Welcome to Ocracoke Island (or thanks for visiting, depending on your direction). The Terminal at…read morethe south end of the island will be where you wait to catch the ferry to Cedar Island and rejoin the mainland. The terminal is clean, comfortable and air conditioned. It has restrooms and vending machines for an easy wait. It also overlooks the ferry dock area so you can see it coming and you can keep an eye on your car in the parking lot as well. Be prepared for a two hour journey to Cedar Island though there is a passenger lounge on board with seating and restrooms. Note that there is a NORTH ferry terminal which will be your ride to Hatteras. Be sure you're headed to the correct one! [Review 773 of 2025 - 4205 in North Carolina - 24333 overall]

What a great way to travel to and from Ocracoke! The staff at the terminal were extremely friendly…read moreand engaging...even for the last ferry of the day! The ferry was clean and offers restrooms, indoor cabin seating with a few tables plus outdoor deck seating. The Cedar Island ferry arrives later in Ocracoke. If an earlier arrival is needed, you'll want to drive farther North for the Swan Quarter ferry. The Cedar Island ferry is the better option to return home after a day on Ocracoke. Bon Voyage!

Needed a quick ride on a holiday, Saved the day! Showed u in time and reasonably priced.read more

We were leaving our vacation rental in the Outer Banks in Salvo, NC, when our car stopped, well, it…read morestopped starting. Tow truck came, but my daughter and had no way to get off the island. No regular taxi would take us, no rental car businesses, and no Hyundai dealer to leave our car with. No bus, no railroad. You get the point. However, Gaston, from Island Hopper, massively saved the day. He drove us all the way to the closest Hyundai dealer, in Chesapeake, VA. 2 hours away. Great price, so nice to talk to. Island Hopper and Gaston -- angels among us!

This was my third and final ferry ride of the trip, arriving at Hatteras Inlet from the Ocracoke…read moreNorth Terminal. A super easy and comfortable ride that was quick. I took a snooze in the RV. The terminal on Hatteras has a waiting area, restrooms and a vending machine. In 1957, North Carolina purchased a four-car ferry operated by Hatteras Islander Frazier Peele, marking the beginning of formal ferry service between the two islands. By 1960, Peele's ferry was running regularly, and the state soon expanded the fleet to accommodate growing tourism and local needs. Today, the Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry is one of the most popular routes managed by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. This route is free! [Review 786 of 2025 - 4218 in North Carolina - 24346 overall]

Present day Hatteras Inlet, an estuary along the Outer Banks separating Hatteras Island from…read moreOcracoke, was formed by the Great Gale of 1846, which was in fact a hurricane. The span between the land spots is approximately two miles by ferry, which to my big surprise was free and took less than an hour. I understand the ferry I was on was one of a fleet of 8 ferries operated by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. The scenery and views you'll see are fabulous with the area being loaded with fishermen. It's called the "Blue Marlin Fishing Capital of the World," but even with the Gulf Stream running only 10 to 15 miles out, to me it's questionable. The ferries generally run every half hour "on season" with a capacity of around 40 to 50 vehicles.

We felt like family here. We were stuck do to Noreastern…read morestorm however it was a blessing. Staff was friendly and very accommodating. Room was clean and attended to everyday if needed.Hot water shower!fridge! Air conditioning! Everything we needed worked great! We will be back next year!

We stayed at Lighthouse View in Buxton, NC for our honeymoon and it was absolutely perfect! Our…read moreroom (#628) had gorgeous oceanfront views as well as views of the sound..it couldn't have been more beautiful. We loved that Buxton had such a peaceful, laid-back vibe compared to the hustle and bustle of Kitty Hawk, and it was our first time staying here. There were so many charming shops and great places to eat nearby. The suite itself was spotless, tastefully decorated, and had everything we needed. We especially enjoyed having our own kitchen and living room so we could make breakfast and sip coffee while watching the sunrise over the ocean. The pool and hot tub were wonderful too, and everything around the property was very well maintained. Lighthouse View was the perfect choice for a relaxing, romantic getaway. We're already planning to come back again!

