Help Me Plan A Nc Vacation!

[chevysoldier]

My wife and I are planning a trip to North Carolina in the middle of August, vacation/honeymoon. Who has been down there and what do you recommend? Which beach(es) should we visit? Give me some ideas but keep in mind we are on a budget so nothing to extravagant. thanks!

Oh, we aren't the sort to hit the bars all night and get plastered. We prefer it slower. Enjoy history, sight seeing and taking it easy.

Edited July 7, 2013 by chevysoldier

[scottb]

One place I visited was Biltmore Estate in Asheville. "Completed in 1895, George Vanderbilt's 250-room chateau"

 

The drawback is tickets are about $50 per person.

http://www.biltmore.com/

 

If you are into NASCAR racing, Moorseville has a large percentage of NASCAR team shops that are free to visit, but may charge for a museum tour, if they have one.

 

If you like wine, one of the nice places is Childress' Vineyards.http://www.childressvineyards.com/home.asp

 

I am not much of a beach fan, so I don't have any input for you there.

[jbot]

why dont you tell us actual relevant info like, are you taking your bike, and do you have full leathers, and do you have a scooter you can blitz deals gap with, etc

[Gump]

Kure beach(you can drive on it i think), fort fisher, Nc aquarium, all in the same area. Aquarium's cool.

[Hoblick]

Ocean Isle Beach NC is probably the best beach ive ever been to.

very laid back, very little traffic, Calabash isnt far away for shopping and other dining options.

 

i highly recommend checking it out

[chevysoldier]

One place I visited was Biltmore Estate in Asheville. "Completed in 1895, George Vanderbilt's 250-room chateau"

The drawback is tickets are about $50 per person.

http://www.biltmore.com/

If you are into NASCAR racing, Moorseville has a large percentage of NASCAR team shops that are free to visit, but may charge for a museum tour, if they have one.

If you like wine, one of the nice places is Childress' Vineyards.http://www.childressvineyards.com/home.asp

I am not much of a beach fan, so I don't have any input for you there.

Biltmore estate might be interesting, but that is a steep price. I'll check that ot.

Neither of us is into NASCAR so that's out.

Always wanted to check out a winery so I'll look into that also. Thanks for the ideas.

[chevysoldier]

why dont you tell us actual relevant info like, are you taking your bike, and do you have full leathers, and do you have a scooter you can blitz deals gap with, etc

Lol, no, no bike.

[chevysoldier]

Kure beach(you can drive on it i think), fort fisher, Nc aquarium, all in the same area. Aquarium's cool.

that would be cool. We are taking the truck so that'd be nice to drive out onto it.

Ft Fisher def looks like something I'd enjoy. I want to hit up some battlefields and things like that. Civil war history really interests me.

I'm always up for aquariums too Shi that could be an option, especially if this is all within close proximity. Thanks man

[chevysoldier]

Ocean Isle Beach NC is probably the best beach ive ever been to.

very laid back, very little traffic, Calabash isnt far away for shopping and other dining options.

i highly recommend checking it out

Laid back and little traffic, right up or alley. Of course shopping and dining will be needed so this sounds good to me. Thanks!

[nautical1]

If you want really laid back then Top Sail Island is pretty desolate. The problem is there aren't a whole lot of restaurants or shopping unless you go to the main land which can be quite a drive depending how far north on the island you are. If you want historic then Wilmington is also a pretty cool city to check out but it's been a few years since I've been there so I'm not sure if it's changed at all. Also, if you can push your vacation days back then I'd go the first week of the off season which is the first week in September, rates drop quite a ways and there's a lot less people.

 

Do you want to stay on the beach or is anywhere fine?

[jporter12]

If you want really laid back then Top Sail Island is pretty desolate. The problem is there aren't a whole lot of restaurants or shopping unless you go to the main land which can be quite a drive depending how far north on the island you are. If you want historic then Wilmington is also a pretty cool city to check out but it's been a few years since I've been there so I'm not sure if it's changed at all. Also, if you can push your vacation days back then I'd go the first week of the off season which is the first week in September, rates drop quite a ways and there's a lot less people.

 

Do you want to stay on the beach or is anywhere fine?

 

^^^This.  We were down there in September of 2008.  We were on the north end of Topsail, but not in the part they call North Topsail.  Just over the bridge from Sneads Ferry.  Jacksonville isn't too far away for dining, shopping, etc...  That was a very relaxing week, wander out to the beach as we wanted, etc...

