7 Day Itinerary in the Outer Banks as a Family of Four

We just got back from a weeklong family vacation in the Outer Banks and I’m here to tell you that we had the BEST time! We’ve been to the Outer Banks before, but we have never had an extended trip like this. We left early on Sunday morning and came home late Saturday night with a bunch of full days in between.

Since this was all very new to us, we made sure we had a list of things we wanted to do or could do to help make sure we had a great week. I relied on a lot of other bloggers for information, recommendations, and reviews so now I’m hoping that I can be that type of resource for you!

Below, you’ll find a complete 7 Day Itinerary for the Outer Banks with everything that we did and a solid review to go along with it. I hope it helps you and don’t hesitate to reach out with questions.

You ready? Let’s go!

DAY ONE- TRAVEL AND ARRIVAL

We got the car packed up and we got out the door! We stopped for coffee at a local coffee shop (duh) before heading out of town and we went straight to the OBX (Outer Banks) with a few minimal potty breaks along the way.

If you’re looking for good car toys for kids, you can find those HERE.

We got to the OBX a little after lunch, around 2pm, and we were HUNGRY! We looked up a couple of restaurant reviews and finally landed on Shipwrecks Taphouse and Grill in Kitty Hawk. Alex had fish tacos, I had a cheeseburger, and the kids shared macaroni and cheese. It was absolutely delicious, perfect kickstart to our trip! For me, there’s just something so dang good about a cheeseburger at the beach and this place fit the bill. We also loved that the kid’s meal was served on a frisbee that they could take on the beach to play. We sat outside and also noticed that they have trivia and live music a few nights during the week. 10/10 recommend!

From there, we still had a little bit of a drive to where we were staying so we immediately started heading towards the store to grab groceries on the way to the house. There are a lot of grocery stores along the way and some of the big names you’ll see— Harris Teeter, Publix, and Food Lion. There was a Harris Teeter right as we crossed into Corolla (where we were staying) so we stopped to grab the essentials like fruit, veggies, eggs, frozen pizza, etc.

The drive to our house was an interesting one! It was located in Corolla off the 4WD drive beach and driving on the sand was such a unique experience. In order to drive on the beach, you HAVE to have a 4WD vehicle— trust me, we saw at least one car stuck in the sand every single day. There are air stations on the way to the 4WD beach where you can pull off to let the air out of your tires (recommended at 20 psi for SUVs) and then to fill them back up when you come off. I would anticipate adding an extra 10 or so minutes to your trip if you’re staying on the beach and lowering/adding air to your tires.

If you want to see where we stayed, you can find that HERE.

We finally got to the house around 6pm and we quickly unloaded the car so we could head to the beach for sunset! We played in the waves and explored the beach for a couple of hours before heading back to the house and while on the way back, we came across a whole family of Corolla wild ponies. It was such a magical moment to see all of the beautiful horses by the beach at sunset and I think you can see that it was a great first day of the trip. Getting back to the house was easy and we threw a frozen pizza in the oven while we put the sheets on the bed and got all of our stuff situated for the week ahead.

DAY TWO- COROLLA AND BEACH

The first night was a blur and I’m pretty sure no one slept very well, but everyone slept in—woo hoo! We woke up around 8:30am and had a slow morning around the house. We made breakfast and coffee while the kids played and we read our books out on the swing below the deck.

We finally decided to head into Corolla around mid-morning and we loved walking around the random little shops and villages. Our first stop was right by the Currituck Lighthouse and Whalehead. This is historic Corolla and there’s a lot to do. They have restaurants, book stores, coffee shops, local stores, playgrounds, boat rentals, and so much more! I highly encourage you check this out because we could’ve spent a full day walking around right here.

One of our goals during the trip was to see all five lighthouses in the OBX and with the Currituck Lighthouse being right there, we decided to visit this one first. It looked great and they had a museum/shop that you could walk around as well. You can pay to climb the lighthouse and it’s $13.00 a ticket, but there is a height restriction so keep that in mind if you’re going with younger kids. Graham is 3 at the time of this trip and he was not tall enough to go.

