My wife and her parents are thinking of heading to the Outer Banks in North Carolina in late April or early May of this year. They could use any advice some of you may have for a destination spot. They will be hauling a couple of little monsters along <2 yrs old, both share a resemblance to me…short, fat and bald. Sooooooo, a beachfront home is ideal ---- sorta far from " roughing it " with little need for downtown services once they get stocked up.
Your advice will keep me from sending them to Gordon’s place on the " left coast " … even though as you can imagine — he won’t stop begging me to drop the kids off for a week, so that he and Pappa Lima can babysit them ( riot gear optional ).
A bonus would be a nearby airport - but not required.
We’ve made that trip several times now. There are several house rental agencies on the outer banks – if you’re specifically interested in Hatteras (as your subject line implies), you could fly right into Billy Mitchell field in Hatteras (HSE). However, there are NO services there - no fuel, no cars, no runway lights, no nothing except a pay phone. So, you’d need to check with the rental agency to see if they have some suggestions to get around.
There’s two other aiports on the outer banks (Ocracoke and Wright Brothers) but if you want to rent a car (or buy avgas or operate at night), Manteo/Dare County (MQI) is really your only choice, but it’s a fairly far drive to Hatteras (i.e. hour plus). If that’s too far, there are other places further north in the outer banks, like Kill Devil Hills, which are closer to Manteo.
Hope this helps - email me if you need any more info…
If you want the NC coast, but significantly south of Hatteras is O.K., Ocean Isle is a great place, and family oriented to boot! {My extended in-law family- 4 generations! - rents a house there for two weeks at the end of July every year and my nuclear family flies in in our SR20.} There are A LOT of beach-front house rental properties, and there is an airport just across the bridge on the mainland (60J). 60J does not have any FBO/fuel facilities, but it does have pilot-controlled lighting for night arrivals/departures and tie-downs are free for as long as you wish to park, and Brunswick County (SUT) is just a short hop to the north or North Myrtle Beach / Grand Strand (CRE) is just a short hop to the south.