We go to Corolla every year with our kids (5-11) and love it. We must be terribly easy going since we never have issues with traffic etc. We just plan accordingly. Do visit Jockey Ridge but make sure you pick the cloudiest/coolest day out of the week. It gets really hot there and no shade. Other than that and maybe a trip to Manteo Island with my girls (cute shops), we stay put at the beach.

We try to drive down late on Friday night (leave DC at 7 or later) and have no problem with traffic although you miss all the beachy scenery driving at night and of course its brutual getting the kids into bed at arrival. But coming back Sunday around 1 pm of Memorial Day weekend we felt so sorry for everybody backed up into the circle at Kitty Hawk. You can see the happy families coming up, cars all loaded with beach stuff, coming towards the Weeping Radish, eyes shining, almost at the beach! with no idea they are about to hit a horrible 15 mile traffic jam.

So if you just arrive late and leave early, you are just using the home for 4/5 nights for a weekly rental of 7 days.

Anonymous wrote:Because I go there to sit on my butt on the beach for a solid week with a beer in one hand, and a book in the other, watching the waves and the birds and just relax with the kids in and near the water. I don't go there to be out and about and do activities the whole time, or be around people. That sounds exhausting. I can be exhausted here at home.

Agree! The whole point of going to OBX is the beach. If you want trips and activities go somewhere else.

Honestly, Friday is fine. We have been going on Fridays for years. We leave around 9-10AM, stop for lunch in Williamsburg, and are at our house near Duck by 4PM, which is the earliest you can check in anyway. If we have time, we stop at the grocery store to stock up on perishables for the weekend. We don't go anywhere on Saturday-Sunday, and leaving the following Friday is fine as well.

Anonymous wrote:So basically avoid arrival between noon-6pm on the summer weekends?

How is the evening arrival to Corolla?
Like arrive at the bridge about 6pm or 7pm, is traffic any lighter by then?

Try avoiding 10am to 7pm. No joke. And don't bother trying to travel on Fri, Sat, Sun because it will take 30min just to get to the grocery store. It is all 1 lane little roads everywhere

Anonymous wrote:We're going to the Corolla, Outerbanks in the summer. Any recommendations for places to visit. We have kids between 6-10.
Any hidden gems you found when you were there? Any must see/do for that age range? Anywhere/thing that made your kids go, that's cool fun.
We don't mind driving down to Nags Head. Thank you.

Nothing. You can't get much more of nothing to do than Outer Banks.

I've wondered about late arrival too. I think it would need to be a little later. Maybe 7:30 or 8? This is just based on traffic I've seen once there but not sure I've paid a lot of attention.

So basically avoid arrival between noon-6pm on the summer weekends?

How is the evening arrival to Corolla?
Like arrive at the bridge about 6pm or 7pm, is traffic any lighter by then?

So basically avoid arrival between noon-6pm on the summer weekends?

How is the evening arrival to Corolla?
Like arrive at the bridge about 6pm or 7pm, is traffic any lighter by then?

Parasailing is really great. We did it just south of Corolla Light.

Currituck lighthouse & Whalehead Club (now a county park with a put-in, historic buildings, wooden walkway)
Jockey Ridge (besides the hang gliding, when it is too windy on the beach it can be nice to set up a camp chair on the bay side and watch the windsurfers and scramble in the dunes.)
Outlet stores at Nags Head.
Hatteras Light, there is a neat little toy and candy store and a hamburger place at the turn for the entrance.
Drive to ferry to Ocracoke, lunch at Dajio.
Windsurf lessons, surf lessons, hang gliding lessons
Wright Brothers stuff
Kitty Hawk kites stores are fun to visit
kayak rental
surf fishing, dock fishing, back bay fishing, deep sea fishing trip
swimming pool
bagels in Duck
Mostly we drink beer on the porch and talk with our friends
spa at the Sanderling
However pps are right in so far as Corolla is the place to chill, you have everything you need in Duck. If you decide to explore further south, do it on a different trip or budget an entire day.

I love Corolla!! The best way to avoid traffic is to leave dc at 4 am. You should be in Corolla by 10. Stop at Duck Donuts for breakfast or head all the way up to Corolla. There is a fabulously cute little coffee shack (it's a beer garden at night too!) across the street from the Sun Realty building. Kids can play outside while you wait for the house. If they get bored head over to Timbuk II for lunch and the playground, mini golf or go carts. If you call and let the realty company know you are in town they will call you as soon as the house is ready and most likely won't charge for early check in.
As far as other things to do, the aquarium at Hatteras is fun mid-week if you need a beach break. Otherwise we usually do beach and pool all day and walk around the shops after dinner for ice cream. The grandparents complaining about the traffic ruined it for us until we finally said "come if and when you want". They come down on Monday now and leave on Thursday. Hope you love it as much as I do!

Anonymous wrote:Because I go there to sit on my butt on the beach for a solid week with a beer in one hand, and a book in the other, watching the waves and the birds and just relax with the kids in and near the water. I don't go there to be out and about and do activities the whole time, or be around people. That sounds exhausting. I can be exhausted here at home.

Pretty much why we go, as well.

Anonymous wrote:Lighthouse
Jockey's Ridge
Dolphin siting tour
Miniature Golf

This pretty much sums it up. We also enjoyed the wild horse tour through the 4x4 area. http://www.wildhorsetour.com/
None of these things is a full-day activity. The main attraction is the beach.