This was a particularly hot day and our kiddos were in need of some ice cream so we drove down to the Timbuktu shopping area and got them some ice cream from one of the shops there. We walked around some of those stores as well and this would be a good place for you to go if you’re in need of a solid OBX hoodie, tee shirt, or souvenir.

We decided to spend the last half of our day on the beach so we went back to the air station so we could let some of the air out of our tires and drive on the beach. While we were there, a cute little taco shack caught our eye and we decided to give it a try. It’s called The Salty Rim and OH MY! It was so good. I ordered while Alex took care of the tires and I got us three shrimp tacos and chips with guac to split. We were also able to order margaritas to go (must be with the purchase of food) and they were also very good. 10/10 recommend!

After eating our lunch at the house, we threw on our suits, packed up the car with the beach stuff and drove to the beach to find a spot. At the 4WD beach in Corolla you can park your car (within the right areas) and set up your spot for the day. It was really nice to be able to open the trunk and have all we needed right there.

If you want to check out my favorite swimsuit this summer, you can find it HERE.

We stayed on the beach for awhile until it was time to go back to the house and get cleaned up for dinner and bedtime. One thing we really loved and utilized on this trip was having an outdoor shower. Coming off the beach and moving the kids from the car directly to the shower was a nice little luxury. After we got cleaned up, we made a super easy dinner of spaghetti and salad while the kids played and watched Finding Dory.

DAY THREE- BEACH AND DUCK

We wanted to get up and out a little earlier this morning so we woke up, made breakfast and coffee at the house, and got packed up for the morning on the beach. We tried the popular hack of taking Hot Wheels tracks to play with in the sand and it was a lot of fun, but a little harder than we were expecting it to be. We had a great morning on the beach and what I really loved about the Corolla beach is that you were so far from other people. You never felt like you had to fight for space or that other people were right on top of you. Instead, it was very spread out and the people closest to you were still a good distance away. You felt like you had the whole beach to yourself!

We decided to spend part of the afternoon and evening in Duck which wasn’t a very far drive from Corolla (maybe 45 minutes). On the way there, we decided to stop for a drink and an appetizer so we kept looking for a good local spot. We stumbled upon The Village Table and Tavern, getting there just as they were opening. We were shocked to hear that they had full reservations for the night, but were thankful to hear the back deck had open seating. We took it and enjoyed some apps at a table that overlooked the water. We had their fried calamari and the peaches with burrata cheese and prosciutto. We were tempted to stay for dinner after looking at the full menu, but chose to stick to our plan of having dinner on the beach. If you can get in at the Village Table and Tavern, I recommend you go. That was probably one of the best meals we had all week long and we only had appetizers and a drink. 15/10 would recommend!

From there, we made our way into Duck and stopped at the shops along the water (you can’t miss it). They had boutiques, toy stores, ice cream shops, general stores, coffee shops, books, and so much more. It was a fun little walk and after that, we went to the next set of shops where there was a boardwalk along the water. We walked along that for a little bit also and it was beautiful to be there at sunset!

On the way back to the house, we called Cosmo’s Pizza in Corolla and placed an order of their white crab pizza for pick up. We scooped it up and then drove to the beach by our house. We found a spot and set up for a lovely little sunset dinner on the beach. The water was warm, there was a cotton candy sky, and the pizza had us “ooo-ing” and “ahhhh-ing.” I believe there are several locations for Cosmo’s Pizza in the OBX and if you like crab, do yourself a favor and get the white crab pizza. Another 15/10 recommendation!

You can guess what we did from there— got cleaned up and went to bed so we could be ready for

another day in paradise.

