The Outer Banks of North Carolina continues to diversify its accommodation offerings with the opening of several distinctive boutique hotels throughout the past year, riding a significant wave of rebranding, renovations and new construction in the hotel industry on the Outer Banks. “It's an exciting time to book,” says Lee Nettles, Executive Director of the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau. “Travelers can enjoy a host of choices for their overnight experience in 2025, from historic hotels to new independent properties, in addition to vacation rental homes, inns, cottage courts and campgrounds that have become calling cards for the destination. Couple this trend with our new direct booking partnership with Ripe and we're anticipating an exciting year ahead at outerbanks.org.” Beginning early 2025, visitors will be able to book their hotel stays directly from the official tourism website with other lodging types to follow.
Manteo's charming town waterfront has emerged as a hub for boutique lodging, welcoming three unique properties. The Pearl Hotel, opened in 2024, features 16 individually designed rooms and two luxury family suites, crowned by an exclusive rooftop greenspace overlooking Roanoke Sound. Each room showcases curated global design elements, from Italian touches to themed experiences including bridal, garden, and nautical motifs. Hotel Manteo, a 2023 transformation of the historic Elizabethan Inn, blends coastal Carolina inspiration with contemporary amenities. The property expanded its offerings in 2024 with the addition of Firetender Grill, enhancing Manteo's dining scene. Completing the town's boutique hotel triangle, The Manteo House opened in 2023, offering corporate retreat space and luxury accommodations in a preserved historic setting along Shallowbag Bay. Manteo and surrounding Roanoke Island is highly regarded as cultural and artistic community, being home to several attractions and museums, satisfying waterfront shopping and restaurants serving a range of palettes.
In Nags Head, the iconic Owen's Hotel has been reimagined as Mia's Boutique Hotel, featuring three distinct buildings with oceanfront luxury suites equipped with full kitchens. Further south, the Jonathan Adler-designed Pamlico Station Edgecamp opened in 2024, bringing national recognition through features in Condé Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure. The property offers a fully equipped residential-style experience in Cape Hatteras. Looking ahead to summer 2025, Kill Devil Hills will welcome at least one new flag hotel rebrand, adding to the beach's expanding hotel options. Lighthouses, national and state parks and several fishing piers and bathhouses for accessing the best beaches on the East Coast, along with restaurants only found on the Outer Banks serving locally caught seafood can complete your perfect OBX getaway when paired with the right accommodation for you.
Visitors are invited to check out the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau event calendar to build out their preferred travel weeks with vacation ideas for 2025.https://www.outerbanks.org/events/. For more information about visiting the Outer Banks, visit www.outerbanks.org.
Waterfront beach houses in Nags Head, Outer Banks, North Carolina.
Photograph: Alamy
With its white beaches, warm sea and crab shacks, the North Carolina
coast rivals the Caribbean. Douglas Rogers picks its most alluring
resorts, plus great places to eat and sleep
W hen my wife and I moved from New York to Virginia three years ago,
one of the first things we noticed was an unusual bumper sticker. Every
second car (I exaggerate only slightly) had a white oval sign with the
letters OBX on it. Often, alongside those three letters, was a skull and
crossbones or pirate face. At first we assumed it was a local sports
team, until – seeing the same sticker on vehicles from Maryland,
Kentucky and the Carolinas – we asked a neighbour to enlighten us.
“Outer Banks, North Carolina,” she said. “Best beaches in America.”
“And the pirate?”
“That’s Blackbeard. He hid out in the Banks, lost his head there. You’re English – don’t you know this?”
I confessed I had no idea. I thought the US’s best beaches – at least
on the east coast – were in Cape Cod, Long Island or Florida. As for
Blackbeard, to me he was all about the rum-soaked islands of the
Caribbean. What was he doing pillaging North Carolina?
But it turns out the Outer Banks – and much of the North Carolina
coast – is a pretty decent copy of the Caribbean. In summer, its beach
towns and barrier islands, from the Virginia border to Wilmington, near
South Carolina, are crammed with surfers, sun-seekers and holidaymakers
from across the American south. And with temperatures in the 20s in May
and well into October, it’s an ideal (and quieter) choice for some
spring and autumn sunshine, too.
People come for powdery white sands, bath-warm water that turns
turquoise around the islands, and maritime history: Blackbeard –
Bristol-born Edward Teach – was killed in a naval battle off Ocracoke
Island in 1718. But the area also has windswept national parks, feral
horses descended from Spanish mustangs sent ashore from galleons in the
16th century, and remote colonial beach towns that, until recently, were
so cut off that older residents still speak with the regional English
accents of their forebears.
The coast is long, of course, over 300 miles, and unlike in
California there is no highway to connect it all. It’s good to know
where to go before you start to explore. Here are my five best islands
and beach towns in the Tar Heel State. Pack your surfboards – and your
swords.
