Absolutely the highlight of our Outer Banks trip!…read more Our sunset sail in Manteo was absolutely amazing from beginning to end! The boat was beautiful, and our captain and first mate were wonderful--friendly, welcoming, and made the entire experience feel so special. They went above and beyond to personalize our sail with a beautiful charcuterie board, our favorite drinks, and music. And the homemade strawberry lavender jam on the charcuterie board was incredible--I actually tried to buy some to take home, but unfortunately it wasn't for sale! As if the gorgeous sail wasn't enough, we had dolphins swimming right beside the boat for a good portion of our trip. It was such an incredible experience to watch them so close while sailing. We ended the evening with a beautiful sunset, lots of laughs, and memories we'll never forget. This was hands-down one of our favorite experiences and truly the highlight of our trip to the Outer Banks. If you're considering a sunset sail in Manteo, book it! We would absolutely do it again.

One of the best nights of our vacation was our sunset sail with Jill and Ryan!…read moreThe sailboat is gorgeous and the sail itself was both fun and relaxing- they were such great hosts. And the charcuterie was delicious. Thank you so much!!

If you think your kids have even the slightest interest in this Pirate Adventure - DO IT! My…read morehusband and I took our 6 year old niece and nephew, and they had a BLAST! If you have a lot of people going along, it can get pricey, but for us, it was worth every penny and the hour long drive down from the northern end of the island. The kids start off with a pirate tattoo - our little mateys decided on "PIRATES!" knuckle tattoos and a seashell - and getting dressed up in pirate garb. There are accessories too for purchase, but we told our niece and nephew that we could do ice cream after if they forego the swords. Thank God, they chose wisely. At that point, adult chaperones, just sit back, relax, and take some picture, because the crew takes care of everything. They sneak the kids through town onto the boat and take them through an adventure complete with finding a treasure map, firing water cannons at Stinky Pete the pirate, and sharing the booty. In reality, you're driving around in circles, and the ship's captain will have a few fun asides for the adults, but the kids really buy into it, and the crew is top notch. They really get into it, which I believe is saying something for these guys putting on multiple shows a day, many times a week.

What a fantastic voyage and show! We took our (just) 2 year old and 6 year old on the boat. Our…read moreolder one was definitely more into the action than the little one. The mate, Jinx, and "Captain Blarney" did a great job! The music was spot on and they kept the kids entertained the entire time. I loved it too! The pirate costume to borrow and tattoo was a nice way to start the adventure! The cost is pricey, but we all had a nice time! They have a tip jar out (well deserved) and it was nice they didn't even ask for a tip or stand there at the end of the voyage with the jar. If you have a little one 3-9 they'd probably love it too.

First time taking a wild horse tour in Corolla it was awesome. I would definitely recommend this…read moretour company, even though once in awhile it was a little bumpy for the majority ride was comfy, from any seat you can see the horses and our guide Cheryl aka shorty was awesome. I would definitely do tour again with this company.

Our Wild Horse Adventure Tour was so fun and educational! Our guide, Richard, was very…read moreknowledgeable and taught us the three rules regarding the wild horses. -Don't engage the wild horses or try to get their attention. -Stay at least 50 feet away from the wild horses. -Don't feed the wild horses. We learned so much and even got to see a new baby!

Gretchen put together a marvelous customized trip for me to Australia last year. Since I'd never…read morebeen, I thought it was wise to engage professional assistance with the planning air & ground travel, lodging, & activities, as well as selecting appropriate insurances. She worked closely with me to find activities that were both interesting & fun, while staying within my budget. I think most agents would have encouraged me to take a cruise but I much prefer to spend my time experiencing the culture & the people, doing walking tours, kayaking, & spending time exploring. Gretchen really listened & built an amazing trip!! Although it's taken me quite a while to write this review, I think she deserves the highest recommendation for her tireless efforts to provide a smooth travel experience. She was happy to answer any questions & even provided me a detailed printed & electronic itinerary. Since I was traveling alone, I relied completely upon her expertise. I highly recommend her services!!

If I could give Gretchan Winterstein from Recharge travel a ten-star review, I would. I found her…read moreby googling. Her website is very professional. Gretchan worked with us for months planning flights, seats, hotels, location, tours, eurostar train tickets. Our trip was US to Germany to London and home. Gretchen made us an itinerary printed everything had it all in order with the exact airline seats, class of tickets/seats and followed any airline changes. She collected all the tickets for tours and any tickets we needed printed them and mailed them in a packet to us. She followed our trip via email to make sure we had everything, and things were going as planned. She made sure we had travel insurance and a checklist of everything we needed to take care of for international travel. She is very well educated and prepared. She truly cared that our trip was exactly as we imagined and dreamed of. I would recommend her to, not just anyone, but everyone! I am not a friend or family member. This review is from a real customer. I have already begun to plan a cruise for next year with her.

The Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center has plenty of parking. The center is divided into two…read moresections, one area for restrooms and another area with a gift shop and state travel brochures. They have brochures for places all over the state and some for Virginia as well. There was a note to limit yourself to 7 but I was provided with a bag and encouraged to take more as I gathered ideas for future trips. The staff was very friendly and provided suggestions on other stops to make in the area. You can walk to the boardwalk that is against the canal and read some of the signboards and markers.

Perfect weather to be outdoor? Then head on over to the dismal swap trail. It's not really a hike…read morethrough the trails tail. Great for bike rides with the family. Running a race? Then this is the place for you to practice on asphalt and not worry about cars. Plenty of parking available and restrooms are available in the parking area as well. They do have a boat ramp available as well!