[max power]

I agree with topsail. Awesome uncrowded beaches (if you don't stay right in town) very laid back and family friendly. Only one bar that I know of on the island and it sucks. But you can rent a house with an ocean view for much cheaper than OBX or Emerald Isle. We spend days in the ocean and nights drinking daiquiris on the porch.

We will be there early in August.

Go check out USS North Carolina while you are there. It's pretty cool.

[chevysoldier]

So many options. Seems like I keep ending up back in the southern corner of the state. I saw a cheap rental on oak island, a little bit cheaper than top sail. How is oak island,? I'd like to hit up ft Fisher and the uss north Carolina so staying in that area would be good.

[baptizo]

Go to Brunswick County, NC which will give you access to Wilmington/Wrightsville Beach to the north so you can visit the USS NC   - definitely spend some time in downtown Wilmington, it's a cool place to see - and if you're interested in the nonsense of Myrtle Beach, you're an hour away.  

 

You can't drive on any of the beach's except the south end of Kure Beach in the Fort Fisher state park area where you now have to pay for access - definitely be prepared to get stuck.  There is a Civil War fort in the state park you might also want to check out.  You can also drive on the north end of Carolina Beach or at least you could when I lived there back in the 90's. 

 

Hoblick's recommendation for Ocean Isle Beach is a good one - but I can only attest to the good surfing - plus there are plenty of cool places to check out and restaurants. 

[motozachl]

You can also drive on the beach at the very tip of OBX. There's wild horse tours up there but don't expect seeing anything LOL however you will see like hundreds of dolphins...

[baptizo]

For an affordable vacation, the OBX aren't a good option, IMO, but there is plenty to do and see out there. And the northern tip is actually very easy to drive on the beach compared to the other areas.

If it were me, I'd just go home to the Wilmington area and chill.

[rsvRidr]

You can also drive on the beach at the very tip of OBX. There's wild horse tours up there but don't expect seeing anything LOL however you will see like hundreds of dolphins...

I was just going to recommend this if OP's truck was 4wd. The wife and I rented a house in May in 4x4 only access area of Corolla Beach. We took the dog as the area/houses are very dog friendly and you literally have miles of beach to yourselves with very little traffic. We were lucky as we had a group of horses hang around our area every morning and evening.

If you do have 4wd, don't pay for the tours just air down and drive around yourself but pay attention to high tide times and storms

I am not much of a 'beach person' but the wife is. I will definitely be going back here though. Not much to do but if you want to relax and get away from the crowds, this gets my vote

We used Twiddy rentals. They seemed to be main rental company on the beach

Edited July 8, 2013 by rsvRidr

[Ron505]

Topsail, Ocean Isle and Holden Beach are all good "laid back" beaches.  And it is just a short drive to get to north Myrtle or Broadway at the Beach.

[jporter12]

For Topsail, we (step grandmother) rented from Treasure Realty:  http://www.treasurerealty.com/

 

OT  Here's the link to the place where we stayed: http://www.treasurerealty.com/vrmgr/rental/detailpage.aspx?propertyid=492&webcode=7plusssfh

 

We were there "mid-season"  We want to get back down there in the next year or 2, and mid-season with a few other families would be best way to afford it. /OT

[max power]

For Topsail, we (step grandmother) rented from Treasure Realty:  http://www.treasurerealty.com/

 

OT  Here's the link to the place where we stayed: http://www.treasurerealty.com/vrmgr/rental/detailpage.aspx?propertyid=492&webcode=7plusssfh

 

We were there "mid-season"  We want to get back down there in the next year or 2, and mid-season with a few other families would be best way to afford it. /OT

Damn money! That's a little higher class than what we are used to.

We usually stay second row with ocean view in a 2 or 3 bedroom. It's always my family (3) my brothers family (4) and this year Gump and his girls (3). We rented a house that sleeps 10 on the south end of topsail for right around $1600. No pool etc., but we spend our days on the beach and running around so all we needed was a cool place to sleep and eat.

[jporter12]

Damn money! That's a little higher class than what we are used to.

We usually stay second row with ocean view in a 2 or 3 bedroom. It's always my family (3) my brothers family (4) and this year Gump and his girls (3). We rented a house that sleeps 10 on the south end of topsail for right around $1600. No pool etc., but we spend our days on the beach and running around so all we needed was a cool place to sleep and eat.

 

My stepmom's mother had some money to blow after selling her house and moving into a condo and she paid for the house, we all chipped in $10 a day per person for food and took turns cooking.  It worked out really well!  We did go mid season, so it was a LOT cheaper.