Corolla and Duck, Outer Banks
Wild horses on the Beach north of Corolla. Photograph: Alamy
The Outer Banks is a narrow ribbon of barrier islands, barely 100
metres wide in parts, stretching 200 miles from the Virginia border to
Hatteras, a windswept fishing village. The main tourist towns are Nags
Head and Kill Devil Hills, where the Wright Brothers famously took
flight, but the northern villages of Corolla and Duck are more refined,
with pretty hedgerow-lined lanes and stilted beachfront mansions.
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On
our first visit, we rented a house on Corolla’s 4x4 Beach – so named
because that’s the only way to get to it. The beach is part of a wild
horse sanctuary, and every morning we were woken by neighing mustangs
cavorting in our backyard. Bob’s Corolla Wild Horse Tours
(from $39 adult, $29 child, +1 252 453 0939) offers two-hour open-top
Jeep safaris with expert guides. In Corolla, the red-brick Currituck
Beach Lighthouse, built in 1875 is still operational and, from the top,
220 steps up, there are views of Roanoke Island on the inlet side of the
Banks, site of the first English settlement in the Americas in 1585.
The 107 men and women were never seen again, so the island is referred
to as the Lost Colony. North Banks restaurant, Corolla This
vintage wooden-floored tavern and cocktail bar serves seafood classics
such as lobster tail, steamed clams and grilled line-caught fish. It’s
not on the water, but the produce is caught fresh by local fishermen on
either the ocean or the Currituck sound side. •Mains from $18, Tim Buck II Shopping Village, 794-G Sunset Boulevard, northbanks.com, +1 252 453 3344 Twiddy Vacation Rentals This
site lists over 1,000 properties in the OBX, from two-bedroom flats to
seven-bedroom mansions. Seven days is the minimum stay, but four-bedroom
houses cost as little as $450 a week in spring or autumn. •twiddy.com The Sanderling, Duck
For those who don’t want to self-cater or can’t stay a week, this is
the coolest hotel in the OBX: a chic, orange-hued resort with three
pools, a spa, two restaurants and private access to a glorious beach. A
day spent in the sun ends around the firepit by the alfresco Sand Bar,
as waves crash just beyond the dunes. •Doubles from $159, +1 855 412 7866, sanderling-resort.com
Ocracoke Island
The village of Ocracoke from the ferry. Photograph: Peter Ptschelinzew/Getty Images/Lonely Planet Images
Only accessible by boat or small plane, Ocracoke (pop: 948) lies 21 miles south of Hatteras in the Pamlico Sound. The free Hatteras ferry
only takes an hour, but it lands passengers in an earlier century.
Blackbeard hid out on the protected sound side with pal Calico Jack
Rackham, just off what is now the busy harbour. Cedar-shaded lanes,
crunchy with seashells, lead past period homes and spooky vine-covered
cemeteries. Time slows down here: the main mode of transport is the golf
cart or bicycle. There’s an annual Blackbeard Pirate Jamboree
at Halloween, but the history is not all piratical: older locals still
talk of seeing German U-Boats off these shores during the second world
war, and the British cemetery is the resting place of sailors from HMS
Bedfordshire, torpedoed in 1942. The main attraction, though, is the
spectacular coastline. Families will enjoy Lifeguard Beach, with white sand, clear blue water, and showers and toilets. Locals and summer regulars like to drive on to Airport Beach
a little way south, to bathe, picnic and fish as the sun goes down. The
water is so warm that swimming is pleasant even in October. Flying Melon Café
There are scores of seafood joints in Ocracoke, notably SmacNally’s
on the docks, but the best fish in town is at the Flying Melon, which
offers Creole-influenced food cooked by a New Orleans transplant. The
parmesan-crusted flounder and drumfish étouffée (stew) are as good as any in the French Quarter. •Mains from $25, 181 Back Road, +1 252 928 2533 Blackbeard’s Lodge
Ocracoke Island Realty
is the main holiday rental company, but characterful Blackbeard’s Lodge
is a good choice among the many hotels and motels. Rustic,
pirate-themed and timber-built, it is run by a descendant of one of the
early Ocracoke settlers, and has a small pool and bike rentals. In the
mornings, there’s a wonderful smell of crepes and fresh artisanal breads
from the Graceful Bakery food truck, which parks just across the street. •Doubles from $60, +1 252-928-3421, blackbeardslodge.com
Beaufort, Crystal Coast
White sands, clear waters, sunken galleons … It’s easy to believe
you’re in the Caribbean on the Crystal Coast, an 85-mile stretch of
shore south of the Outer Banks. Its ocean-side barrier islands can be
visited on day trips from the historic town of Beaufort (est. 1718, and
dubbed by some “the coolest small town in America”). Atlantic Beach,
20 minutes away by ferry, has two miles of pristine waterfront, an