I highly recommend the dolphin watch cruise. We spoke with Holly to book the event. She was very…read moresweet and accommodating captain Jay and crew pointed out many interesting sites and shared stories and picture albums during the cruise. We saw dozens of dolphins. Well worth the trip.

This was our first dolphin/sunset cruise and we had a good time. Our captains were fun and had lots…read moreof stories and knowledge about the area. We had to drive quite a ways in order to find the dolphins, and we didn't see many up close, but dolphin sightings are not 100% guaranteed. The weather was not cooperating so we weren't able to see a sunset, but overall, it was a fun experience.

I visited Outerbanks for the first time and took a few of the Kayak Adventures.  I had the most…read morewonderful time. Our hosts were amazing, enthusiastic, friendly, welcoming and extremely knowledgeable. For the Alligator Adventure Becks was our guide. She was just wonderful and we saw so many Alligators! For the Biollumenesense adventure Sonia was our guide. She was amazing, kind, patient and also knowledgeable.  Loved the tours and as a teacher myself, I appreciated the guides temperment, kindness and knowledge. Thank you !!!!!!!

Unfortunate experience leaving me felt scammed. Went looking for a normal kite. Even got asked if I…read morewanted a sport kite to which I said "no I do not want a sport kite" Went to check out mistakingly picked up a sport kite and the worker never told me I what I had bought. So, buyer beware. Went in to exchange - not return, exchange lol. They said no because I opened it and discovered it was not the right kite. Just buy it on Amazon, same quality stuff. Not to mention their return policy was not in public view - covered up by countertop items. Sad!

Bottom: A fun and relaxing two-hour cruise on a 55-foot sailboat for which you can bring your own…read morefestive drinks and snacks. Having vacationed in Nags Head for the past 40+ plus I feel like I've done it all so when my husband mentioned taking a sunset cruise on Downeast Rover I was curious. I also vaguely recalled that I had seen this excursion featured in Our State magazine earlier in the summer. With the forecast looking favorable we signed up for a Friday evening sail in mid-August. We booked about 10 days in advance and at that time there were only a handful of spots left on the sailboat so next time I'll be mindful to book earlier. Downeast Rover does daytime trips as well but I suspect the sunset cruise is the most popular. I was worried that sailing on a sailboat with 20+ people would feel cramped and chaotic but it didn't at all. The group in the stern was very chill and the group in the bow was tastefully having a good time with their cooler of Trulis. My husband and I sat mid-ship and just quietly relaxed and took in all of the sights. We probably seemed disenchanted but we were just soaking it all in. About those Trulis . . . Downeast Rover welcomes passengers to bring food and drinks. Most groups brought something festive to drink and perhaps a snack. The nature of the sunset cruise is that it squarely goes through the dinner hour. I think we had to be on the Manteo waterfront at 5:30pm and we didn't return until after 8pm. We didn't take much in the way of drinks or snacks onboard with us because we hoped to get a nice dinner afterwards but by the time we got back to the slip most restaurants we wanted to try were closed. Sooo, in hindsight, maybe we should have taken some sandwiches from Poor Richard's to enjoy on the sail. And as a side note, we encountered an epic sunset so we lingered out on the sound a bit longer than planned which is why we didn't return until after 8pm. Also, the departure time for the cruise changes a bit to accommodate the sunset time. Chris was our Captain and he diligently steered us into the sunset. Mate Ethan kept us all entertained. Ethan shared a lot of interesting history and stories about the Outer Banks. Having spent a good bit of time studying the history of the barrier islands I thought I knew a lot but Ethan's knowledge really impressed me and was shared in an entertaining way. He also sang us a sea chanty or two which was fun. Which reminds me, be sure to bring cash to thank the crew for a safe and fun adventure. Regarding the Downeast Rover, I was expecting it to be a romantic historic wooden sailboat but it is straight out of the 80s! The steel 55 foot topsail schooner has been retrofitted and certified to accommodate 25 passengers. There is a head on board but its probably not very glamourous so I was sure to skip it. We were fortunately to have decent winds so we were able to get under sail after leaving the Manteo waterfront.

Despite being stepped on and walloped in the head with a tie down, it was still a very relaxing…read moretrip I'd do again. The narrator was kind, although I would have happily sat in silence (how we actually sail on our own) - but it was nice to let someone else do the work. $120+$20 tip for two gourmet exactly for a beautiful experience.

We did a private hunt with Bonnie this week and it was excellent!! She was so great with the kids…read morein our group and we caught lots of crabs. It was also wonderful to learn about other local wildlife. Definitely recommend!!

We had a BLAST chasing around these crabs. It's incredible how many there are out there at night!…read moreOur guide was super knowledgeable and made it fun for our 7 and 4 year olds. Definitely check this out during your next OBX trip!

Excellent way to spend our fiftieth anniversary! We saw over thirty dolphins with the help of…read moreCaptain Jeff! The narrator and guide, with an extensive knowledge' of marine life and birds, was Callyn. Callyn has her bachelors degree in marine biology but needs a masters degree to get a job in that field. Money is the usual problem for professional wannabes. Wish she had a go fund me page because we were unable to tip her! Observing Callyn interacting with a young group of children as she sampled the water, measured the salination, temperature, and more. This young lady is a natural born teacher!

The boat ride was very informative about the 30ish dolphins we saw as well as other animals that we…read moresaw.