No Light Pollution
Stargazers rejoice! Being surrounded by water, and having the nearest city be ~100 miles away in Virginia, there is very minimal light pollution. Furthermore, as folks are encouraged to keep external lights turned off at night so as to not interfere with sea turtle nesting, the beach is a phenomenal place to watch the night sky.
Family-owned/Small Businesses
Lack of commercialization and large corporate chains bolster the uniqueness of your Outer Banks vacation. You're getting original ideas, artwork, recipes, and specially crafted meals.
Rental Companies and Family Homes
Rather than rows and rows of high rise hotels and blocks of motels after motels, the Outer Banks rental market makes your vacation feel more like home. Many opt for renting a house from our locally owned rental companies. This offers for a more personalized and family-like welcome and you can be sure you'll be taken care of like family. Southern Shores Realty, for example, has been welcoming vacationers to these same beaches since 1947 - that's a lot of experience!
To add to this feeling of home, almost everyone is checking in for a full week, so your neighbors truly begin to feel like neighbors by the end of vacay. We've had folks share stories of becoming close family friends with the neighbors they met on vacation, since they reserve the same week year after year, they've been able to build a friendship over the summers.
Family Friendliness
The Outer Banks prides itself on being one of the most family-friendly beach destinations in the US. For example, our spring break season looks a lot different than places like Panama City Beach. Our demographic is more of families bringing their kids who are off of school, not so much the college crowd throwing parties.
Many rental companies aim to keep it this way and will only rent to families, prohibiting non-family groups from booking.
You can book your family getaway with confidence knowing that this is not a place for inappropriate partying or late night ruckus.
Safety
Furthermore, with appealing to primarily family groups, and being quite some distance from the nearest large city, the OBX truly feels like a small town. This includes from a safety aspect too. Most businesses close by 10pm, and the neighborhoods quiet down early. Folks call it a night earlier than in the larger city beach destinations.
Ready to give the Outer Banks experience a shot? We're now booking on our Outer Banks Rental Page
