What is your favorite town or village on the Outer Banks? Are you partial to Ocracoke, Hatteras, Corolla? You name the spot. And give us a quick synopsis of why you think this is the best little spot on the Carolina coast!

Thanks,
by the way I guess my screen name gives my answer away!

Southern Shores and all points north!

Why you ask, just look south :(

PS, I've never stayed any place south of SNH so I'm not familiar with your area. I visited Okracoke once in the mid 80's and saw no reason to go back but I'm sure things have changed since I was there.

People think we are crazy but we like Kitty Hawk to Nags Head. I have to be in the middle of everything. I also have to be close to Awful Arthurs. My friend owns a cottage behind Kill Devil Hills Amoco. Walking distance to Awful Arthurs and Avalon Pier, what more could I want.

Rodanthe and Salvo....Rodanthe for it's closeness to the ocean, no dunes..like to feel somewhat isolated...Salvo for the beautiful green covered dunes and the somewhat isolated feel that it gives..have been many places, this is so beautiful..hate to see developement change everything...Love to sit on the beach and see to few people...

I love Hatteras Island, especially in the Frisco area, quiet, laid back, and away from it all. Nice beaches. That's for me.

South Nags Head for me but I think we will be heading farther south in the years to come. I'm not a crowds person and have even thought about going down to Top Sail to check it out!!

Anywhere on Hatteras Island. Less crowded. More room. Less development. More beach. No chains (except Food Lion). Fishing near the point. Fishing south beach. Fishing the inlet. Having a huge section of beach all to yourself in the off season. Driving on the beach to your favorite fishing spot. I could go on and on.

Why do you only mention the towns on the north end of the island?

I vote for the Rodanthe/Salvo area. Fewer houses. Fewer people. Better everything.

I'm a Nags Head/South Nags Head gal. A bit quieter than KDH/KH (stayed there last time and there were tons of college kids/parties/horn blowing)but still close to everything. I've never tried staying any farther south than NH....may have to give it a go.
Jill

Southern Shores. Quiet, safe, empty beaches, bust still close to the action, and easily accessable to the the bridge.

I do like the towns further South, but it would take me extra time to get there. (Manteo is pretty neat also)

Southern Shores and Duck. Don't like the crowd of South beaches (Nags Head, etc.). Was on Ocracoke once, wouldn't mind staying there if it wasn't so *%@# hard to get to. I like quiet and uncrowded beaches.

I prefer Avon and points south, Buxton, Frisco, Hatteras, and of course Ocracoke. Less crowded, but still lots to do.

Hatteras Island!!!!!!!! I can see K-Mart, Wal-Mart, McDonalds and the shopping centers at home. Too much traffic north of the Oregon Inlet. We usually go north for one day during our stay to see the lighthouse and the big dunes at Kill Devil Hills.
Give me old two-stoplight HI and 0-stoplight Ocracoke any day. I like that the only restaurants and most of the shops are privately owned. The more we go there, the further south we stay. Started in Avon, then Buxton, now Frisco. Will be on Ocracoke soon . Always want to stay within a short drive of The CH Lighthouse. We like to kayak, fish, watch wildlife and beachcomb and love the solitude and miles of dunes and sea oats. Ahhhhhhhhhh ....
Have you ever been to Cape Lookout, OcracokeFan? It is awesomely barren and wonderful (as long as you bring skeeter repellent.) Been there twice. Definitely a pain to get there but well worth it if you like to witness the nature of the shore.

We've always stayed between KDH and SNH with the exception of one year in Duck. I love all the areas and have had great accomodations.Most of our local haunts are south of the Y so we kind of like it in the middle. We have vistited all of he towns south with the exception of Ocracoke and sure hope to get down there some time. I would love to be able to stay at least once in all of the towns along the way. As I've said in the past my daughter graduates this spring so that gives my husband and I the freedom to try various seasons and areas. 'Course after she starts college we'll probably have to stay in a box considering the price of higher education. That's ok I'd live in a box as long as I could still get my vacation to the banks.

Love Manteo...easy access to the sound or down the channel to the inlet and out to the ocean. Waterfront is nice, Clara's has good food and you can be on the beach in 7 minutes or Basnight's Lone Cedar! Too much traffic over on the beach during the summer in KH, KDH, and that 2-lane road in SS and beyond is awful!!! Rather go south!

Frisco for me. Halfway between the point and the inlet-wherever the fish are biting best. Avon is even getting a little too "big city" for my tastes. I love Hatteras Village also.

yes,yes,yes

My Email is fish_oinc @ is that a clue

We've stayed all over the OBX but prefer Duck. If I ever had the luxury of living down there, I'd pick Manteo.

Actually, I haven't been to Cape Lookout. I want to visit there so much. I went to the mainland there one time where you catch the ferry, just wasn't able to go. It is the last lighthouse on the eastcoast (south of Delaware) that I haven't seen in person. I understand its a great place. I know what you mean about the mosquitos! They pick up small cars on Ocracoke, so I am sure they are worse down there!

