For those of you doubting Carolina Beach...

and for those of us who love the place....a little reassurance:

emediawire.com/releases/2007/7/emw543083.htm

For those of you doubting Carolina Beach...

Thank You.

I will be on vacation next month in Carolina Beach and looking forward to it. From the reviews Ive read and speaking with people I know who have been to the area, I see nothing wrong with going. This reassurance post confirms my choice with Carolina Beach.

Unlike some people who feel they have to post behind everyone%26#39;s comment about how bad a place is, for me is childish. Sorry you had a bad trip. Like one person posted, A vacation is what you make of it. And that comment is right on.

For those of you doubting Carolina Beach...

Amen!

I guess if you have not been to a 5star beach then Carolina Beach will be great for you all. Good Luck!

Trip Advisor has a forum so that people can voice their opinions on certain places (liked it or did not like it) and this is not childish. Sorry that some people can%26#39;t take a criticism. People will not be posting anything on this forum if it isn%26#39;t true (good or bad) based on their experience. This forum is to let future visitors make a decision on a place and it is entirely up to them if they want to pursue visiting a place they intend to. Again, this is not childish.

To future visitors at Carolina Beach, do yourself a favor and keep reading and re-reading prior postings on this forum and Goodluck!

bump

emediawire.com/releases/2007/7/emw543083.htm

Try Wrightsville Beach and Kure Beach first. Carolina Beach is in between these 2 nice beaches. Stay away from Carolina Beaches (especially the boardwalk).

If you have a reservation at Carolina Beach, make sure to go to www.googleearth.com first and type in the address and you can see where it is located. You can see the place where you are staying at beforehand. Pretty good tool to decided if future visitors want to go or not,

This is a great exchange of opinions on Carolina Beach. Our family spent a week in a lovely bayside cottage on the 900 block of Canal Drive last summer. While we had a wonderful time, we probably will not return. Let me try to explain. First of all, any future visitor should not be worried; you will have a nice time. As with most places, you will find diamonds in the rough. As one travels, one compares places with places previously visited. We so desparately wanted to love Carolina Beach, but we couldn%26#39;t. We are are from PA and are tired of the crowds and prices of the Jersey Shore. Yet there are some good reasons why the Jersey Shore is expensive and crowded (with considerable variability). The positives of Carolina Beach for us included the following: better deal on a vacation rental; the excitement of a new place; great beach; warm water; the Grind coffee shop; Britt%26#39;s Donuts; decent restaurant selection (and good quality); and plenty of activities nearby. The negatives for us are described next. Many areas of Carolina Beach feel densely packed with condos (the three and four story variety). Parts of N. Carolina Beach Avenue gave a sense of being in a city. There weren%26#39;t any sidewalks along Canal Drive and N. Carolina Beach Ave. in the vicinity of our house. Traffic moved along at a steady clip up and down these roads. While a bike lane is marked, it is very narrow. Bottom line: we did not feel comfortable having our children walk or bike to the beach or the town center of Carolina Beach. I also did not enjoy my bicycle rides around town. You had to very diligent navigating the streets. We%26#39;re just not used to that. For some, and for people with older kids, this is probably a non-issue. By the way, half-way through our week, my bike was stolen. That%26#39;s never happened before, and I was naturally miffed.

I can see how the town center of Carolina Beach is nostalgic for some. I%26#39;m sure the place looks different now than last year, as several buildings were being demolished during our visit. However, for our taste, the boardwalk area was mediocre at best. We had a sense that the area was to be redeveloped, a potential source of controversey among the locals. Again, we always have a good time wherever we go, it%26#39;s just that we%26#39;ve been to many better boardwalks and seashore communities (for our taste). However, Britt%26#39;s Donuts is special. Indulge in a donut and two, you%26#39;re on vacation! Nearby Kure Beach and Wrightsville Beach have their own, unique feel and warrant a drive-through as well. Overall, our visit was satisfactory and memorable (in a positve sense), but the area didn%26#39;t have what it takes to lure us back.

Thank you for your honest insight about Carolina Beach.

Great article!

For the last few years, the town council has been nastily divided in how to proceed with the revitalization effort. But fortunately, this past November election cycle brought in a council that is ready to move forward and begin the long anticipated revitalization of CB. I suspect this summer, repeat visitors will see a notable change in the boardwalk/central business district as the town and business owners take the first steps towards sprucing up the area. Longer term, I foresee the entire area undergoing major transformations which will make CB a much sought after destination.

If you go to page 29 of the master development plan, you%26#39;ll see what the vision is for the downtown CB area. We should begin to see movement on this plan beginning this year. And it sure is going to be beautiful when it is completed ;-)

carolinabeach.org/site_new/…home_012.html

Oops, wrong link. Here is the correct link

carolinabeach.org/site_new/pages/documents/P…