DAY FOUR- BEACH AND SUCH

The next day we were ready to try a local breakfast spot so we got completely ready for the beach before leaving the house and then drove to a local bakery in Corolla, just off the 4WD beach. It’s the Northern Lights Bakery and let me tell you know, we went there twice and wish we could’ve gone there more. We got there around 9am and came to find that there was a line waiting out the door and they were already sold out of some of their popular items! They open at 7am and apparently, people are getting in line at 6:30-6:45am just to score a cinnamon roll or other popular item. We grabbed a couple of iced coffees and some of their sausage and egg breakfast biscuits before heading back to the beach. We had breakfast on the beach and we were definitely left wanting more. HIGHLY recommend!

This was our full blown, don’t care about a schedule, beach day. We stayed on the beach all day long reading books and playing in the waves. It was absolutely perfect. We went back to the house late afternoon to get cleaned up before heading back out for miniature golf. We wanted to stay close by so we went to the Pirates Island Golf in Corolla. There’s a little shopping center right there and it had everything, including the bakery from breakfast and Cosmo’s pizza. After playing mini golf, we walked over to the Eagles beach store to wander for a bit and then we got ice cream before heading back to the house.

The following day was going to be a full one so we had a pretty low-key evening of eating dinner and playing at the house before bed.

DAY FIVE- HATTERAS AND OCRACOKE

Like I said, this is our full day so we woke up a little early and got out of the house as soon as we could. Our goal for the day was to see two more lighthouses down in the southern part of the OBX—Cape Hatteras and Ocracoke. Hatteras was a two hour drive from Corolla so we wanted to get down there as soon as we could.

We stopped in Duck to grab coffee and doughnut from the famous “Duck Donuts” and as always, it was delicious. This stop is a must if you’re nearby! It’s the original Duck Donuts and don’t be fooled by the full parking lot—they work as a well oiled machine to get you in and out as quickly as possible. If you go towards the back of the shops, you’ll see a boardwalk area with tables where you can eat your donuts.

We got back on the road and kept driving! I will say that once you get through Nag’s Head, the drive is a long one, but gosh is it beautiful. Along the way, you’ll see signs for the Pea Island Wildlife Refuge and we desperately wanted to go, but it just didn’t work out for this trip. I saw a lot of people raving about how it was a hidden gem in the OBX and a lot of people recommended going there so this will be on the top of our list for the next trip!

Driving into Hatteras was great and there were so many things we wanted to stop and do, but our first priority was to get to the Cape Hatteras lighthouse. We pulled up and to our dismay, the paint was stripped and there was scaffolding all around the lighthouse. Turns out, it’s in the middle of a huge restoration project that started at the beginning of 2024 and isn’t projected to be finished until the middle of 2026. We still got to walk around and visit the museum and gift shop which was pretty cool. We were there for about a full hour and normally, you can pay to climb, but with the restoration— that’s obviously not doable right now.

After checking the time and seeing that we could potentially catch the 1pm ferry to Ocracoke, we loaded up and made the 20-30 minute drive to the ferry. To our surprise, we clearly didn’t understand the ferry because there were a lot of people waiting to catch the ferry and we were coming in at the end of a very long line. We were projected to be there waiting for 2+ hours, but we ended up only waiting for about an hour and 15 min before we officially boarded the ferry for Ocracoke island. The ferry is free and you do have options of taking the passenger ferry or the car ferry. The times are different and I believe the passenger ferry stops running much earlier than the car ferry so if this is of interest to you, I highly encourage two things: 1) get there earlier in the morning so that you can get to Ocracoke earlier in the day and 2) make sure you know the times for the ferry because it can be tricky! There are a few shops right next to the ferry that you can go to if you feel like taking turns waiting in the car and I believe there was even a coffee shop there as well. We had packed a full cooler before we left that morning so we were able to have lunch in the car while we waited for the ferry and it worked out perfectly.

Driving onto the ferry was a pretty cool experience, but we were packed in there like sardines. They ask you to turn off your car so I would recommend bringing a few battery powered fans if it’s a hot day. We had all of the windows down and we were still sweating and so hot. The ferry ride was easy, there wasn’t a lot of rocking or uneasy water and you are able to get out to walk around if you’d like. They have a small air conditioned waiting room with two small benches, but that filled up quickly and I honestly don’t know that I would’ve wanted to stay there if we had made it in time anyways. It was very crowded and less comfortable than the car.

