Avon, NC: Making Vacations Family Affordable and Convenient
I asked Rick, a friend, to write why Avon is his Outer Banks vacation spot.
Nine years ago, at the suggestion of a co-worker, I decided to take our family of six to the Outer Banks. It has become a regular occurrence ever since.
Not knowing much about the Outer Banks I found a real estate agency in Avon NC that supported OBX vacation rentals. I took a chance and booked an Outer Banks vacation home through them for mid June and was not disappointed. The town turned out to be the ideal shore vacation my wife and I had always desired. Growing up in Pennsylvania we frequently went to the Jersey shore. Over the years the beaches became more crowded, the cost of rentals became out of reach, and the restaurants and grocery stores took advantage of the fact that you were on vacation far from larger population centers. The only alternative we had was to go before the high season, since our children were in school. While the overall cost of the vacation was lower in June, options were limited and the water was too cool to enjoy.
Avon, and beach houses in the Outer Banks in general, addressed all our concerns.
We booked an Outer Banks rental property in Avon for mid-June which made the rental affordable; although even in prime season the rental costs are much less that Jersey. Typical of our previous trips to the Jersey shore we loaded up the van with kids, beach items, and food since in the past the grocery stores were too expensive to buy food when we got there.
While the ride was long, almost 8 hours from Southeast Pennsylvania, it was interesting since we not traveled in that area before. When you get to the Outer Banks you enter via the Nags Head area, made famous because it is where
Kitty Hawk
is located. From there you drive along a two lane road through the sand dunes and finally arrive at our destination.
We instantly made two observations: you are never far from the beach; and the town has all the amenities you would ever need. It has a couple of grocery stores (whose cost was no different than our home grocery store) three gas stations; restaurants and even a movie theatre. It is near the town of Buxton and Hatteras which gives you even more choices. What it did not have was much night life. Between the remoteness of the town and the lack of night life Avon impressed us because of its family oriented environment.
The real litmus test for us though was the beach. We quickly fell in love with the beach. The beaches are long white sand beaches, the water is warm, even in June, and there are no crowds. We have been back to Avon in late spring, mid summer, and even during Thanksgiving week. At no time were we ever crowded. We were there in early August and there was at least 25 feet between each family on the beach. Also you can still throw a ball, have a raft in the water, and even a fire on the beach in the evening. Even the surf fishing is fantastic. All the things we were looking for in a shore vacation we found there.
If you are looking for entertainment, lots of people and night life Avon is not for you. But if you are looking for a family oriented beach vacation, reasonable cost, and a very relaxing time, there is no place better.
Growing up in Pennsylvania we frequently went to the Jersey shore. Over the years the beaches became more crowded, the cost of rentals became out of reach, and the restaurants and grocery stores took advantage of the fact that you were on vacation far from larger population centers. The only alternative we had was to go before the high season, since our children were in school. While the overall cost of the vacation was lower in June, options were limited and the water was too cool to enjoy.
