We waited last year and couldn’t eat out all week because everything books up well in advance. Might be different now because there are less COVID restrictions but dont waste any time!
North Banks Restaurant and Raw Bar - had the steamer combo and it was great.
One thing I really wish I had done was hire a place to come in and do a seafood boil at the house, but we didn't have a big group (stupid covid) so it didn't really make sense.
Agave Roja - get the cucumber jalapeno margarita, I look forward to that every year
Aslo, my wife and I always have to handle dinner for our entire party (8 adults 4 kids) for 1 night... Corolla Village Barbecue is great for takeout (since we prefer not to spend our time cooking!
Beach boardwalk atmosphere. I’ve been going to OBX since 1984. Used to be the best damn place to go. All the towns had their own unique vibe. Well, the little NC secret beach town has been put on blast since the advent of the inter webs and has come to an end. It’s now no better than any other northern over crowded beach town.
Duck is the only place I stay when I go now. It has all the nest shops and places to walk to. But it’s so damn crowded it’s insane. The other major plus about duck is that it’s not too far off the bridge.
Go to Tommy’s Market if you want good fresh groceries. Then get coffee at the cottage in the mornings. The shops in that strip mall with cottage coffeee are cool. If you had little ones with you and you go first thing in the morning you can buy turtle food and toss it in the pond and the turtles and fish will come right up to eat. My son loved it.
Other than that, you can go to awful Arthur’s for seafood up in kill devil hills/Kitty Hawk. JKs is a really good steak joint.
Heard the water is warm this week but the beach is eroded due to storms.
Biscuit breakfast sandwiches are incredible. Just be prepared to show up before they open and wait in line. Last time I was there I think line was ~30 people deep by opening.
and I am leaving tomorrow for three weeks. We are in Kill Devil Hills and do not venture up Route 12 b3cause of the traffic. When you are on the northern end of the island you tend to stay up there.
As mentioned, Blue Point is great in Duck. The original Duck Donuts is at a sound side group of stores in Duck as well.In KDH, we LOVE The Collington CAfe on Collington Road. If you have the opportunity it is well worth he drive. reservations are a must.
As you drive along Route 168 heading in to the OBX, Currituck BBQ in Coin Jock is awesome. I will most certainly stop for lunch tomorrow on my way in for a brisket sandwich.
Enjoy your time in the OBX. My little piece of paradise!
I've been going to that area every year for about 20 years
In Sanderling, the Lifesaving Station is great especially for breakfast), as is The Paper Canoe. If your going further North to Corolla, I concur with the poster above who mentioned Agave Roja for their mixed drinks.
Also, if you're going for Duck Donuts, keep in mind that (although less picturesque) the line at the location next to Harris Teeter is going to be much shorter than the line in Duck itself. Speaking of which, the Harris Teeter is a far superior store compared to Food Lion in Corolla, so if you are between the two, definitely go South to Teeter.
If you want to hire a seafood boil, IMO driving back down to Southern Shores to get it from Steamers right by the post-bridge split is worth it.
As far as things to do... well that really depends on your crowd. There is plenty of stuff geared at kids, adults, etc. One poster above mentioned the horse tour, which my family has enjoyed in the past. We are a pretty beach-centric group, so that has always been our focus.
Some other tips - unless you are going to be across the bridge by 11:30am, you are going to get crushed by traffic (90+ min worth) from the Wright bridge approach on 158 until you hit Duck. If you can get there early, do so. Otherwise you might want to wait until after 4pm to try to get across the Wright Bridge. The same goes for leaving the island - there will be traffic all morning to get across the bridge (we usually leave around 730am since we have a long drive back to Long Island).
Also, years ago there used to be a little-known cut-through via back roads to the left once you get off the bridge on S. Dogwood Ln. But in recent years, a lot of GPS directions have suggested that way, because for some reason traffic doesn't register back there (perhaps the road is too minor?). The result has been absolute standstill insanity (that doesn't register on the GPS) trying to get back on Rt 12 to Duck, so don't follow that path. At this point we don't try to go for shortcuts and head to the 12/158 split and turn North on 12 there.
You're going to have a great time. I hope you enjoy!
the grocery stores are insane on Saturday afternoons, but are great at restocking overnight. So you might want to just grab (or bring!) the essentials when you arrive and then do your big grocery shopping on Sunday morning.
We stay in the lower half of the island in Waves. But our tradition is to hit Biscuits N Porn to get gas for the cars and biscuits for the soul on the way home each time. Good biscuits for the road. - ( New Window )
Traffic was so bad we won’t go back. Going to sandbridge VA this year.
Had breakfast at firstlight and would recommend.
We've gone to Sandbridge often over the years. I actually used to live there in 1983 when there was absolutely nothing there but a few dozen stilt summer homes. Should have bought land, lol
to be a back way to avoid the choke point stop light intersection but it may have been compromised by now.