old-school pier and scores of crab shacks, diners and commercial fishing
charters. But Shackelford Banks, part of protected Cape Lookout
national shore, offers true isolation. It’s possible to sit on a beach
towel and watch dolphins cavorting in the waves in front, and horses
frolicking on the dunes behind. In Beaufort itself, the North Carolina Maritime Museum
on Front Street is the official repository for all the artefacts –
masts, anchor, cannons – recovered from Blackbeard’s ship, Queen Anne’s
Revenge, which ran aground here in 1718, and was only rediscovered in
1996. Ann Street Inn
In the heart of Beaufort historic district is this three-bedroom
1832-built guesthouse run by Louisiana transplant Donna Babington. The
Duke of Beaufort room has a Jacuzzi and private porch, and breakfasts
are decadent: bacon quiche, sausage casserole, shrimp and grits. •Doubles from $100, +1 877 266 7814, annstreetinn.com Front Street Grill at Stillwater This rustic-chic
restaurant and rum bar is in a restored marine boathouse right on the
waterfront. Recommended are the seared back-fin crab cakes with
remoulade ($22), and “dark and stormy” cocktails, made with Goslings
Black Seal rum and Saranac ginger beer – every pirate’s favourite
poison. •Mains from $19, 300 Front Street, +1 252 728 4956, frontstreetgrillatstillwater.com
Wilmington
Downtown Riverwalk, Wilmington. Photograph: Alamy
One might expect North Carolina’s largest coastal city to be a trifle
rough, but its 300-block historic district is like a live-in Victorian
museum. Horse-drawn carriages trot tourists past gorgeous colonial-style
mansions, vintage riverboats cruise the Cape Fear river, locals in top
hats tout ghost tours down oak-lined streets and everyone keeps an eye
out for movie stars. Known as the Hollywood of the east, the city is
home to EUE/Screen Gems, the largest US studio complex outside LA. The
spectacular beach towns of Kure, Carolina and Wrightsville are only a
few minutes’ drive away. Wrightsville Beach is best.
Unlike on the barrier islands, it has some large, Florida-style resort
hotels, but they overlook crashing waves and white sands, and the crowds
are better behaved than at Myrtle Beach across the border in South
Carolina. A highlight is surfing lessons for children, teenagers and
adults at WB Surf Camp (from $70 an hour, + 1 866 844 7873, wbsurfcamp.com). Dockside Grill, Wilmington Steamed clams,
hand-cut calamari and rum cocktails are the name of the game at this
laid-back spot on the water’s edge. Good ol’ boys and well-groomed
yachtsmen pull their boats into the dock and order from on deck. •Mains from $18, 1308 Airlie Road, +1 910 256 2752, thedockside.com Shell Island Resort, Wrightsville Beach This is a
slab-like modern all-suite hotel but it overlooks a great swathe of
white sand, and has a fully catered beachfront pool. •Doubles with kitchenette from $130, +1 910 256 8696, shellisland.com
The northern tip of Bald Head Island. Photograph: Alamy
A 25-minute ferry ride from Southport, this four-mile-long island at
the mouth of the Cape Fear river is a world apart. There are no cars
(all rental houses come with golf carts or bicycles) and 10,000 of its
12,000 acres are protected. The result is an ecological idyll with a
spectacular oceanside beach for surfers; the calmer South Beach is great for families. Old Baldy lighthouse in
the harbour, commissioned in 1817 by Thomas Jefferson, is the oldest in
the state, and it’s worth climbing its 108 stairs for a 360-degree view
of the island’s natural wonderland of beach, marshland and maritime
forest.
Mojos on the Harbor This is a popular locale for
sipping rum and tequila cocktails while watching the fishing boats and
ferries come in. It does great sushi, grilled shrimp and line-caught
fish, and live bands play most nights. •Seafood mains from $19, 16 Marina Wynd, +1 910 457 7217, mojosontheharbor.com Shoals Club The in-thing for summer regulars is
to get temporary membership (from $150 a week) of this family-friendly
beach club overlooking Cape Fear Point. It has two pools, an outdoor
Sandbar Grille, boules court and formal dining room, so it’s easy to
spend the whole day here, between beach, pool and restaurant. • +1 910 457 733, shoalsclub.com Bald Head Island Limited Rentals There’s one hotel on the island – the Marsh Harbour Inn,
with doubles from a hefty $275 a night – so house rentals are the way
to go. Bald Head Island Limited Rentals has hundreds of homes, from
simple one-bedroom cottages to large beach-front homes. I like Captain Charlie’s Three(www.baldheadisland.com/vacation/rentals/captain-charlies-3),,
a , a former lighthouse-keeper’s cottage perfect for three couples,
costing $2,400 a week. couples. •+1 800 432 7368, baldheadisland.com/vacation More information at uk.visitnc.com. On skyscanner.net, flights from Heathrow to Raleigh/Durham via New York currently start at £589 return with American Airlines; Finnair has direct flights from £684
