Best Way to Spend the Day in Wilmington? (Charlotte, Carolina Beach: condo, hotels)
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My kiddo and I are coming to Wilmington on Friday afternoon and spending all day Saturday. We'll be staying near UNCW.
Knowing that we will only have one full day, which beach(es) might be best to visit? I'm a big fan of BHI but want to explore the beaches closer to Wilmington. I've found all kinds of beautiful pictures, but which ones tend to be quieter and more natural?
We'll be roaming around and looking at some different areas, hoping to stay within a half hour of the campus for the most part.
I'll answer my own post since I didn't get any responses and I've returned from my time in Wilmington.
We stayed in the Wingate hotel on Market Street, which was a great location smack in the middle of everything we wanted to do on our very short trip. We visited UNCW first, because I'm applying for their MFA program. The campus was gorgeous!
On Friday night we picked up pizza from "Incredible Gourmet Pizza" in the shopping center close to Target off Market St. to eat in our hotel room, and I recommend it. The slices were HUGE and the price reasonable.
On Saturday we spent much of the day on Wrightsville Beach. Public parking wasn't an issue even on a beautiful morning and afternoon (though I'm sure on-season it's a bear). When you drive to the beach, you'll see that there are side streets marked with "public access" signs. Many are one way going the opposite direction, but pick one, drive down, and you'll see metered parking places. Access #33, the one we kept choosing, had 3 spots. All of the meters take coins only and it's $2 for an hour. You can put in enough coins for 9 hours total.
This access took us on a short walk down a sandy, garden-lined path between the beach houses and out onto Wrightsville Beach. There are trash cans at each access point, which I loved, so taking our lunch out for a picnic wasn't a problem (we picked up salads from Lovey's Market--a great health food store--and ate our lunch on the beach).
We found that a walk from this access point all the way to a pier (there's one to the left as well as one to the right) and back took about 45 minutes, which was perfect when on our first visit, we only had $2 for the meter! The pier to the right seemed less populated and more private for a nice walk with my daughter. I even found a perfect, whole sand dollar within a few minutes, though most of the shells we found weren't the special perfect whelks you might find at BHI.
This beach isn't quite as "natural" as I'd hoped, but it was a far cry from the dirty, commercial beaches I've been to elsewhere (and hated). Of course, this isn't tourist season so perhaps it's different in the summer.
In the evening we went down Market St. towards downtown, and the streets were lined with trees dripping with Spanish moss. It was an easy drive even on a Saturday night into the Historic end. We paid $5 for a parking spot by the river walk, poked into some shops, and then took the haunted walk (tickets are $10-$12 each) via The Black Cat Shoppe. This was a *great* way to learn more about the city in a safe way; I'm not necessarily a "city at night" person but with a group of 20 it was perfectly safe and fun. (Not that I get the impression historic parts of Wilmington are all that dangerous, unless you think boys on skateboards are frightening.) We *really* enjoyed the walk, The Black Cat Shoppe and all of the friendly people. We did not feel like outsiders in the least. I was amused by the amount of women taking the walking tour in very high heels and jewelry, and get the impression that many couples go to that area on dates. There were some drunk young 20-somethings that hooted and hollered at our group from their cars, but it wasn't a big deal at all.
I obviously can't vouch for the rest of the city, but we just loved this section and felt very comfortable there, and safe, too. It was touristy, sure, but not like you might find elsewhere (Bethany Beach in Delaware comes to mind...a mini golf place every five feet). If I can go back I'd love to take the trolley/horse-drawn tours and tour the historic buildings by day, do the haunted pub crawl, the battleship, etc.
On Sunday morning we walked on the beach again, and found it not deserted, but not crowded, either. A beautiful morning for a walk in the morning sun before the 11+ hour drive home. People on the beach were friendly and said hello to us, so we felt welcome.
All in all, we were very pleased by the parts of Wilmington we were able to visit. I'm sure there are problem areas and that in the summer it would be nuts, and that could make or break a possible move there for us. But I will say I valued my weekend there and that it was worth the money and time!
I'll answer my own post since I didn't get any responses and I've returned from my time in Wilmington.
We stayed in the Wingate hotel on Market Street, which was a great location smack in the middle of everything we wanted to do on our very short trip. We visited UNCW first, because I'm applying for their MFA program. The campus was gorgeous!
On Friday night we picked up pizza from "Incredible Gourmet Pizza" in the shopping center close to Target off Market St. to eat in our hotel room, and I recommend it. The slices were HUGE and the price reasonable.
On Saturday we spent much of the day on Wrightsville Beach. Public parking wasn't an issue even on a beautiful morning and afternoon (though I'm sure on-season it's a bear). When you drive to the beach, you'll see that there are side streets marked with "public access" signs. Many are one way going the opposite direction, but pick one, drive down, and you'll see metered parking places. Access #33, the one we kept choosing, had 3 spots. All of the meters take coins only and it's $2 for an hour. You can put in enough coins for 9 hours total.
This access took us on a short walk down a sandy, garden-lined path between the beach houses and out onto Wrightsville Beach. There are trash cans at each access point, which I loved, so taking our lunch out for a picnic wasn't a problem (we picked up salads from Lovey's Market--a great health food store--and ate our lunch on the beach).