Is it expensive to take the Ferry over there? How long do you have to stay?

We have stayed everywhere from KDH to Avon, I like them all. We just decide ahead of time if we want to be in the middle of everything or down south where it's quiet. We usually rotate every year. I would like to try some of the northern beaches some time and maybe Ocracoke.

Ya gotta go OF!
It was a lot easier to get there the second time we went. It takes a little planning because you have to make reservations for the Cedar Island ferry from Ocracoke the day before and you have to be there at your reservation time -- which was 7 a.m. for us since we were doing a day trip. We were leaving from Avon so we had to actually take three ferries to get to Lookout, which meant getting up about 4 a.m.
The ferry ride is $10 a car and takes two hours, but it's a good time to catch up on sleep When you get to Cedar, you drive to Harkers Island, which is about another half hour, and that is where you catch the people ferry for Cape Lookout. I think that ferry was $10 a person. The first time we went, we had to make a reservation for that boat too, which was just a big fishing boat (no cars on this one). It only left at certain times so we had to rush from Cedar Island to Harkers Island. And the trip over to Lookout took a half hour or more.
The second time we went a few years later, a couple marinas had gotten into the act and they had a lot more boats carrying people over to Lookout from Harkers, not just that one. And all you had to do was go to one of the marinas and they'd just take you over -- it was a much smaller and FASTER boat. Quite a difference. They leave you off at the dock by the lighthouse and tell you what time they will pick you up. You have to leave on time so you can get back to the ferry for the return to Ocracoke. It's not like the Hatteras ferry. Only leaves at certain times and if you miss the last one for the night ... you get to stay overnight on Cedar Island.
There is a nice little museum at the lighthouse and, to our surprise, there were flush toilets. Once you leave the area by the lighthouse, there is really but nothing but beach and a few shelters with picnic tables back in the dunes. Nice to get out of the sun for awhile. We packed a lunch and took water and had lots of fun.
The first time we went, the shells were AWESOME. Big whelk shells, the kind you find pieces of on the Hatteras beaches .. we were finding perfect ones -- too many to even carry. And full scotch bonnetts and sand dollars. Saw turtles and BIG crabs. Being a seasoned beachcomber, I was in heaven -- I'd never seen anything like it. I learned that trip just how heavy shells can get - haha. Anyway, it makes for a long day because we didn't get back to Avon until after midnight. Talk about being tired!!!!
The second time we went at the end of our stay in Avon ... stayed overnight on Ocracoke, went to Lookout and headed home to Ohio from there. Checked out Beaufort and Wilmington, then headed north. The shells weren't as good the second time but just being in such a natural area is special. There are some fishing camps there so you see an occasional 4x4.
It's been a couple years so we're going back next year. Can't wait.
Sorry this is so long ... I get carried away when talking about something I enjoy so much. We love Ocracoke too and go at least once during our week, and sometimes twice if Molasses Creek or the Ocrafolk Opry is playing. I recommend that too if you have never gone to one of their concerts.

Hey, no problem on your message being to long! Actually its pretty nice to see someone that will take the time to write down such good information. I have visited just about every spot along the Carolina coast, but have just not made the short trip over to Cape Lookout, I really need to do that.

I guess we are "stuck in a rut" because we always spend our time on Ocracoke. I feel like I know Ocracoke like the back of my hand. It's funny, I notice when they paint a building a different color, or someone changes plants in front of their house! I can even recognize spots along the beach just by the way the dunes and vegatation are arranged. I guess I am a real Ocracoke junky! HEHE!

Actually, we try to also take some shorter trips and stay up on Manteo or around Whale bone junction. We do that when we want a little more eating out, and site seeing. We have our favorite spots over on Manteo as well.

Where is home for you? I am originally from Salem, VA. Spent the last 10 years in Winston-Salem, NC.

Everyone should go to Cape Lookout once, it is a wonderful place. I have gotten so many of those big shells when over there, I put them in my rock garden. It is $10 roundtrip a person to go over on the little boats and takes about 10 minutes from Harker's Island. Once over there you can go on the Mule and they take you along the beach and sightseeing, you can get off and tell them what time to come back to pick you up, just make sure you take water and food and insect repellent. When I went the few times I was staying in Emerald Isle so that only took an hour of driving one way plus the boat ride over. Try it though sometime you won't be sorry.

Hey OF! That is so funny about you noticing the little changes when you go. I understand that. There is nothing wrong with always going back to the place you love. That is one of the big reasons we like Hatteras Island. We know everything there, have done the sightseeing thing and nowadays we just go there to DO NOTHING for a week -- sometimes two if we can swing it. We've stayed on Ocracoke -- always use the Silverlake Hotel. Do you guys rent a house or stay at a motel? We have kicked around staying our second week there and have picked up an Ocracoke Realty rental brochure and one from Sandy something. I'm from Elyria,Ohio -- about 25 miles west of Cleveland and 10 miles or so south of Lake Erie.