Why not make the most out of your travels? Turn your early arrival time into a pre-arrival vacation!
We know that your check-in day can be busy, combined as it is with travel, shopping, and unpacking. Please be assured that our housekeeping and maintenance departments will be working hard to get everything ready for your stay at the beach as early as possible, but from time to time, cleaning, maintenance, and inspection take a little longer than planned, and by all accounts, we want your home in tip-top shape so we can help start your vacation out right!
In many cases, our guests travel quite a distance to enjoy their beach vacation with us. It is not uncommon for folks to share that they have traveled 10/+ hours to reach Hatteras Island, and for families with small children that can be a very long day in the car! Many travel overnight to take advantage of sleeping kiddos and to get ahead of any traffic that may develop during times of high congestion. As check-in does not begin until late afternoon, it can be a challenge to time your travel day just right. But like the old saying goes, the early bird gets the worm, and there are certainly perks to kickstarting your vacation early.
Arriving in advance of check-in time means you can pack-in a couple of extra hours of fun before settling in for the week. It’s a great excuse to explore attractions on the northern beaches that you may not have otherwise had time to visit. Road trips are just as much about the journey as they are the destination, right? So make your early timing the perfect timing for some family fun! To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of things to do with your family, many at little or no cost, should you get to the Outer Banks before check-in time.
Your Pre-Arrival Vacation…Things To Do If You Arrive Early
1. The Wright Brothers National Memorial: Check out the where the first man-powered flight occurred and learn all about the history of flight.
2. Jockey’s Ridge State Park: Climb the tallest natural sand dune system in the Eastern United States and fly a Kitty Hawk Kites original from the very top!
3. Roanoke Island Festival Park: Visit the sailing ship, the Elizabeth II and learn about the lives of 16th century settlers at the Settlement Site. Explore over 400 years of OBX history in the interactive Roanoke Adventure Museum and much, much MORE!
4. The Island Farm: Interpreting daily life on Roanoke Island in the mid-1800’s, this living history site is the oldest period restoration of a house on Roanoke Island and allows visitors to explore nearly a dozen different buildings including a blacksmith shop, a reconstructed slave cabin, an outhouse and more. The centerpiece of the site being the Etheridge Farmstead, this is where Adam Etheridge built a house on land that had been farmed by his ancestors since 1757. See live free-range chickens, sheep, a cow, an ox and two banker ponies as they roam the grounds and graze in the pastures.
5. The North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island: Sharks! Alligators! Stingrays! OH MY! Join the folks at the NC Aquarium and gaze at the largest group of sharks in the state! Marvel at a real live alligator. Check out playful river otters, an array of fish, turtles and MORE!
6. The Lost Colony and Fort Raleigh National Historic Site: Preserved portions of England’s first New World Settlements, you’ll find cultural heritage of the Native Americans, European Aermicans and African Americans that have lived on Roanoke Island and learn the stories of the Lost Colony.
7. Elizabethan Gardens: Adjacent to Fort Raleigh National Historic Site and The Lost Colony’s Waterside Theatre, the Elizabethan Gardens were created as a living memorial to the historical time when Sir Walter Raleigh’s lost colonists inhabited Roanoke Island, and tip their hat to the elaborate gardens that were kept to entertain Queen Elizabeth I during her reign.
8. Bodie Island Lighthouse: Create your own lighthouse tour and visit the various beacons that inhabit the Outer Banks. Compare and contrast the beautiful brick structures and learn about their history and the reasons behind why they were built at their specific locations.
9. Cape Hatteras Lighthouse: Climb the 269 steps of the nation’s tallest lighthouse and fall in love with the iconic beacon that has saved many a mariner from reaching their demise in the Graveyard of the Atlantic.
10. Chicamacomico Life Saving Station: At the Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station you will be able to see how the life-saving stations operated in the late 19th century to attend shipwrecks and to rescue stranded sailors and crew members.
11. Frisco Native American Museum: Frisco Native American Museum and Natural History Center, located in Frisco, houses a nationally recognized collection of Native American artifacts as well as historical and educational displays.
12. Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum: Visit this NC Maritime Museum in Hatteras Village and learn all about the tales of the Graveyard of the Atlantic with a variety of curated exhibits. Open year round, you are sure to leave with a new appreciation of the mariners that brave the waters off of Hatteras Island.