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You might like to check out Bald Head Island. It's very resort-like, with two country clubs and golf courses, no cars allowed on the island, but it's family-friendly, too. We stayed in a friend of a friend's house down there recently. I don't know if there are other options for lodging or not.
+ 1 for this, I was out there last year the house we rented had a pool shared between about 10 houses and the beach was pretty much empty compared to higher traffic beaches on the coast. It was very exclusive.
+ 1 for this, I was out there last year the house we rented had a pool shared between about 10 houses and the beach was pretty much empty compared to higher traffic beaches on the coast. It was very exclusive.
If no cars are allowed, how do you get around? Or is the island so small that you can walk everywhere? If the latter, does it have a variety of restaurants, bars and 'other stuff' to do besides the beach? (I've heard that Bald Island is lovely, so I am quite curious about it.)
Golf carts. There are some shops and both clubs have restaurants. There are at least two other restaurants that aren't at the clubs, but I'm not aware of more than that. One is a brand new Mexican place. Bald Head is very self-contained and although it's a "village" it's very much unto itself and exclusive in all senses of that word. It is a public beach — people sometimes think it's a private island, but the ferry fee is pretty steep so people who aren't committed to staying there are unlikely to just pop over for the day. The oldest lighthouse in NC is at Bald Head and there's a mini-museum, but it's not the kind of thing that would take up a huge chunk of your time. It's well worth going, but you would have thoroughly explored it if you spent much more than an hour there. There is a place that rents things like kayaks, bikes, etc.
You could check out Figure Eight Island, too. It's just north of Wilmington.
You might want to check out Salter Path/Pine Knoll Shores/Emerald Isle area. I think these are the nicest beaches -- easier to get to then the northern outer banks beaches (kitty hawk) and far nicer & less crowded than the wilmington beach scene. in my humble opinion!
There is a lot to do there - there is an aquarium, there is Beaufort, there is fort macon, and a movie theatre for a rainy day. Nice public access areas for pine knoll shores and emerald isle so you don't have to 'stay' on the beach to access different beach areas, it is far less crowded.
it is on the quieter side, but fantastic restaurants can be found and not so much golf...
note: I don't care for "atlantic beach" as a beach...but there is a pier (or was? Is it still there?) for fishing. so if you drive farther south, you get to pine knoll shores and emerald isle and those beaches are just gorgeously quiet, peaceful yet accessible.
Maybe rent a place in Kure Beach - that's now my go-to beach and since Carolina Beach next door is so family friendly, I think the beach at Kure is a little quieter. You've got the aquarium at Ft. Fisher right there and you can easily get to downtown Wilmington for the restaurants.
Look at Wild Dunes on the Isle of Palms in SC. Short drive to aquarium in Charleston. Gardens in the Charleston area date back 300 years. 4 to 5 hour drive.
Head up to Virginia Beach. You can get there in about the same amount of time as it takes to get to the outer banks (3-1/2-4 hours). If you stay on one of the ends of the boardwalk and not in the middle you will have a great time.
As many of you know, we are new to the Raleigh area, having relocated here from Arizona just last year. We visited the Outerbanks last fall and enjoyed it, but I'd really like to go to a more resorty type place for a 3-4 day mid-week beach vacation.
We'd like a place that will not be overrun with kids if possible, but has the usual amenities of a heated pool, walking distance (if not right on) the beach, nearby restaurants, etc. Some other activities like nature, breweries, gardens or an aquarium (no golf) would be nice so we are not on the beach the entire trip.
We've visited Wilmington and it was okay, but never saw a beach that fits this definition (but we didn't look too hard either.)
Suggestions?
Personally I'd go to Wrightsville or maybe Bald Head Island, but BHI is very isolated and there are not a lot of activities there or choices for food/restaurants (lots of golf).
At Wrightsville, I'd stay the Bloackade Runner. There will be kids there but it's not really kid-centric like the Sunspree, so it doesn't have that "over run by kids and families" feel. There are several places to eat on the beach and LOTS of places to eat off the beach. Lots of activities do to around Wilmington: Arlie Gardens, breweries, shopping, historic stuff dowtown and plenty of nature things to do as well (pontoon boat tour of the sound, kayaking, bike riding as well as more adventurous activities.) You'll be walking distnace from the beach and most of the island shopping and restaurants.
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A quick online search will give you lots of reviews.
