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I'll take this to the coastal forum as well but hope someone here has done this as a driving trip.
We're thinking sometime in Sept, possibly the first week of Oct, friends are coming here from Chicago and we'll drive from H'ville to the coast. Interests are seeing the wild horses, exploring interesting towns a guided kayak tour with interesting subject matter like history and/or wildlife, fun places to eat, beach walking and ??? We'll take a week and can either drive first to Currituck area and moving down the coast before heading home or drive first to Wilmington area and head up the coast. None of us have ever been anywhere on the NC coast, can't see everything of course but want to squeeze in what we can. Is this too ambitious for a week? First and last day are lost to travel. Maybe leave Wilmington out of the equation concentrate on the area between Currituck and New Bern?
Would love to hear your experiences and suggestions - thanks
[quote=DLM2000;52210594]I'll take this to the coastal forum as well but hope someone here has done this as a driving trip.
We're thinking sometime in Sept, possibly the first week of Oct, friends are coming here from Chicago and we'll drive from H'ville to the coast. Interests are seeing the wild horses, exploring interesting towns a guided kayak tour with interesting subject matter like history and/or wildlife, fun places to eat, beach walking and ??? We'll take a week and can either drive first to Currituck area and moving down the coast before heading home or drive first to Wilmington area and head up the coast. None of us have ever been anywhere on the NC coast, can't see everything of course but want to squeeze in what we can. Is this too ambitious for a week? First and last day are lost to travel. Maybe leave Wilmington out of the equation concentrate on the area between Currituck and New Bern?
Would love to hear your experiences and suggestions - thanks[/quote
You will need one full day going to the coast, and one full day to return. If you want to go to the Outer Banks, add another day or two. I wouldn't miss Wilmington, and would go there first; it's very nice. You might also want to take the ferry over to Manteo for yum seafood. Look at www.carolinaliving.com and also buy an "Our State" magazine or two. Hmmm.... I just gave about 3 yrs. of my Our State collection to the downtown Hvl. library. Also watch PBS on Thursday nights starting at 8 pm … they have an interesting few hours on 'discovering NC'.
Thanks QC - Looking into Manteo as it was not on my radar at all. Seems there is a nice little aquarium there, one of my favorites. I know first and last days are lost to travel, as I said.
There are wild horses in the 4x4 area of the Outer Banks. We normally stay in Duck. We stay there every year, this year we will be there for 2 weeks in October. The drive is approximately 8 hours, if you have multiple drivers, it's an easy drive. We normally break it up because we will have 5 dogs and my senior father with us, so it's a tight squeeze. There are kayak tours, the wild horse tours and all sorts of fun things to do in the Outer Banks. While it's nice to explore the coast, I would suggest choosing an area and REALLY explore it. Manteo is adorable (and closer than Duck). Trying to see all the lighthouses in the area is really fun, too, though from Duck to Hatteras is quite a long haul (about an hour and 15 to an hour and a half in the offseason). There is also the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge before you make the final cross onto the Outer Banks. All sorts of neat wildlife there, including lots of bears.
I have stayed all up and down the coast of North Carolina over the years. I was actually torn between wanting to live at the beach or in the mountains. I hate crowds and the beaches are ALL crowded during the summer months, which is why we go in October, so the mountains won out. I have found that, in my opinion, the Outer Banks have more to do and see. There is never enough time to take it all in. Jockey's Ridge, Wrightsville Memorial, the wild horses, the aquarium, there is a huge seafood festival in October in Nags Head, a music festival in Duck in October, lighthouses galore, just so much to do!
You don't take a ferry to Manteo, you do to Hatteras Island, unless you are coming from the south, then I guess you would take one to Hattaras and then drive up from there. When you go to Manteo in October, I don't think they will still have The Lost Colony play going on, but you can still wander the grounds. The town itself is adorable and there are plenty of places to eat, but again, in October some of them will be closed.
Oh my goodness goldenlove - thank you so much for all that information! And the Bear Lady story - WOW! The truth is I have wanted to see the wild horses since I was a child and read Misty of Chincoteague (yes I know that's not NC) and it's about time I made that happen! Our friends love to drive so the long haul will not be an issue and we have time to decide how much territory we want to cover. The good news is it doesn't have to be a one and done - we will have other trips.
You don't take a ferry to Manteo, you do to Hatteras Island, unless you are coming from the south, then I guess you would take one to Hattaras and then drive up from there. When you go to Manteo in October, I don't think they will still have The Lost Colony play going on, but you can still wander the grounds. The town itself is adorable and there are plenty of places to eat, but again, in October some of them will be closed.
You're right, it wasn't a ferry. It was a 'regular tourist boat trip'. Loved it, but Whoops !
Oh my goodness goldenlove - thank you so much for all that information! And the Bear Lady story - WOW! The truth is I have wanted to see the wild horses since I was a child and read Misty of Chincoteague (yes I know that's not NC) and it's about time I made that happen! Our friends love to drive so the long haul will not be an issue and we have time to decide how much territory we want to cover. The good news is it doesn't have to be a one and done - we will have other trips.
We had to drive to Delaware in March to visit my FIL. We booked one night in Chincoteague because I also dreamed of seeing the ponies ever since I was a child. We found lots and lots of horse poop, but only saw a small herd off in the distance. Another couple we ran into said they were all over the place the day before, darn it! Oh well, that one is off my bucket list (which is super short, LOL).
QC, I knew I had gotten to Manteo without a ferry, but then I thought maybe you had to go even further down the road or something and there was one down there. Ha ha ha. I had to look it up to make sure.
DLM2000, the Outer Banks are just wonderful, in my opinion. It's well worth the drive to me!
Best way to see the wild horses at Corolla and Carova is to take a wild horse tour. Lots of folks get stuck trying to drive on the beach so if you do want to try that be sure to air down your tires. It's expensive to get a tow and even more expensive if the tide comes in and soaks your truck.
In my opinion one week/5 days is completely insufficient to see the coast of NC. I think if you compared the mountains and the coast I'd want more time in the coast. I love the mountains (we have a home in Boone), but to really do the coast proper I'd want at least 10 days. Two weeks would be nice.
Another place you can see wild horses is on Shackleford Banks on the Crystal Coast/Cape Lookout National Seashore/Emerald Isle area. You'll need to take a small ferry over and they drop you off on the completely uninhabited island for you to go shelling and look for the ponies.
Grew up in Ocean City, MD and have made many trips to visit and surf Assateague, Virginia’s eastern shore and the Outer Banks. All are beautiful and worth making time to explore. A little closer to home is Sullivan’s Island near Charleston, SC and points northward. Enjoy your trip as the coastal mid-Atlantic is one of our favorite places to explore. Good luck!
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Also watch PBS on Thursday nights starting at 8 pm … they have an interesting few hours on 'discovering NC'.