Everyone knows about the back way now. Taking beach road gets slammed now too. We attempted it last year and ended up stuck in traffic back in the neighborhoods that put us right back in to the main traffic after and even longer wait. The OBX has been compromised as a whole. It’s not what it once was.
Best times to go are mid May and Mid to late September.
to be a back way to avoid the choke point stop light intersection but it may have been compromised by now.
Everyone knows about the back way now. Taking beach road gets slammed now too. We attempted it last year and ended up stuck in traffic back in the neighborhoods that put us right back in to the main traffic after and even longer wait. The OBX has been compromised as a whole. It’s not what it once was.
Best times to go are mid May and Mid to late September.
I figured as much. It wasn't really rocket science but 10 years ago, only a few cars knew about it.
to be a back way to avoid the choke point stop light intersection but it may have been compromised by now.
Everyone knows about the back way now. Taking beach road gets slammed now too. We attempted it last year and ended up stuck in traffic back in the neighborhoods that put us right back in to the main traffic after and even longer wait. The OBX has been compromised as a whole. It’s not what it once was.
Best times to go are mid May and Mid to late September.
Just gotta get there earlier and that way still helps...but they don't let you turn straight left anymore..
The back way is still best way out on leaving day.
One great way to help with traffic is a Sunday to Sunday rental.
we usually leave from Sanderling/Pine Island area at about 7:30am and hit minimal traffic as a result.
As I referenced in my earlier post, coming in the back way up Dogwood Ln. is completely compromised no matter what your GPS may tell you. The approach to the short traffic light to get back on 12 North towards Duck from the back way makes the Cross Bronx Expressway look like the Autobahn - we are talking 60 min+ of simply not moving. Leaving, we have never had to resort to using the back way so I don't know if it is any good but it would make sense that it would be better than coming in.
to be a back way to avoid the choke point stop light intersection but it may have been compromised by now.
Everyone knows about the back way now. Taking beach road gets slammed now too. We attempted it last year and ended up stuck in traffic back in the neighborhoods that put us right back in to the main traffic after and even longer wait. The OBX has been compromised as a whole. It’s not what it once was.
Best times to go are mid May and Mid to late September.
Just gotta get there earlier and that way still helps...but they don't let you turn straight left anymore..
The back way is still best way out on leaving day.
One great way to help with traffic is a Sunday to Sunday rental.
The traffic was indeed bad, but I live just south of DC and have lived it daily for decades. Minor inconvenience and easily overcome. This place is awesome...we are at the far northern end of Corolla and we love it
The traffic was indeed bad, but I live just south of DC and have lived it daily for decades. Minor inconvenience and easily overcome. This place is awesome...we are at the far northern end of Corolla and we love it
On the 17th, we did a Sunday to Sunday because when I was in my 20s and as a kid we went a ton and Saturday to Saturday was miserable, I can't imagine it now.
One thing I really wish I had done was hire a place to come in and do a seafood boil at the house, but we didn't have a big group (stupid covid) so it didn't really make sense.
Aslo, my wife and I always have to handle dinner for our entire party (8 adults 4 kids) for 1 night... Corolla Village Barbecue is great for takeout (since we prefer not to spend our time cooking!
It's just a little north of the causeway over to the OBX.
Link - ( New Window )
Duck is the only place I stay when I go now. It has all the nest shops and places to walk to. But it’s so damn crowded it’s insane. The other major plus about duck is that it’s not too far off the bridge.
Go to Tommy’s Market if you want good fresh groceries. Then get coffee at the cottage in the mornings. The shops in that strip mall with cottage coffeee are cool. If you had little ones with you and you go first thing in the morning you can buy turtle food and toss it in the pond and the turtles and fish will come right up to eat. My son loved it.
Other than that, you can go to awful Arthur’s for seafood up in kill devil hills/Kitty Hawk. JKs is a really good steak joint.
Heard the water is warm this week but the beach is eroded due to storms.
I also had a nice time drinking some tasty beers at Off the Wall Taphouse last year.
Aqua is a fun place to go for dinner/drinks as well.
Treehouse coffee (in the scarborough faire shops) has the best coffee I’ve found around Duck, and the biscuits are ridiculous.
Biscuit breakfast sandwiches are incredible. Just be prepared to show up before they open and wait in line. Last time I was there I think line was ~30 people deep by opening.
As mentioned, Blue Point is great in Duck. The original Duck Donuts is at a sound side group of stores in Duck as well.In KDH, we LOVE The Collington CAfe on Collington Road. If you have the opportunity it is well worth he drive. reservations are a must.
As you drive along Route 168 heading in to the OBX, Currituck BBQ in Coin Jock is awesome. I will most certainly stop for lunch tomorrow on my way in for a brisket sandwich.
Enjoy your time in the OBX. My little piece of paradise!
Also, if you're going for Duck Donuts, keep in mind that (although less picturesque) the line at the location next to Harris Teeter is going to be much shorter than the line in Duck itself. Speaking of which, the Harris Teeter is a far superior store compared to Food Lion in Corolla, so if you are between the two, definitely go South to Teeter.
