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Old 07-14-2010, 06:10 PM
 
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I'm looking into planning a trip to the OBX for next summer (2011), possibly the spring. Any recommendations on where to go? Or what I should know before I go. I'm looking to rent a house and would love something quiet and relaxing, far enough any from other houses but close enough to a store. And definitely on the beach (Atlantic side). Also, a major preference would be a northern beach. I would be driving from Connecticut and don't want to add hours to the drive by going further down south to Avon or Rodanthe. I've heard that Duck and Corolla are close to the main road into the OBX. Can anyone recommend an area to meet this criteria? Thanks!
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Old 07-14-2010, 07:13 PM
 
Location: Eureka CA
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Duck is fantastic. And don't forget to visit Kitty Hawk/ Kill Devil Hills,the Wright Brothers memorial. They still have the sheds where they lived during those four years. Very inspirational. You'll have a wonderful trip!.
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Old 07-14-2010, 09:32 PM
 
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Great. Thanks so much!
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Old 07-15-2010, 01:40 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GinaFer View Post
I've heard that Duck and Corolla are close to the main road into the OBX.
Duck, yes. Corolla, no. The center of Duck is about 6 miles from the bridge. The center of Corolla is about 22 miles from the bridge.

The easiest beaches to get to from the main road are actually Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, and Nags Head. There's a 6 lane highway down there, while the road from the bridge to Duck and Corolla is only 2 lanes.

The negatives of Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, and Nags Head are that they are not as quiet as the northern resorts. They're more tourist-y.

You mentioned adding hours to the drive by driving to Rodanthe, but there's much less traffic to Rodanthe. From the bridge to Rodanthe is almost double the mileage to Corolla, but even then, I think you would get to Rodanthe faster during summer peak season. The traffic jams that happen on the way up to Corolla are legendary.

Of course, Rodanthe is much smaller than Corolla and has less selection of houses and less amenities.

If you go during spring, none of this advice applies. The drive up to Corolla would be fine during the off-season.
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Old 07-16-2010, 06:51 AM
 
Location: Durham, NC
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Duck is a great recommendation, but I wouldn't write off Corolla entirely. The southern part of Corolla (Ocean Lake, Ocean Sands, Whalehead, etc...) is only a few miles north of Duck and VERY convenient to the new Harris Teeter supermarket, as well as countless other shopping/dining/entertainment spots at Tim Buck II just a couple miles up from Harris Teeter. We have vacationed in Corolla at Ocean Lake for the past 6 years over Memorial Day weekend and it has generally taken us less than 30 minutes to reach from the bridge at Southern Shores.

One thing to note, houses in the OBX are generally quite close to each other with very little privacy afforded. The best way to find privacy is to stay on the soundside or back in the maritime forest a few blocks back from the beach. Your other option would be to head farther north to Carova (the 4x4 beach) where you will be very inconventient to everything IMO.
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Old 07-17-2010, 08:22 PM
 
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My suggestion would be to go in the fall. Prices are way reduced, the water is warmer in September than in June, even July. There crowds are gone, so you can stay anywhere. The only thing to be aware of is there is just the one bridge coming from Ct. To get to duck and Corolla, you drive south, then head north. Southern Shores, Kill Devil Hiss and even Nags head are just as close. They get really crowded, but in the fall, there are no crowds and there is things to do down there.

We have gone a couple of time in September and October and it has been great. Place on the beach, with a pool, for 1/2 the summer rates.
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Old 07-19-2010, 09:45 PM
 
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We just returned Saturday night from our week on the OBX and had a wonderful time. I know you want to stay north but, really, after you clear the horrendous Saturday in-flow and out-flow traffic jams caused by three or four stoplights in Kitty Hawk you are really adding very little time heading down Rtes 158 and 12 to the southern part of the island and it is an easy drive at that point. We stayed in Hatteras Village on the beach and really appreciated the big differences between Florida and the OBX - OBX much less developed, relaxed, lower building density and lots of mom and pop restaurants and no chain stores. Highly recommend you give the south end a look! Our house was on the beach, private pool, hot tub, direct beach access via walkway from our back door over the sand dune and MILES AND MILES of sparsely populated very nice beach in either direction. We really felt no crowd pressure and did what we wanted on our schedule. No Home Depots, fast food chains, Walgreens, strip malls (except maybe a few local retail stores sharing adjoining storefronts) and you can see the local people are trying to preserve the past as best they can. One additional thing to consider is the proximity to the ferry to Okracoke - a very pleasant day trip south of Hatteras - kind of reminds you of a mini less commercialized Key West in a small way. Best restaurant by far in the south end is Dinky's on top of Village Marina - two in our party raved about the Tilefish dish as the best fish they have ever had. Midgett Real Estate (google it or PM me) is a good place to start looking for rentals IMO. Good Luck, you will enjoy!
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Old 07-20-2010, 11:14 AM
 
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
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I live in Cincy and was thinking of renting a beach out Dec 26-Jan 2 to ring in 2011. Was thinking of Panama City, Destin, Gulf Shores area but i havent been to Outer Banks yet so i dont want to write it off entirely. What the weather there that time of year. If there is a beach house to be rented with a heated pool, it may be worth it.....

G Man
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Old 07-20-2010, 12:11 PM
 
Location: Durham, NC
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gman5431 View Post
I live in Cincy and was thinking of renting a beach out Dec 26-Jan 2 to ring in 2011. Was thinking of Panama City, Destin, Gulf Shores area but i havent been to Outer Banks yet so i dont want to write it off entirely. What the weather there that time of year. If there is a beach house to be rented with a heated pool, it may be worth it.....

G Man
I'd go with Florida that time of year. The weather can be quite chilly and the ocean is simply cold at the OBX around then. Average highs are just above 50 and average lows are in the mid-30s. Add to that the possibility of a nor'easter and I'd think pretty hard about Florida instead. Now, if you didn't care about getting in the water (pool or ocean) and wanted some quiet away time with peaceful walks on the beach, the OBX could be nice then.
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Old 07-20-2010, 12:42 PM
 
1,477 posts, read 5,988,725 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GinaFer View Post
I'm looking into planning a trip to the OBX for next summer (2011), possibly the spring. Any recommendations on where to go? Or what I should know before I go. I'm looking to rent a house and would love something quiet and relaxing, far enough any from other houses but close enough to a store. And definitely on the beach (Atlantic side). Also, a major preference would be a northern beach. I would be driving from Connecticut and don't want to add hours to the drive by going further down south to Avon or Rodanthe. I've heard that Duck and Corolla are close to the main road into the OBX. Can anyone recommend an area to meet this criteria? Thanks!

I know you state you want something north of the bridge but south toward Avon or better yet Frisco is where you really want to be...If you are worried about the drive then you might as well stay at the Sandbridge section in Virginia Beach and save yourself 3-4 hours drive time...
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