Planning a Family Vacation to VA Beach/Outer Banks - Seeking Advice

[Gina M]

Hello Everyone,

My family of 5 (kids will be 9, 13 & 15 when we vacation in July of 2010) and my parents (who are in their mid 60s) are planning a vacation for July to either Virginia Beach or Outer Banks. We want to rent a house with a pool in one of those two areas and have some neat things to see and do (but we don't need to be entertained every day). Any suggestions?

Any help would be appreciated! I love planning family trips but I'm really unfamiliar with these areas. We would be flying in from Chicago. What is the best airport to fly into as well?

Thanks!

 

[Becca_in_MD]

Really look at your logistics of airports and driving. We have driven several times from MD to the Outer Banks. We love OBX. Wish I could go next summer but Disney will get us. I've never done VA Beach. I think there is a small airport on the OBX (not one used by the Wright Brothers!) but don't know what your connections and cost would be. We're Nags Head people b/c we don't like crowds, not that it's all that crowded anywhere down there.

Some good rentals comps in OBX are:
Outer Banks Vacation Rentals | Homes & Beach Cottages (the only one we've rented from)
Outer Banks Vacation Rentals | North Carolina Vacation Rentals | Kitty Dunes
Outer Banks Vacation Rentals & Outer Banks Real Estate | Joe Lamb Jr Realty
Stan White Realty & Construction - Outer Banks Rental Houses, North Carolina, OBX, Beach Rentals

and for things to do:
The Outer Banks of North Carolina® Official Site - Visitors Bureau
Outer Banks Explorer - Your guide to the Outer Banks

Enjoy!

 

[Gina M]

Thanks Becca! I will check these out.

 

[chef131doreen]

We went to the Outer Banks a few years ago with 2 other familys and had a great time, We are planning this to go again this August with the same 2 familys 14 of us all together,
Yes look for a pool, hot tub , the house is so big sleeps about 20 peolpe but we split it so it's about 2000.00 each family . we can walk to the beach . It does get hot in July ,Aug so you need to have a house with a pool.
We go shopping for food as soon as we get there and it's great

 

[Mel92504]

For the past 4 years or so we've been traveling with a group of friends & their families to Emerald Isle. It's located just outside of the OBX...the next closest town (approx 15min away) is Atlantic Beach (which I think is the last town considered OBX). We always rent a house directly on the beach...we usually go the first week of off season & it's considerabley cheaper...but with the school aged kids I'm not sure how that'll work for you. We use Book Emerald Isle North Carolina Vacation Rentals Online & Save for our houses & they're always AMAZING!!! There's tons of different ones to choose from.As far as entertainment...we usually will just hang out at the beach & pool...but we do make a point to visit the aquarium which is right down the road.HTH...good luck planning your vacation!!!EDIT: Sorry, I forgot to say that this town is definitely not as crowded as some others in OBX, so I'm not sure if that's what you're looking for or not...Also, we went to VB about 6 years ago...it was nice, but too busy for me.Not sure about airports either, we just drive from NY...about 12 hours.

 

[Intrepid_Chef]

I rented a house on Hatteras with five other women and it ranks as one of my all time favorite vacations. We toured lighthouses, took a ferry to Roanoake and visited Kitty Hawk.I can't provide any guidance on airports. We drove from Ohio and picked up friends who flew into Richmond. We needed our cars for all that driving. (Oh, and BOTH of us had muffler problems there. I do NOT reccommend Tuffy in Richmond!)