Thank you to Moon Travel Guides for Sponsoring this post.  All opinions are mine alone.  

If you’ve been reading and following along on our YouTube channel, you know that we went on a big North Carolina road trip this past summer!  There are individual posts and videos for each leg of the road trip.  Our major stops (where we spent the night) were Kinston, Ocracoke Island, Duck, and Raleigh.

The trip was not just single trips, but an 11-day connected adventure! For that reason,  I also wanted to have a resource that included the itinerary as a whole.  Here you’ll find a daily overview with restaurant and activity suggestions.  If you’d like more information on that particular stop, each individual destination is linked in the heading.

North Carolina, particularly the Outer Banks, is part of our family history.  I grew up vacationing in Duck, North Carolina, and have traveled to the barrier island regularly for over 35 years!  Even though we live on the opposite coast now, we set aside time yearly to visit and adventure in this special place.

Eastern NC Family Road Trip

Day 1: Flight to Raleigh, NC

• Fly (nonstop) from Seattle to Raleigh, NC (5 hours)
• Arrival and check-in at Homewood Suites Raleigh/Cary
• Dinner at MacGregor Draft House
• We planned to enjoy the beautiful pool here, but a flash flood thunderstorm blew into the area as soon as we got into our bathing suits!

Day 2: Kinston, NC

• Breakfast at Homewood Suites Raleigh/Cary
• Drive to Kinston, NC (1.5 hours)
  • Pit Stop: Nahunta Pork Center
• Coffee and Tea at Middle Ground Coffeehouse
• Play and Story walk at Pearson Park
• Lunch at The Boiler Room Oyster Bar
• Downtown Kinston: Shopping and Art Walk
• Check-in & nap time at The O’Neill Hotel
• Mother Earth Brewing: Tour (kid-friendly)
• Dinner at Chef and the Farmer

Day 3: Drive & Ferry to Ocracoke Island, NC

• Begin drive to Ocracoke Island, NC
• Breakfast in New Bern NC: Baker’s Kitchen
• Ferry from Cedar Island, NC to Ocracoke Island, NC (2 hours)
• Arrival at Ocracoke Harbor Inn
• Beach play at Lifeguard Beach
• Dinner at 1718 Brewing

Day 4: Ocracoke Island, NC

• Breakfast at hotel (Ocracoke Harbor Inn)
• Bike Rental (and coffee): The Slushy Stand
• Self-Guided Bike Tour:
  • Ocracoke Lighthouse
  • Springer’s Point Nature Preserve
  • NPS Campground Beach
• Lunch at Jason’s Restaurant
• More island touring by bike (book store, British Cemetery)
• Dinner at Jolly Roger Pub & Marina
• Ice Cream at the Slushy Stand

Day 5: Drive to Duck, NC (via Hatteras)

• Coffee and Smoothies at Ocracoke Coffee Company
• Ferry from Ocracoke to Hatteras (1 hour)
• Tour of Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
• Lunch at Outer Banks Brewing Station
• Arrival at our family’s beach house: Duck, NC (Drive from Hatteras to Duck is about 2 hours)
• Family Fish Cook out:
  • Tuna from Dockside N Duck
  • Shrimp from Carawan Seafood
• Sunset on the Currituck Sound

Day 6: Duck, NC

• Bike (rented from Duck Cycle) to coffee and treats: Duck’s Cottage Coffee & Books
• Beach Play
• Dinner: Pizza Stop (Southern Shores, NC)

Day 7: Duck, NC

• Bike to coffee and treats: Duck’s Cottage Coffee & Books
• Miniature Golf: Corolla Adventure Golf (Corolla, NC)
• Beach and pool play
• Dinner at Red Sky Cafe
• Concert on the Green: Town of Duck evening concert series
• Evening ghost crab walk on the beach

Day 8: Duck, NC

• Slaed’s Birthday!
• Sunrise on the beach
• Treats from Tullio’s Bakery and coffee from Duck’s Cottage Coffee & Books
• Beach Play (of course!)
• We were very excited to go on a Sunset Sailboat Cruise with Nor’Banks Sailing & Watersports for Slaed’s birthday.  Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate, and a thunderstorm rolled in just as our cruise was about to start!  We made the most of it, and instead had…
  • Dinner at The Village Table & Tavern
  • Drinks at AQUA Restaurant
  • After a break in the rain and storm, we walked and shopped along Duck’s town boardwalk.  When we returned home, we turned off all the lights, and watched the most epic lightning storm from our big front windows (safely INSIDE).

Day 9: Duck, NC

• Bike riding, coffee, and treats: Tullio’s Bakery & Duck’s Cottage Coffee & Books
• Beach and pool play
• Leftovers for dinner

Day 10: Drive to Raleigh, NC

• Breakfast at Sam & Omie’s in Nags Head, NC
• Jeannette’s Pier
• Manteo, NC
  • Roanoke Island Festival Park
  • Exploring town & shops
• Plymouth, NC
  • Rumble on the Roanoke Drag Boat Races! This event happened to be going on right as we were passing through town.  We were so glad that we took the time to stop, to experience this new to us sport.  Plus, one of the local churches was selling delicious macaroni & cheese and pulled pork sandwiches.
• Arrived in Homewood Suites Raleigh-Crabtree Valley
• Play and Train ride at Pullen Park
• Beer tasting at Crank Arm Brewing
• Dinner at Beasley’s Chicken & Honey

Day 11: Raleigh, NC

• Breakfast at Homewood Suites
• Coffee & Tea: The Third Place Coffee Shop
• Self guided tour of the North Carolina State Capitol (and grounds)
• North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (free museum, and wonderful for all ages)
• Lunch at Chuck’s (burgers, fries, tater tots)
• Flight home to Seattle

Do you like to road trip with your family? Tell us about your favorite adventure! Been to Eastern, North Carolina? We’d love to hear about your experience!

Resources:

We are so thankful for 2 Moon Travel Guides that were invaluable in helping us plan our Eastern North Carolina Road Trip:

• Moon North Carolina
• Moon North Carolina Coast

You can also visit the Moon Travel Guides North Carolina page,  You’ll find free printable maps, and more information about all the regions of The Tar Heel State.

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