Located along North Carolina’s coast is a coveted beach vacation location known as the Outer Banks. A series of barrier island makes up the area and Corolla Beach vacation rentals sit at the northern edge of this popular destination. With a sound on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other, the coastal community of Corolla and Corolla Beach offers vacation rentals with water views and waterfront homes. Many of the homes in the area are the luxury, multilevel family homes with views for miles. Of course, there are a variety of beach communities on the Outer Banks so here’s a quick peak at the nine best vacation rental locations near Corolla Beach.
1. Corolla Beach
With a vacation rental along Corolla Beach, you can wake up and enjoy breakfast out on the deck while you listen to the waves crashing. Spend your days soaking up the sun and catching up on your reading while the kids play in the surf and build sandcastles. Go hiking at Currituck Banks North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve that features wooden platforms that make their way through the sand dunes. Learn more about the area at the Currituck Beach Lighthouse and Museum that tells the story of shipwrecks off the coast.
2. Duck
With a name like Duck, this beach family hasn’t to have a quaint, laid back feeling with fun for the whole family. Driving south along Highway 12, you get to enjoy glimpses of the sound and ocean, choose one of the entrances to the beach, and stop to get your feet way. Bring the kid’s skateboards and take them for an afternoon at Sound Park with its course for skateboarders. Take a tour of the Sanctuary Vineyards to learn more about the production of wine in a coastal area and enjoy some wine samples.
3. Kitty Hawk
Kitty Hawk offers a lot of fun for families with kids of all ages. Enjoy time on the beach, rides around town on a bike, and local shops with unique souvenirs. See who in your family has a career waiting for them on the PGA when you spend an afternoon at Paradise Golf and Arcade with video games after you sink the final putt. For rainy days, Outer Banks Children @ Play Museum offers interactive exhibits, where your kids enjoy an afternoon playing and learning at the same time.
4. Kill Devil Hills
Stay in the same town and local area, where the Wrights Brothers enjoyed their first manned flight in an airplane that they built. Spend a day at the Wright Brothers National Memorial. Start with a stop at the Visitors Center to see a replica of the Wright’s Brother’s plane and here more about their life and work. Take a walk up to the memorial that marks the spot where the plane took off and notice the markers along the way that denote various landing sights and how far it was.
5. Nags Head
When you pick a vacation rental in Nags Head, you find a home base that is in the center of everything. From here, you can soak up sun on the beach, play in the waves, and take a boat out on the water for a day of fishing. Learn more about local history with a visit to Roanoke, the location of the Lost Colony, which was one of the original American colonies but all the people vanished leaving behind a mystery that captures the imagination. At Jockey Ridge, play and explore one of the largest sand dunes in the southeast. Some days you can even try your hand at dune surfing.
6. Rodanthe
As you continue to drive south and select a vacation rental in the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, you arrive at the small area of Rodanthe. Load the family in the car and visit the Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station. This station was a precursor to the Coast Guard as they attempted to save lives of sailors when their boats hit the shoals off the coast. During the high season, this station offers reenactments of the drills and life at the station.
7. Waves
Slow down and take a break from your daily worries with a vacation rental in the low-key town of Waves. Stop by Hatteras Island Surf Shop for everything you need from goggles and flip flops to sunscreen and beach towels. They also offer some of the best t-shirts on the Outer Banks. At Charlie’s Waverunners, rent a jet ski to cruise along the coast line with the waves for a smooth ride or against them to jump through the air.
8. Salvo
You and your family will have nothing but quality time spent together in this small beach community. When walking on the beach, keep a lookout for cordoned off areas with loggerhead turtles’ nests. Take the time to get a permit and enjoy driving on the beach. Take the family on a scenic drive along Highway 12 and stop in Avon for dinner at one of the mom and pop restaurants with melt in your mouth seafood.
9. Avon
As the largest town in the Cape Hatteras National Seashore Park, Avon offers a lot of excitement and crowds during the summer season. Take the family to see the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse that’s run by the National Park Service, and depending on the day, you can climb to the top of the tower. Enjoy all the eclectic shops with seashore themes and enjoy dinners out at the local restaurants.