We got off the ferry a little before 4pm and began the drive to the city of Ocracoke. Our first stop was the lighthouse because we saw that they were closing at 4pm and the time was 3:59pm when we pulled up. Thankfully, there was a very kind ranger who opened the door for us again and allowed us to look inside for a little bit before he locked it up for the night. There wasn’t much to see here because they were redoing the museum from a previous flood. The lighthouse was adorable and quickly became Graham’s favorite. From there, we made the short drive down the road to a local bookstore. I’m an avid reader and one thing about me is that I’m going to find a bookstore! “Books to be Red” was a super cute little bookstore on Ocracoke Island and we go to spend a few quick minutes in there before they closed. It was full of books and gifts adults or kids so if you have some time, we recommend stopping by!

After leaving there, we quickly realized that Ocracoke Island shut down at 4pm which was a real bummer. There were a lot of adorable little shops that we would’ve loved to go to, but it just didn’t work out this trip and that’s okay. We were able to get some ice cream for the kids and look at the boats on the dock by the water. It was truly so beautiful. Even without having to get to shop around at the stores, Ocracoke quickly became one of our favorite places and we really loved walking around. We stopped in to grab dinner at SmacNally’s Waterfront Bar and Grill. Alex had the tuna wrap, I had the mango shrimp wrap, and the boys shared the kid’s shrimp basket. We got to sit right next to the dock and look at some of the big fishing charters while we ate and it was a really special dinner. The food was incredible, but the view was amazing! 10/10 would recommend!

Since the shops were shut down, there wasn’t much else to do and it was still relatively early in the evening so we drove around and explored more of the town before stopping at Ride the Wind Surf Shop. This little shop was super fun and they had a lot of great finds. I found a pretty blue dress by Hurley and there were things to look at for all ages. By that point, we were done with the town and decided to check out the beach. We found a public beach spot that also had outdoor showers so we said winner winner and pulled right in.

The evening we spent on the beach of Ocracoke was one of the best nights of our whole trip. The water was warm and above was a beautiful cotton candy sky. The boys ran through the waves and the sand laughing and giggling while Alex and I sat on the beach to watch. Have you ever had one of those moments where you’re so aware of how special it is? You can actively feel yourself creating a core memory and you just want to bottle it up and never let it go? That’s what this evening was for us and I wish so much that I could go back to that evening. It was beyond perfect and just what we needed to end our day. We played there for awhile before showering off and getting in the car to catch the 9:30pm ferry ride back to Hatteras.

If you’re considering going to Ocracoke Island and you’re not staying there overnight, my biggest recommendation is to go as early in the day as possible! We wish we could’ve spent all day there and actually, what would’ve been nice was if we stayed our first night there on Saturday before our Air B and B on Sunday. They have a lot of cute little coffee and smoothie shops we were dying to try, but like I’ve said— we were too late and they were closed. That’s okay, we’ll go next time!

Places we were sad we couldn’t try include: Ocracoke Coffee Company, Deja Brew Coffee Shack, Village Thrift, and Hang Ten Smoothies.

The ferry ride back to Hatteras was quiet and so serene. It was dark at that point and you could see a bunch of stars in the sky. Graham was already asleep at that point so Aspen and I got out to walk around and look at the stars. That was a moment I’ll never forget. We got back to the dock around 11pm and still had a two hour drive ahead of us back to Corolla. I know this sounds exhausting and like a huge inconvenience, but when I tell you it was one of my favorite parts of the trip— I mean it. The boys were tuckered out and sleeping in the back seat, our car smelled like the beach, we could watch the waves hitting the ocean as we drove on the road next to the beach, and Alex and I go to sit and talk with one another about anything and everything.

We got to the air station late and while we were there we could see the flashing light from the Currituck Lighthouse— so cool! Then we got to drive on the beach at night— not so cool! It was so intimidating to be the only ones out there driving in the pitch black and we were counting down the minutes until we were back at the house.

