? Do you know of any nice Bed and Breakfasts?

Sorry to lay all of those questions on you out of the blue! I appreciate any help you can give me!

Thanks! And best regard!
Mark

Good questions...I would recommend you do this...

If the flights to Raleigh are cheap take them and drive down to Wilmington and stay at a B&B in downtown Wilmington....one of the nicest is The Graystone...if they are full I'd recommend the Front Street Inn, one of the oldest buildings in Wilmington...there are great restaurants, theater, riverfront, etc....all within walking distance. If you can fly into Wilmington you can take an easy cab ride downtown and not even need a rental car. You can visit the Battleship by taking a water taxi. You can take a trip to Wrightsville Beach via cab very easily as well....and there are plenty of things to do if the weather is not great. In terms of proposing...how about on the deck of the Battleship overlooking the City or on the Pier at Wrightsville Beach overlooking the Ocean. Azalea Festival is the 2nd weekend in April so that may not be the best time to go with so many things going on....April and May are great months to go to Wilmington.