We were itching for a getaway since the kids had just wrapped up the school year. We decided to stay close to home and do a long weekend at the beach. It was a little late to be booking for Memorial Day weekend so there wasn’t much thought into which beach we wanted to visit. We searched rentals that were within 3-4 hours and we found Carolina Beach!
I used to lay in the sun with baby oil and now you can barely see any exposed skin on me. That should tell you I am getting old!
The Beach
Carolina Beach is perfect for boogie boarding! I love the expansive beaches of North Carolina which have plenty of room to spread out.
It sounds cheesy but we honestly enjoyed long walks on the beach each evening. We enjoyed the sunsets as well as some yucky things that washed up on shore! The boys loved going into the ocean everynight in their clothes because they said they were done swimming for the day….everytime!
While we didn’t visit this time, there is a boardwalk which is full of kid-friendly rides and games! They have shops and treats here as well. The one place I wish we would’ve dropped in on was Britt’s Donuts shop. It comes highly recommended.
Shark Tooth Island
This was the best part of the trip. While it was unseasonably cold that didn’t stop us! We had to venture to the local Sports Academy to buy some warmer gear as I was completely unprepared. However, it worked out and we had a blast. We kayaked out to Shark Tooth Island and spent a couple hours looking for shark teeth.
The island is very close to shore, but the ride out was exhausting as we were fighting the current. Plus I think my 6 year-old co-captain was working against me a bit. it was a good work-out! You will get wet so be prepared for that. Luckily, coming back into shore was a breeze.
We did find about 2 dozen shark teeth. No megladon ones but some very cool teeth such as a tiger shark and bull shark. We used Kayak Carolina and had a wonderful experience with this company!
Wilmington
Wilmington is a great place to visit and only about 20 minutes from Carolina Beach. We have been there multiple times. Even once to do a self-guided tour of One Tree Hill filming sites! We went by Dan Scott’s house, Karen’s cafe, Lucas Scott’s house, the high school, Tric, and many more. We even found the bridge where they have the opening scene of Lucas with a basketball. Upon exited the car on the bridge a police officer pulled up and recommended we get out of the area. Apparently it is not a very safe neighborhood. I can’t believe I am admitting all of this but luckily only about 2 people read my blog posts…LOL!
We took our first trip to visit the Battleship there this year. The kids loved it and it was also a great secret learning experience so it was a win/win! We got there early and glad we did. As we were leaving the line was out the door to the parking lot!
After our tour of the ship, we headed into town for lunch. Downtown is full of cute shops and restaurants. I typically enjoy walking along the RiverWalk but this year it was full of too many people and construction so we skipped that. However, we did enjoy some good food and shopping.
North Carolina Aquarium
Just a short drive south of Carolina Beach is Fort Fisher which is a historic Civil War site. Also, you will find an aquarium there. My boys loved this one. They had a little bit of everything from gators to a touch tank. There are indoor exhibits as well as outdoor. Also, at the very end is a pretty cool playground!
Accomodations
Surprisingly I don’t have much advice here except to spend the time to look around and research. Our trip was fairly last minute and over memorial day weekend. We went through AirBnB and I feel that after all the fees, we significantly overpaid for the place we stayed. I couldn’t believe the community pool was so small but that didn’t stop our fun!
Carolina Beach gives you the opportunity to have a laid back beach vacation or stay on the go with plenty of activities to keep you busy. I did like that the area was very family friendly!