After getting the boys in their jammies and transitioning them to their bed, we crashed in our bed as happy as could be.

DAY SIX- BEACH, DINNER, KITES

It was our last final day at the beach and waking up that realization is not fun, but we were bound and determined to make it another great day! Alex scooted out early so he could go back to the Northern Lights Bakery one more time. He grabbed us some biscuits while I got the boys changed and ready for the beach. By the time he came back, we were ready to go and went to find our spot on the beach. Speaking of, nothing like ending your trip with a rough beach day! We got there and ended up having to parallel park on the beach because the tide was HIGH and there were little pools all over the sand which ended up being a perfect place for the kids to play, just not to park the car.

We had our spot set up with our umbrellas and everything we needed until a big wave came to take it all down. Did I mention it was a late high tide with rough water? All within a 30 second phase, our umbrellas were knocked down, my phone almost fell in the ocean, our breakfast just about got swept away, and just as I look up I see a shark fin in the ocean. Yes, I know it was a shark fin for sure. I had a gut feeling and apparently, I wasn’t the first person to see sharks that close during the week we were there— YIKES!

Anyways, it was a good enough reason for us to not be in the ocean that day and for a majority of the time, we stayed in the pools that were between the ocean and the sand. We stayed out there for awhile and it turned out to be a really wonderful beach day. We came back to the house around lunchtime to rinse off and get the kiddos a nap before a full evening out.

Back when Alex and I were dating, we went to the OBX for a quick one night stay. While there, we came across this amazing seafood restaurant in Nag’s Head called “Tale of the Whale” and it was so good that we wanted to go back on this trip. They open at 4pm and run a deal of 20% off the whole menu from 4-5pm. We thought leaving to get there around 4:20pm would be enough time, but we were sadly mistaken and were met with an hour and 15 minute wait. We stayed on the list and went out back to their dock where they had an outside bar and live music playing. The place was packed and it made me think that there was probably a line out the door before they even opened.

The wait was worth it. We had the calamari appetizer followed by garlic shrimp and boiled shrimp for us and pizza with applesauce for the boys. While we were there we got the boys a cute little $5 shark tooth necklace from their gift shop. We LOVE Tale of the Whale and will always try to go back whenever we can. Obviously, highly recommend, but maybe try to go earlier than later.

Thankfully, Bodie (pronounced “Body”) lighthouse was only 10 minutes away from our dinner spot so as soon as we were finished eating we scooted out to the car and drove over to the lighthouse. This was our favorite lighthouse of them all and it was so beautiful to see in person. There were walks that you could take around the area that provided stunning views and you could pay to climb this lighthouse ($10 a ticket) during operating hours. With dinner running later than expected, we didn’t have as much time here. I wish we could’ve had more time at this lighthouse, I really do. I wish we could’ve packed a picnic and eaten there in the grass and let the kids have time to run around and play in the grass. It was so stunningly beautiful and I hate that we didn’t have more time here. So word of advice— take the time to just be at Bodie. It’s worth it.

Checking our clocks, we knew we needed to scoot even though we wanted to stay. It was 7:15pm and we were meeting a photographer at Jockey’s Ridge for family photos at 7:50pm. We wanted to have ample time to get there and get the kid’s kites ready for flying after pictures so we left and made our way back.

If you’re going to Jockey’s Ridge, you can park in the parking lot for the National Park or you can park across the street at Kitty Hawk Kites. It’s a cool multi-level building with a bunch of kites flying around outside, you can’t miss it. There’s a crosswalk that stops traffic to get you from Kitty Hawk Kites to the entrance of Jockey’s Ridge. We parked there to meet our photographer, Ashley, and if you are going to do photos in the OBX—she is your girl! I’m linking her Instagram profile HERE so you can check her out and send her a message, tell her Stephanie sent you! Photos lasted for about 15-20 minutes and it was a really special experience. I don’t have any of the photos back yet, but I’ll share them in another post once I get them.