If you're a pilot -- you need to fly here! This is a general aviation airport on the island of…read moreOcracoke in the Outer Banks of NC. It is one of the most beautiful little airports, across from one of the most gorgeous beaches in the entire US. Miles and miles of white sand and secluded beaches, but watch out for the rip current! The runway is under 3,000ft so you're not going to find any jets that fly here and the only way to get to Ocracoke is by ferry or by small airplane. The best part? If you fly here, you can walk across the street to the beach. It is right there. The approach is supremely beautiful. Pro-tip: try calling Howard's Pub and they may meet you at the airport with a golf cart and gladly shuttle you for lunch. It's about a two mile walk to the town where you can rent bikes, golf carts, etc...and you can try calling a place to get a golf cart for the day as well, as this is the easiest way to get around the island. For the airport itself: night take offs and landings are prohibited, so you can only legally fly in here during the daytime. They do have a GPS instrument approach. There is no fuel here, so plan accordingly. You can taxi to an area with a place where you can tie the plane down. I don't think there are any prohibitions against tying the plane overnight; but be sure to double check. There is a little building accessible with a code -- I didn't go inside, but I imagine it has a computer or two for flight planning purposes. Let me go back to focus on the beauty: if you're a pilot, YOU NEED to come here. It is such a gorgeous beach and approach. Flight time from Ithaca is about 3 hours and 30 minutes or about 4.5/5hours from Buffalo in a slow cruising airplane (110knots) with a 10kt tailwind. During September or late August, it is one of the best beaches to go for a swim.

I made my reservation about two weeks ahead of time, finding a good number of spots available. It's…read moreworth noting that none of the spaces actually face the ocean or the inlet - there are trees between the campground and the highway on one side and there are 15 foot tall dunes on the other. So really, just pick any space that isn't next to the dumpster. Some folks had their cars parked and were in tents so that may be an option for you. I arrived before dark and had no problem finding my designated space that had a marker indicating my name and my dates of check in and out. After parking, I heated up dinner at my designated picnic table, enjoyed a discreet beer and then climbed the dune (on a designated path!) to watch the ocean waves for a bit. It's beautiful and there was so much room that I had a half mile of sandy beach to myself. Absolutely stunning. There are no lifeguards so be careful if you decide to swim. I did not. A quick shower in the shower cabin (cold water only!) and I locked up for the night. It was quiet and peaceful. In the morning, I was up just before Sunrise and on my way north for the ferry terminal to Hatteras. The campground has a dump station that is free if you're staying here. Other than the showers and some bathrooms, there isn't much else here. [Review 782 of 2025 - 4214 in North Carolina - 24342 overall]

My husband and I stayed at this National Park Service campground in mid-March, 2025…read more Pros. *a beautiful and peaceful location, with easy beach access just over the sand dunes. *sites were sufficiently spread out, especially in March when there are fewer campers. *easy access to main road or the dedicated bike trail along road that takes you into town of Ocracoke. *reasonable price. $28, less 50% for holders of NPS Senior Pass, so $14. *clean and heated restroom. Cons. *All sites are standard, non-electric. *showers would open only on April 1st. *watch out for sand spurs. At a minimum, they're irritating but they can also hurt! We would stay here again if in the area.

My husband I spent our honeymoon here in 2019! We loved it! Steps from the beach and we even…read morewatched the movie while we were there. We found all the movie film spots in the town, and it was so exciting for us movie buffs to see where these movies were filmed. Safe Haven was filmed here as well. It is beautiful and worth every penny that we spent. If you ever wanted to stay in a perfect movie house experience....go for it!!! So romantic!

The moody, rustic, towering pitched roofs and weathered grey wood siding along with the wrap around…read moredecks are sure to conjure up clips of the 2008 romantic drama, "Nights in Rodanthe". For a fun, photo op drive down to this iconic Inn and spend a bit of your "Day in Rodanthe" capturing some cool shots of this unique house. If you're a fan of the movie, a house hunter, or even an OBX lover, you're bound to enjoy seeing this appx 3,000 square ft giant gorgeous grey house with its most famous bright blue shutters! We didn't spot Richard Gere or Diane Lane, but it's exciting to see the house filmed from the Nicholas Sparks' book (which is better than the movie)! The house now a rental home which can be rented for weekly or sometimes for a shorter stay, but it's no longer an "inn." It's also been remodeled to shadow the rooms in the movie. It may not be "inn" you budget as it holds a hefty price tag, ranging from $430-$1,000+ a night, depending on the month. Check their website for availability and current prices. I get that they want to capitalize on the movie fame, but the higher price point is exorbitant. I mean, this is an older home, quite weathered by the ocean and not in top top condition. But if you're a die hard fan, go for it! There's not a lot to do in Rodanthe, a tiny beach town with a population hovering around 200 people. Located on the Hatteras Island strip, it's one of the many small coastal villages dotting the trail from Nags Head heading south to Hatteras. It's worth the stop to grab a few pics, check out the pier and the beautiful beach views, so you can say "been there, done that"! Every time I visit OBX, I love seeing the outside of this place, although it can use a spruce... and we usually rent the movie for a beachy vibe! Then we keep driving and hit all the towns and shops along the way!!