If you want to hire a seafood boil, IMO driving back down to Southern Shores to get it from Steamers right by the post-bridge split is worth it.
As far as things to do... well that really depends on your crowd. There is plenty of stuff geared at kids, adults, etc. One poster above mentioned the horse tour, which my family has enjoyed in the past. We are a pretty beach-centric group, so that has always been our focus.
Some other tips - unless you are going to be across the bridge by 11:30am, you are going to get crushed by traffic (90+ min worth) from the Wright bridge approach on 158 until you hit Duck. If you can get there early, do so. Otherwise you might want to wait until after 4pm to try to get across the Wright Bridge. The same goes for leaving the island - there will be traffic all morning to get across the bridge (we usually leave around 730am since we have a long drive back to Long Island).
Also, years ago there used to be a little-known cut-through via back roads to the left once you get off the bridge on S. Dogwood Ln. But in recent years, a lot of GPS directions have suggested that way, because for some reason traffic doesn't register back there (perhaps the road is too minor?). The result has been absolute standstill insanity (that doesn't register on the GPS) trying to get back on Rt 12 to Duck, so don't follow that path. At this point we don't try to go for shortcuts and head to the 12/158 split and turn North on 12 there.
You're going to have a great time. I hope you enjoy!
Had breakfast at firstlight and would recommend.
Good biscuits for the road. - ( New Window )
Had breakfast at firstlight and would recommend.
We've gone to Sandbridge often over the years. I actually used to live there in 1983 when there was absolutely nothing there but a few dozen stilt summer homes. Should have bought land, lol
Had breakfast at firstlight and would recommend.
Sandbridge is fantastic. my family and friends usually get a house there every August
Aqua is a fun place to go for dinner/drinks as well.
Treehouse coffee (in the scarborough faire shops) has the best coffee I’ve found around Duck, and the biscuits are ridiculous.
Agreed on Blue Point. But FYI it’s super expensive. And that was before all the inflation. I can only imagine what it’s like now.
Everyone knows about the back way now. Taking beach road gets slammed now too. We attempted it last year and ended up stuck in traffic back in the neighborhoods that put us right back in to the main traffic after and even longer wait. The OBX has been compromised as a whole. It’s not what it once was.
Best times to go are mid May and Mid to late September.
Quote:
to be a back way to avoid the choke point stop light intersection but it may have been compromised by now.
Everyone knows about the back way now. Taking beach road gets slammed now too. We attempted it last year and ended up stuck in traffic back in the neighborhoods that put us right back in to the main traffic after and even longer wait. The OBX has been compromised as a whole. It’s not what it once was.
Best times to go are mid May and Mid to late September.
I figured as much. It wasn't really rocket science but 10 years ago, only a few cars knew about it.
Quote:
to be a back way to avoid the choke point stop light intersection but it may have been compromised by now.
Everyone knows about the back way now. Taking beach road gets slammed now too. We attempted it last year and ended up stuck in traffic back in the neighborhoods that put us right back in to the main traffic after and even longer wait. The OBX has been compromised as a whole. It’s not what it once was.
Best times to go are mid May and Mid to late September.
Just gotta get there earlier and that way still helps...but they don't let you turn straight left anymore..
The back way is still best way out on leaving day.
One great way to help with traffic is a Sunday to Sunday rental.
As I referenced in my earlier post, coming in the back way up Dogwood Ln. is completely compromised no matter what your GPS may tell you. The approach to the short traffic light to get back on 12 North towards Duck from the back way makes the Cross Bronx Expressway look like the Autobahn - we are talking 60 min+ of simply not moving. Leaving, we have never had to resort to using the back way so I don't know if it is any good but it would make sense that it would be better than coming in.
Quote:
In comment 15735223 Pete in MD said:
Quote:
to be a back way to avoid the choke point stop light intersection but it may have been compromised by now.
Everyone knows about the back way now. Taking beach road gets slammed now too. We attempted it last year and ended up stuck in traffic back in the neighborhoods that put us right back in to the main traffic after and even longer wait. The OBX has been compromised as a whole. It’s not what it once was.
Best times to go are mid May and Mid to late September.
Just gotta get there earlier and that way still helps...but they don't let you turn straight left anymore..
The back way is still best way out on leaving day.
One great way to help with traffic is a Sunday to Sunday rental.
Sunday to Sunday is absolutely clutch.
Quote:
The Blue Point s an institution. Great food, and they have a beautiful outdoor spot for a drink while the sun sets.
Aqua is a fun place to go for dinner/drinks as well.
Treehouse coffee (in the scarborough faire shops) has the best coffee I’ve found around Duck, and the biscuits are ridiculous.
Agreed on Blue Point. But FYI it’s super expensive. And that was before all the inflation. I can only imagine what it’s like now.
You say Inflation? Don't Complain, You voted for him, enjoy it!!