Family Vacation Ideas: Hatteras Outer Banks

We just got back from a 10 day family vacation to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. This is about the 6th time we’ve been down there, so I have tons of photos and information from this vacation, and vacations past I really need share with you. This summer we hit the beach and rented a house in Avon for a week, but we also went on down to Hatteras for a day, and on down to Ocracoke for a couple more days before heading toward home.

Hatteras is very family friendly, and there’s plenty to do with your kids. Of course we had to check out the Hatteras Lighthouse while we were down there. This was our first trip to this particular Outer Banks lighthouse. The lighthouse was moved to it’s present location in 1999. My sister and I both climbed to the top to check out the magnificent view. We weren’t disappointed, it was fabulous!

The beach is also fabulous, and you can even pull right out on it if you have a 4 wheel drive vehicle, and a permit. There were vehicles all up and down the beach, with people doing everything from fishing, to surfing.

There’s also a small outfit that does horseback riding along the Hatteras beach in the mornings. My sister and I took one of their one hour riding excursions down the beach, and had a great time.

This was my horse, I think his name was Gus?

It’s been quite a few years since I’ve been on horseback! There is also some great shopping, and a couple small shopping centers with everything from fine art to clothes, taffee, and fudge. Yum!

We stopped for a bite to eat at Teach’s Island Bar and Grill. The food was delicious, I’d definitely recommend it. It’s on the right almost to Hatteras if you’re heading down toward Ocracoke.

All the boys took a 4 hour excursion on a headboat fishing one morning, and had a great time. Of course they came back a little sunburnt, and worn out! They caught a few fish, but no one took photos!

While we were there we also visited the museum to check out some of Hatteras’s history, including a World War II and a pirates display.

It was great for the kids to learn a little bit of the history of the area, and they’re always fascinated with pirate knowledge. It can be a great extended family field trip for learning with all the rich heritage and history of the islands.

I’ll be back to share more of our Outer Banks trip in the next couple days!