THE GOOD: I am giving a 1 star review for the amazing view from our balcony, that is it!…read more THE BAD: The room smelled like bleach, like pool bleach, IN JANUARY?? Like if someone mixed the wrong chemicals when cleaning. The microwave was broken. It being January not much is open, so we were going to heat up dinner & breakfast in our room. We called the number provided but no one ever called us back. We would have changed rooms last night!! I woke up with a migraine!! I ran the bathroom fan on trying to get rid of that smell to no avail. UGH! This may have been a 1 off room, I didn't see anyone else complaining of their room issues outside. We won't be back. What would I do differently? I did everything I was supposed to do. 1) I told the front desk there was a "chlorine like pool smell in our room." I smelled it the minute we walked in. They said "It's coming in from outside and blowing down the pipe, it should clear up." IT DID NOT *** 2) The microwave was broken, I called the number on the paperwork they gave us. It went to VM. I left a message, no one ever called me back! 3) I woke up 2 hours after going to bed with a migraine and I was having trouble breathing. I went out on the balcony for fresh air. It was so cold out but at least I could breathe. My head was pounding!! I went down to my car in the parking lot and sat there for a while. I finally went back upstairs & got my husband, who wasn't bothered at all by whatever this was. I told the lady at the desk about what is going on, it wasn't the same lady so she had no idea what was going on. I went back to my room & changed & left. As we were getting ready to leave I noticed that the cleaning lady was using Clorox. I told her the room smells very strongly of bleach. She said "some people don't like the bleach because it smells strong so I mix it with Fabuloso." I quickly realized what the smell was & looked up what mixing Clorox & Fabuloso would do. It creates a gas! I went down stairs and told the front desk about it. She said she'd give us a discount. Thanks for torturing me, can you pay me now? WE WON'T BE BACK!!! BTW, my husband has been a P-1 Master plumber for 35 years and NEVER heard of BLEACH smell down 'a pipe' before. These folks are crazy!

It's safe to say I won't ever stay here again. The price was decent. The check-in process was…read morepainless. It's easy to find. That's about the nicest things I could say about staying here aside from the sunset view which was pretty good. The bad....the wifi didn't work at all. They give you a sheet with instructions on how to login to the wifi, choose "north or south access point based on room number and floor number..." I included a screenshot, they only have "Anchorage Inn Guest" as an option. If you click it, it asks for a password. The sheet says to enter your username as the room number and then the password anchorage all lower case...well, the sign in screen doesn't ask for a username and says that password is wrong. The TV doesn't have cable but depends on wifi...guess what...it wasn't connected to the "TV Network" either. And it couldn't be connected to the guest network because nothing can connect to it. This was a bit of a problem for me as I fall asleep to TV every night and I couldn't use this TV at all. I called the office. No answer, a voicemail directed me to call a night time number. I called it. The guy there was pretty useless...he had no idea how to connect to the wifi or the password or anything and just told me to talk to the lady at the front desk in the morning. There are no grounded outlets in the room either so if you have anything that needs to plug-in to a three pronged outlet you're out of luck. No USB ports, no room phones...super basic. It did have a fridge. The AC would cool the room to 68 during these mild temps but I'm not so sure it would work in high temps, especially with the fact that you could see light all the way around the door reveal...absolutely no insulation (photo included). This allowed a ton of noise to intrude into the room all night so we didn't get the best sleep. It seems that pre-covid they used to offer some type of continental breakfast. I tried looking on their page and couldn't find out if they still offered it or not, they don't. I get that a lot of places cut costs here, but at least offer coffee, water, and some healthy food options such as apples or bananas. There's only 3 places that open by 7am for breakfast if you have an early ferry ride to catch. The parking lot was all gravel and sand too. Elevator is super slow especially if it's crowded. There are plenty of nearby restaurants within walking distance for dinner. There is a British Cemetery nearby where the land is perpetually leased to England so their soldiers who died fighting for the US can be buried in England. Some nice shops and and ice cream shop down the way as well.