We found that a walk from this access point all the way to a pier (there's one to the left as well as one to the right) and back took about 45 minutes, which was perfect when on our first visit, we only had $2 for the meter! The pier to the right seemed less populated and more private for a nice walk with my daughter. I even found a perfect, whole sand dollar within a few minutes, though most of the shells we found weren't the special perfect whelks you might find at BHI.
This beach isn't quite as "natural" as I'd hoped, but it was a far cry from the dirty, commercial beaches I've been to elsewhere (and hated). Of course, this isn't tourist season so perhaps it's different in the summer.
In the evening we went down Market St. towards downtown, and the streets were lined with trees dripping with Spanish moss. It was an easy drive even on a Saturday night into the Historic end. We paid $5 for a parking spot by the river walk, poked into some shops, and then took the haunted walk (tickets are $10-$12 each) via The Black Cat Shoppe. This was a *great* way to learn more about the city in a safe way; I'm not necessarily a "city at night" person but with a group of 20 it was perfectly safe and fun. (Not that I get the impression historic parts of Wilmington are all that dangerous, unless you think boys on skateboards are frightening.) We *really* enjoyed the walk, The Black Cat Shoppe and all of the friendly people. We did not feel like outsiders in the least. I was amused by the amount of women taking the walking tour in very high heels and jewelry, and get the impression that many couples go to that area on dates. There were some drunk young 20-somethings that hooted and hollered at our group from their cars, but it wasn't a big deal at all.
I obviously can't vouch for the rest of the city, but we just loved this section and felt very comfortable there, and safe, too. It was touristy, sure, but not like you might find elsewhere (Bethany Beach in Delaware comes to mind...a mini golf place every five feet). If I can go back I'd love to take the trolley/horse-drawn tours and tour the historic buildings by day, do the haunted pub crawl, the battleship, etc.
On Sunday morning we walked on the beach again, and found it not deserted, but not crowded, either. A beautiful morning for a walk in the morning sun before the 11+ hour drive home. People on the beach were friendly and said hello to us, so we felt welcome.
All in all, we were very pleased by the parts of Wilmington we were able to visit. I'm sure there are problem areas and that in the summer it would be nuts, and that could make or break a possible move there for us. But I will say I valued my weekend there and that it was worth the money and time!
you have no idea what you're talking about.......summered in Bethany Beach for 30 years...there is one small mini-golf course in the whole town...
I'm new or I would have answered before. My brother lives in Wilmington and we make the trip down from Michigan a couple times a year to see him and stay at the beach.
My favorite beach is Topsail Beach its a little further than Wrightsville but worth it. Go to Topsail island and hang a right to get away from town. That's where we go and stay during the summer. Lots of public beach accesses. If you want to stay I would recommend Tiffany's. Or there are a couple of hotels in Topsail Beach.
Closer than Wrightsville is Carolina Beach & Kure Beach, we liek to stay there in the winter time or nay short visits and also for day trips if we are staying in Wilmington. If you are going to stay there the Marriot is nice, but the Atlantic towers is a Condo facility that rents for even just 1 night I believe. It is reasonable is right on the beach and each condo has a balcony looking over the beach.
you have no idea what you're talking about.......summered in Bethany Beach for 30 years...there is one small mini-golf course in the whole town...
Um, wow, I didn't mean to offend your mini golf sensibilities. I know I went to a Captain's Jack's Pirate mini golf place, and then family drove around quite a bit and whatever area we were at, there were a lot of golf places. No biggie. My point was to compare a more "touristy" place to Wilmington, that's all. No harm meant...
I'm new or I would have answered before. My brother lives in Wilmington and we make the trip down from Michigan a couple times a year to see him and stay at the beach.
My favorite beach is Topsail Beach its a little further than Wrightsville but worth it. Go to Topsail island and hang a right to get away from town. That's where we go and stay during the summer. Lots of public beach accesses. If you want to stay I would recommend Tiffany's. Or there are a couple of hotels in Topsail Beach.
Closer than Wrightsville is Carolina Beach & Kure Beach, we liek to stay there in the winter time or nay short visits and also for day trips if we are staying in Wilmington. If you are going to stay there the Marriot is nice, but the Atlantic towers is a Condo facility that rents for even just 1 night I believe. It is reasonable is right on the beach and each condo has a balcony looking over the beach.
Thanks! There's a chance we could move to the area next year, so I'm keeping my eyes peeled for helpful information.
I saw signs for Topsail but our trip was so fast we didn't have time to explore. How long does it take to get to Topsail or the others, do you think, from the UNCW area?
That was very nice post! I rep'd you in spite of the other reply. Did you go to the Battleship Memorial?
Ha--I might have been in a different area than Bethany Beach? I sure wasn't meaning any offense...! It was over 5 years ago, and I wasn't driving the car...and my intention was to compliment Wilmington!
And nope, we ran out of time for that, but I'd love to! I really enjoyed the mix of places to visit near Wilmington; I can see families being happy there or vacation or not.
Carolina & Kure beaches are no farther from UNCW than Wrightsville. Just take College rd South, its only like 15 miles, but depending on traffic can take about 30 minutes.
Topsail beach is probably about 40 minutes from UNCW. But worth the drive is you ask me. Most of the island is home owners. You'll find a few high end restaurants, but most are quite affordable. If you go you have to try Batt's its just over the bridge on the island. The building doesn't look like much, but the food is great and its cheap.
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My Own Answer