After saying goodbye, we gathered the boys kites and joined the many people out on Jockey’s Ridge to fly kites. If you’ve never been to Jockey’s Ridge then ohhh you have to go, but please go at sunrise or sunset so the sand doesn’t burn your toes (more on that later). Flying kites at sunset at Jockey’s Ridge is a core memory and it’s SO special. You can buy kites at Kitty Hawk Kites across the street but they can be elaborate and expensive, the cheapest one I saw was $13 but many were in the $50+ range. Thankfully, before we left for our trip, Alex found a couple of Paw Patrol kites at Walmart for only $2 each and they worked out just fine. So heads up, you can look for cheaper options before you go if you need to!

The shops in the building with Kitty Hawk Kites stay open late, like until 10:30pm so once the park closed at 9pm, we walked across the street and went through some of the shops before getting in the car and heading back to Corolla which is about an hour or so drive.

The ending of this day is simple— got the kids down for bed before we begrudgingly started packing all of our things to leave in the morning.

DAY SEVEN- HOT SAND, MANTEO, HOME

One thing about us is that we are going to vacay until the last minute. We are not the type of people to wake up and rush out to get home. We’re going to wake up and rush out so we can explore before heading home and that’s exactly what we did.

We finished getting everything together and putting the Air B and B back together before heading out. We stopped in Corolla for the last time to put air in our tires and by then, we were happy to be done with the beach driving and tire tending. In our haste to get out, we forgot to eat breakfast so we called in an order of bagel sandwiches at Lighthouse Bagels in Corolla. This was a solid choice and we’d rate it 8/10. We would definitely go back again, but I think our only complaint is that the bagel itself was thick, but the inside meat/egg/cheese part was lacking. Still a good option and something we’ve craved since being home.

We ate bagels in the car on the way to Jockey’s Ridge. By the boy’s request, we stopped in Jockey’s Ridge one more time to try to fly kites and I’m here to tell you that this couldn’t have been a more terrible idea. It was around noon and the sand was HOT. The kids were over it, we were all sweating, and one of the kites broke so we were down to one. We stayed for all of 30 minutes before calling it a wash and hitting the road. Once you go over the big bridge in the ocean, you enter a little OBX town called Manteo. We’ve been to Manteo before and it’s a very cute little spot. You could easily spend all day or a full weekend here. They have the Lost Colony play along with many good restaurants, an outdoor amphitheater, the Roanoke aquarium, a lighthouse, and so much more!

Stopping in Manteo was absolutely necessary because we needed to see our fifth and final lighthouse— Roanoke Marshes— and we really wanted to go through the aquarium before heading home. We were able to park in downtown Manteo right by the lighthouse and I’ll warn you, it’s not a tall lighthouse like what you think it would be. It’s more of a large light on top of a small house, but still very fun and worth it to see. It’s free and you can go inside, but you cannot climb the small staircase to the top. We walked around downtown Manteo before heading on to the Roanoke Aquarium. This was a really fun stop, but I’ll admit that I’m happy we get in free since we are members of the NC Zoo. Had we had to pay for entrance, I would’ve been disappointed. It was relatively small and we got through it quickly. They have a sea turtle hospital on site and that was very interesting to see.

With the end of the aquarium came the end of our trip and as we got in the car for the last time, it was time to go home. Womp, womp.

But wait there’s more!

What’s a car ride home without a good cup of coffee, eh? On the drive back to the highway, we stopped off in Manteo and grabbed coffee from Charis Coffee Company. It was SO good and if you’re in the area, we highly recommend.

And with that, we drove home. Our boys slept for a good chunk of the drive and watched a movie for the other chunk. We got home relatively late and couldn’t stop talking about all of the wonderful things we did and saw during our week in the Outer Banks.

If you’re going soon, please know that you’re in for a treat. It’s the trip of a lifetime and it will go down as one of my favorite family vacations we’ve ever had. If you want to hear more about vacationing with kids, please check out my podcast where I share a recap of our trip, etc.

I hope this post has been helpful for you and as always, let me know if you have questions!

Sending hugs until next time!

SB

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