House Rental and Town Questions...

Never been there before, looking for some advice... Will be driving there from No. VA area with two small children.

What town is best for quiet family beach areas but still with some night life and daytime things to do with the kids, and preferably fine dining (or finer than your average shore town).

Also, is there a particular rental website you can recommend for house rentals where I can search with different criteria, area, price, # of bedrooms, and other amenities?

House Rental and Town Questions...

There may be others who are not quite the “newbie” that I am that can tell you more but I did extensive research last year and I found Corolla to satisfy much of what you’re looking for. It’s less developed and congested than other towns like Duck. The beaches are wide and not overcrowded, the homes seem to be a little more spread out and there are things for kids, (with dining too) like the Timbuck II plaza. A relatively short ride farther south can get you to more “fine dining” without having to stay in a crowded area.

I used beachrealtync.com (kittyhawk rentals) and found the most reasonable rentals there. I’m already booked for next year and can’t wait.

One other tip, concentrate on Whalehead Beach in Corolla if you can find something there. It’s an awesome beach and a good neighborhood.

House Rental and Town Questions...

Most of the Outer Banks would be considered family beach area with some areas more quiet and isolated than others. The real questions are how quiet do you want it, what type of things do the kids like to do and how far do you want to travel to do these things?

When our kids were very young todlers, we stayed in the northern section of the Outer Banks (Duck, Corolla) when they got a little older we started staying in the Nags Head area mainly because there is more things to do. Now that the kids are a little older and don%26#39;t need to be entertained (well, not every second of the day) we stay closer to Hatteras or even further down the coast.

I have used several realty/rental companies and find them to be pretty much all the same. If you do a google search on ';Outer Banks vacation rentals'; you will get a number of agencies. Feel free to call them with any local questions you have. They are usually very helpful.

I completely agree with jmass%26#39; suggestions. Corolla is the best beach and surf for kids (softer sand and gentler slope into the water), but it%26#39;s not much on the nightlife for adults. You%26#39;d have to drive down 30 minutes to Nagshead area for much in the way of evening entertainment for adults.

Keep in mind that during the summer the drive from Corolla to Nags Head can easily be 45 minutes to 1 hour each way, depending on traffic.

The Corolla area is beautiful, and not very built up compared to the beaches in Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head. Also, there are not as many things for children to do in Corolla. Kill Dvil Hills/Nags Head area has movies, bowling, go garts and mini gilf, etc. Both Duck and Corolla have some great places to eat, and also he are some good restaurants in Southern Shores.

I would say try South Nags Head. The drive to the activities will be shorter, and you will still have nice beaches.

You%26#39;re right, it%26#39;s more like 45 minutes down into Nagheads. But I forgot how much Corolla now has for kids. The Whalehead Club has a nature tour, free crabbing, and even an evening Ghost Tour on Thursday nights. The Currituck Lighthouse is very cool. And Tim Buck II has mini-golf, bumper cars, mini race cars (very nice), jet ski%26#39;s, kayak tours of the sound, paddle boats, para sailing, and tons of shopping.