Columbus MS To Outer Banks, NC

[GlenB]

I am considering making this long trip... Never been to this area. Are there seafood resterants etc on the islands....are do you have an hour drive to eat shop etc... Is 2& 1/2 days enough driving time one way to get there?? If I go to Camp Hatteras do I still have to take ferry to get there?? Any thing I need to know about this trip or travel pointers??? Tks for your help!!!!! GlenB

[USMCRET]

The outer banks are infested with seafood restaurants. You won't need to take ferry to get to Camp Hatteras, but you can if you want to, depending on the route you take. Camp Hatteras is in Rodanthe...not exactly a hustling metropolis, but that's part of it's charm. Kitty Hawk, Nags Head about 40 min north...a bit more commercialized, but still quaint. The villages of Hatteras and Buxton about 30 min south.

Google maps shows 13 1/2 hr driving from your town to Rodanthe. 2.5 days is plenty time to get there.

[Beatcop49]

I'm from the "southern Outer Banks" down near Cape Lookout. I've also been to the Outer Banks many times. Some of the prettiest beaches you will find. North on Highway 12, which runs the length of the islands, is more commercialized....lots of ritzy folks in fine houses, and nothing wrong with that. South on 12 is the quaint little fishing villages...Rodanthe, Frisco, Buxton, and Hatteras. Hatteras is where the famous Hatteras Lighthouss is...not the prettiest one in my opinion, but it's nice. Take the short ferry ride from Hatteras over to Okracoke, and eat at Howard's Pub. You can start at the north end of Hwy. 12 and go south...you can take in 4 of NC's lighthouses. Don't forget to check out the museum at Kitty Hawk, birthplace of aviation. Yes, there are plenty of seafood restaurants....One of my favorites is the Black Pelican in Kitty Hawk.

[Bamaman]

It's just a long way from The Golden Triangle over to the outer banks of North Carolina.

The Outer Banks is just a little quiet for me. There again, Myrtle Beach is anything but quiet--and a little busy for me. I'm more of a mountain vista kind'a guy, and North GA, Western NC and East TN are closer and have enough sights to see without going 400 miles east of there.