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Hi,
Me and my girlfriend are looking into visiting the Raleigh area this memorial weekend. This will be our first time in NC so we have no clue what to expect.
We were initially torn between visiting Charlotte or Raleigh, and even though we're looking at this as a vacation trip, we've always been intrigued about NC as a possible place to move to. We were told Charlotte is more of a big city, whereas the Raleigh area is a bit more laid back.
We currently live in South Florida and we're planning on going from Saturday (or friday night if we can find a flight) trough Monday.
We checked the raleigh visitors website to get an idea of places to see etc..but figured we'd ask here and get more of a local's view/advice.
Basically a few things we're wondering are:
1) Will we need a car? I know we've been to Chicago and NY and have not needed one, but don't know if the public transportation in Raleigh is enough for us to move around or if we're better off getting a car. I heard about a free bus that takes you around Raleigh, but dont know whether its just the downtown area or does it cover the outskirts as well...
2) How far are the adjacent towns like Carey, Durham Chapelhill etc.... should we venture out into those as well? or is a 3 day weekend too short and we should stick to Raleigh.
3)What is the best area to stay in Raleigh? When looking at hotels should we look at a specific area that would be closer to the main attractions?
4) I know there's probably a lot of things to see and do but given our limited time and considering the fact we're looking into one day moving out of FL, what would your 'must see' spots to check out be?
Don't count on a free bus to be available when you want it to be available. It does not go to other cities. The Triangle public transportation system is nearly non-existent.
Sure, drive around to other areas. They're only at most 45 minutes from each other (depends upon where you're starting.) Raleigh butts up against Cary and Durham. Chapel Hill butts up against Durham.
Check crime maps to make sure you don't drive into areas you'd rather not see. Also plan your driving to keep off the 440 and 540 beltlines during morning and afternoon rush hours. (But if it's on the weekend, you won't have any trouble.)
Which attractions?
I'd stay in a North Raleigh hotel myself.
Last edited by lovebrentwood; 03-28-2010 at 11:13 AM..
Hi,
Me and my girlfriend are looking into visiting the Raleigh area this memorial weekend. This will be our first time in NC so we have no clue what to expect.
We were initially torn between visiting Charlotte or Raleigh, and even though we're looking at this as a vacation trip, we've always been intrigued about NC as a possible place to move to. We were told Charlotte is more of a big city, whereas the Raleigh area is a bit more laid back.
We currently live in South Florida and we're planning on going from Saturday (or friday night if we can find a flight) trough Monday.
We checked the raleigh visitors website to get an idea of places to see etc..but figured we'd ask here and get more of a local's view/advice.
Basically a few things we're wondering are:
1) Will we need a car? I know we've been to Chicago and NY and have not needed one, but don't know if the public transportation in Raleigh is enough for us to move around or if we're better off getting a car. I heard about a free bus that takes you around Raleigh, but dont know whether its just the downtown area or does it cover the outskirts as well...
2) How far are the adjacent towns like Carey, Durham Chapelhill etc.... should we venture out into those as well? or is a 3 day weekend too short and we should stick to Raleigh.
3)What is the best area to stay in Raleigh? When looking at hotels should we look at a specific area that would be closer to the main attractions?
4) I know there's probably a lot of things to see and do but given our limited time and considering the fact we're looking into one day moving out of FL, what would your 'must see' spots to check out be?
Thanks for your help!
louis
I live in both Raleigh and Miami Beach and would be more than happy to actually meet with you to assist in the planning of this trip. Just let me know via private message.
Yes, rent a car but do utilize the R line (free bus). It is AWESOME. If you stay downtown, maybe at the Marriot or Clarion, you can walk about anywhere you want to go downtown and take the R line to Glenwood South, which has restaurants, nightlife, and The Cupcake Shoppe (which is on my must experience list). There are also a couple of historic bed and breakfasts which could be fun and romantic. If you stay near downtown, Cary is about 15 min. away, Durham and Chapel Hill about 30. You could do a day in Raleigh (checking out downtown, Glenwood South, some of the historic neighborhoods, and maybe go for a drive to see different shopping locations, and to get a feel for the area), and then a day in Durham and Chapel Hill. I mainly go to Cary for errands/shopping so I don't know that I'd set aside time to go do anything there.
Be advised that, on Memorial Day weekend, the "city" packs up and heads to the beach to open the Summer season. On previous Memorial Day weekends, it's been very quiet in the Triangle area and very crowded in Wilmington. No wonder it's a straight shot down I-40.
TYP,
What is it that you are looking to do on your visit? Are you looking for entertainment or for historical siteseeing type of stuff or to get a feel for the area?
Depending on what you want to do will probably shift the areas you stay. Although to get anywhere in the triangle (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill) as other have said, you're looking at about a 30 minute drive.
Thanks for all the tips and info! The one thing we're worried about is getting car and then getting lost (i get lost in my own backyard), hence losing time since we're only going to be there for a couple of days. I understand that since we'll be there for such a short amount of time we wont be able to see a whole lot, we can only try to see as much as we can, probably just around the Raleigh area and surroundings. I guess if getting a car is a must we'll have to do it, after all dont want to be stuck waiting for cabs or buses all day either.
As far as specific attractions we're not looking for anything specific, we're mostly going to see the town itself, maybe see a bit of the suburbs. Maybe any attractions that are close by the hotel (which we haven't decided where we'll stay yet, gotta do some research i guess).
I got in touch with an old college friend who lives close to Raleigh and he might be able to show us around for a while, but i dont want to be a pain either and take too much advantage of that since he has stuff to do on his own time....we're looking to see what we can do in our own time.
We have to decide on a hotel soon so hopefully once that's done we'll have a better idea on whats close by and where to go....I'll update the thread as things move along.
Thanks again for all the advice!
TYP,
You might have to double check this (as it has been a while since the last time I rented a car) but I have to believe that the rental car companies now are renting vehicles that come equipped with GPS navigation which would help you out a lot! I just recently bought a GPS for my personal vehicle and even being a life long Raleigh native found that getting around was mad a lot easier. Please do keep us posted on what you decide.
I'd suggest buying a portable one, besides offer driving directions it can function as a built in tour guide as you walk about town or virtually anywhere else.
A small portable hand held GPS can be purchased for less than $100. Most rental car agencies are still charging at least $5 a day.
I would suggest staying either downtown (Marriott) or at North Hills (Renaissance) so you could at least be withing walking distance of some good restaurants and activity. Provided you then have a car, it will be easy to move around from both locations easily to see Cary, North Raleigh, etc. It will be a quiet weekend due to the Holiday and the areas close proximity to the beach, but you should still be able to find things to do depending on what you like. There are some good Raleigh area blogs that will let you know details of restaurants and night life. Enjoy.
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