July 2023

North Carolina

Sunset Beach, Ocean Isle Beach, Oak Island, Wilmington

My family had not been on a family trip for well over 15 years, so with some planning we felt we were about due! Our family had grown quite a bit since our last trip, 6 adults and 2 small kids, so the trip was largely planned around family activities and places to keep children entertained. Thus, a trip to the Carolinas was executed. Ocean Isle Beach was our chosen base camp, with a beach house found using Vrbo. Over the span of 7 days, we “beach hopped” from Sunset Beach, Ocean Isle and Oak Island. Since we were so close, we couldn't NOT visit Myrtle Beach at least once and then we did one day trip in Wilmington. Our beach house was perfectly placed near beach access (so not far for the kids to walk) and not a far drive to the bridge to the mainland. Some of our meals were cooked at the house, a Publix was just across the mainland and there were several “take-and-bake” shops nearby. The rest of the time while being out and about, we got to sample the local seafood.

Ocean Isle Beach

Ocean Isle is best known for their sea turtles, every evening you could walk the beach and chat with volunteers who would be watching sea turtle nests for hatching. While we were there, at least 2 nests hatched, but we missed seeing both of them (bummer!). There was also a report of an adult female turtle on the beach not far from where our house was located, searching for a spot to lay eggs. The volunteers quickly closed off access to that portion of the beach so she could have some privacy. It was nice being able to sit quietly and chat with these knowledgeable volunteers, good way to cap off a day of sightseeing.

OIB is sort of what you might call a Myrtle Beach lite, still touristy but not on the same grand scale as Myrtle Beach. There was a small arcade near the pier and a hokey put-put golf joint that we visited to pass the time during the hottest parts of the day, while not spending it on the beach.

Sunset Beach

Sunset Beach was our favorite spot, I wished we had gotten to spend more time there. It is considered the “locals” beach. Much less crowded and quiet. A large bird reserve sits directly west of the beach, further reducing traffic and creating a more “natural” beach setting. It does not have any touristy facilities or structures. Just a really, relaxing place! Recommend taking a cooler and parking as close to an access point as you can.

Wilmington

While searching the map around OIB, we saw Wilmington on the map and quickly discovered the USS North Carolina was there for visiting, and Corey being a Navy veteran, had to check it out. It was an easy, 30 minute drive to get to Wilmington from OIB and Wilmington was such a neat city! We toured the battleship and the museum, walked around downtown and up Cape Fear’s boardwalk. We would love to revisit this city again for a few extra days, such a friendly and cozy place!

Oak Island

Oak Island is the farthest “island”, it was very similar to OIB minus the turtles. We opted to forgo viewing either of the 2 lighthouses that are present at Oak Island, regret not doing that now (maybe the next trip!).

Myrtle Beach

I don’t think Myrtle Beach needs much introduction! We got there early to mid morning, which later we figured out was a mistake because most places with food/drink didn’t open until about 11:00am. The day we visited was also one of the hottest days that week, we did spend awhile on the beach and walking the boardwalk but we had to escape the heat inside one of the many arcades along the boardwalk. Despite being more crowded, Myrtle Beach was still nice, getting there early allowed us to get a good spot to set up our umbrella. Recommend bringing a cooler and parking nearby if you plan to get there before most of the shops open at 11:00am. In small doses, the touristy hokeyness does have its charms!