I'm going to the Outer Banks in 3 weeks and know knothing about it. The town is Carolla. I've picked up a few things on the web, AAA, etc but would appreciate any first hand knowledge.

There will be 10 adults and 7 kids. Are there Sam's or BJ on the way?

We are flying in/out of Norfalk.

Figure a 2-2.5 hour drive from Norfolk to Corolla on a Saturday or Sunday.

I don't know that there is a Sams or BJs on the way, however, you will find loads of grocery stores on the mainland on the way down, as well as a Food Lion right across the Wright bridge and a Food Lion in Corolla. Note: I'd stop on the mainland or plan on holding over until Monday to go grocery shopping, as these places get completely insane on Saturday and Sunday during the summer.

As for Corolla itself--was a sleepy little town until 1990 or so--there was a Wee-Winks with two gas pumps, and that was it for supplies short of driving to Kitty Hawk. Now, there are a couple of nice golf courses (including the Currituck Club--a great Reese Jones course) on the sound just south of Corolla Proper (in Ocean Sands). You can walk to the top of the Currituck Beach Lighthouse (nee Corolla Light) during the summer. There used to be wild Spanish Mustangs that roamed around Corolla. Several years ago they were herded north of the end of the road (NC 12) to protect the herd (too many were being hit by cars). They have since been removed from the Outer Banks entirely, due to the fact that the fence was not keeping them north of the end of the road.

Corolla, and the northern Outer Banks (nee Currituck Beaches) is very relaxed. There is no boardwalk. There is very little glitz. This is not to say that there is not anything to do, mind you--you can parasail and jet ski on the sound, fish on either the ocean or the sound, take a 4x4 up the beach north of where the road ends (and people have communities north of the road--all the way up to the VA state line), and there is loads of shopping in Corolla itself (along with a movie theatre, kiddie arcade, mini-golf, etc).

A small note: Currituck County (including everything on NC 12 north of Sanderling, for all intents and purposes) has some strange liquor laws: You can get beer and wine in restaurants, but no hard liquor. As a result, there are not any bars to speak of. You should therefore plan on buying most of your adult beverages before you retire to your accomodations.

Unless you are in Corolla Light (the development), you should plan on driving, as that's about the only way to get to anything from Ocean Sands, parts of Whalehead, and the communities north of Duck.



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Saving the world, one clue at a time.

ClueByFour,

You were right on. It is a sleepy little town with lots of shopping, etc. VERY family oriented, and young families. I hardly saw a teenager all week. This is exactly the type of crew we had.

We had a good time. Beaches were not crowded, the horses are still on the island, the lighthouse was great, the Food Lion was always crowded (especially Sat and Sun). The drive was longer due to a 7-8 mile backup getting onto the outer banks. This looked standard for a Sat afternoon.

Just thought I'd put this here for the benefit of other Outer Banks visitors even if it is of no use to mileshound

I was on the Outer Banks just before Xmas for the Wright Brothers centennial, my first time there.

A walk on the beach north of Corolla as the sun goes down is a must. I was there with my then girlfriend who said we must go. It was very romantic, could see about a million stars, the place was empty and silent except for the sound of the sea crashing on the beach. I could understand why she said that is the one place she'd like to get married, it was very picturesque