Outer Banks Communities
What You May Want To Know
Which Outer Banks Communities Should I Stay?
If you haven't been to the Outer Banks before, you may wonder which communities best suit your plans. Let me see if I can give you a little insight on the area before you start exploring your family vacation options. Each of the 16 communites seem to be special in their own way. As I try to describe the towns of the Outer Banks, maybe something will say to you "That's the area we want to explore for our next beach vacation."
What a beautiful morning!
Carova of all the Outer Banks communities, is the furthest north and the most remote. With the only access to the Carova community being by a 4-Wheel Drive vehicle. It is a great get-away if you prefer peace and quite.
Things to know about Carova - No Paved Roads
- No Restaurants or Stores
- Approximately 8-12 miles of Beach Driving till you arrive
- You can find Large Beach Houses with up to 8 or more bedrooms
- No Crowded Beaches
Corolla is located at the end of the road where you would enter the beach access to make your way to Carova. Corolla is a very nice and quiet town with all the conveniences you may want. You should have no problem finding beach houses and cottages to consider. One of my favorite attractions of Corolla is the Currituck Lighthouse, also known as the Corolla Lighthouse. Wild horses roam the beaches of Corolla, adding special attraction to the area. You also will have one of the best golf courses you may have ever played, listed as one of the top 10.
The lighthouse at Corolla
Duck, of all the Outer Banks communities, has become our family's favorite place to get a beach house rental. With small oceanside housing developments, you have quiet streets with private beach access making Duck one of the favorite Outer Banks communities to do a family vacation.
With easy access to the Currituck Sound side there are some great water sports close by:
Southern Shores is similar to Duck and I like to think that this community is the last area before you enter, what I consider, the more commercialized area of the Outer Banks. You will still find Southern Shores has that slower family atmosphere, but you are within a short distance of finding shopping centers, restaurants, movie cinemas and just about anything you could want.
Nothing like a walk on the beach
As you continue south from Southern Shores you enter into what I like to call the tourest area. You will have a lot more traffic but everything you would want is close by. There are plenty of public beach access areas to park or walk from where you are lodging. There are 3 communities that I like to include in this tourist area. Kitty Hawk has a lot to offer. - Plenty of Accomodation choices
- Great Places to Eat
- Lots of Shopping
- Fishing Pier
- Golf Greens
Kill Devil Hills will always be special to me, since it was the first place we did a beach vacation at the Outer Banks when I was in my early teens. The memories of those family beach vacations are priceless.
Kill Devil Hills has even more to offer. - Hotels, Beach Houses, Cottages
- Canal Front Rentals
- Great Restaurants
- More Shopping
- Fishing Pier
- Wright Bro. Museum
- Go Kart Racing
- 10 Screen Movie Theater
With Nags Head it gets even better.
If a lot of family fun activities is what you are looking for, I think these 3 Outer Banks Communities are worth exploring.
Taking to flight
Before we go further south, lets take a quick detour to Roanoke Island. The island is across the Roanoke Sound. Manteo and Wanchese are the two communities there with many year round residents making their home on this beautiful and historic island.
Things to know about Roanoke Island I have always enjoyed taking a side trip to Roanoke Island and exploring the beautiful landscape and the early history of America.
Now after you enjoy this side trip lets continue the journey to Hatteras Island, but before crossing the Oregon Inlet Bridge to Hatteras Island you may want to stop and see the Bodie Island Lighthouse.
I love waking up to this
Hatteras Island starts with a beautiful drive through the undeveloped Cape Hatteras National Seashore as you make your way to the next town on our journey south.
The next four Outer Banks communities are Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, and Avon. I would like to group these four towns together due to their similarity with each other.
Some of the attractions and things to do are what makes these four communities a great place for a beach vacation. As a lover of the outdoors I have found this area of Hatteras Island a perfect place to hang out and do some exploring.
The end to a perfect day
Buxton is our next stop on Hatteras Island and it is probably another favorite of mine of the Outer Banks communities that I have visited many times. I would have to say it's the surf fishing that keeps bringing me back to this small town on the Outer Banks. The fishing here is the best you will find anywhere on Hatteras Island.
What else do I like about Buxton? - The Accomodations
- My Favorite Seafood Restaurant
- Did I Mention Fishing?
- Tallest Lighthouse
and Museum - Small Town Feel
- Great Beaches with 4-Wheel Drive Access
Well, as you can see I would encourage you to explore your options in Buxton, especially if you want to do a lot of fishing on your beach vacation.
Frisco is the next town after Buxton. Actually, since Frisco is only down the road a short distance, I like to include it in with Buxton when I'm exploring out my options here.
Doing what I enjoy most
The community of Hatteras is the end of the road on Hatteras Island. From here you will board a ferry to continue to Ocracoke Island. Before we cross over on the ferry we should look around Hatteras.
Hatteras offers some great lodging options that include motels and campgrounds. Also, Hatteras has become known for some of the best off shore Gulf Stream fishing. Some of the record fish were caught from boats chartered right here at the local marinas of Hatteras. If you enjoy off shore fishing or you have always dreamed of fishing in the Gulf Stream for a 500 lb. Blue Marlin, you really should take some time exploring this town at the end of Hatteras Island.
This is worth waking up for
Well, we have taken the ferry to Ocracoke Island and drove to the other end of the island to Ocracoke the last of the Outer Banks communities to visit. Ocracoke is a quiet little town that depends mainly on the tourist business during the summer months.
Things to know about Ocracoke and Ocracoke Island - A nice place to do a quiet beach vacation
- Not a lot of activities like some of the other communities, I have mentioned
- Accomodation options are Bed & Breakfasts, Inns, Motels, Campgrounds
- Large National Campground is available
- Was the home base for Edward "Blackbeard" Teach the infamous pirate of the early 1700's
- Home to the second oldest lighthouse in North America
- During summer months there can be a large population of mosquitoes (repellent recommended)
I hope you now have enough information of the different Outer Banks communities to help with the question:
Which Area Of The Outer Banks Should I Stay?
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