topic Re: Anyone Have Any Advice on avoiding Outer Banks Traffic? in Community Chat

Anyone Have Any Advice on avoiding Outer Banks Traffic?

Lipstickdiva — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 19:04:33 GMT

We will be going on vacation to the OB. It appears that most, if not all rental houses in the OB have the same check-in time of 4:00. There is one bridge to get across and it is said to be a complete nightmare. There are stories of people sitting in traffic for 5 hours.

I have read some blogs that have said you can take an alternate route but only if you are going to Kittyhawk and south. We are going north. Supposedly if you aren't over the bridge by 9:00 a.m., you are in serious traffic troubles.

Initially our plan was to leave late Friday night and get there Saturday morning. However, it will be a 12 hour drive for us and then what do you do after you've driven 12 hours and can't get into your house until 4 in the afternoon? I'm thinking that the only thing that makes sense is to leave very early Saturday morning so we get there in the early evening Saturday. I would think that would avoid much of the traffic. However, I am getting some pushback by those who now want to go Friday, get a hotel and stay overnight. However, checkout time for a hotel is 11:00 so you still run into several hours of trying to find something to do until you can check into the house.

Any tips or tricks with the traffic situation?

Re: Anyone Have Any Advice on avoiding Outer Banks Traffic?

Annabellethecat66 — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 19:20:59 GMT

Annabelle here. My best friend is going there for a wedding next week.

We've been going to Outer Banks since 1975.

I haven't been there for a few years. My friend goes a few times a year. I can text her and ask her which way works best.

Mainly I wanted to keep your post up front so more people see it.

I hope you have lots of fun.

Re: Anyone Have Any Advice on avoiding Outer Banks Traffic?

mspatmac — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 19:24:36 GMT

Sounds like getting over the only bridge to Long Beach Island NJ in the summer. I think your plan to get there Saturday evening makes sense, there should be less traffic then. Or you could drive part way, stop for the night and plan your arrival time from there. Enjoy your time there and plan your escape time carefully too!

Re: Anyone Have Any Advice on avoiding Outer Banks Traffic?

CelticCrafter — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 19:26:33 GMT

I was going to suggest going the night before.

If you checked out at 11, had a leisurely lunch or brunch and by the time you are finished you really wouldn't have to kill that much more time until you could get in the house.

Re: Anyone Have Any Advice on avoiding Outer Banks Traffic?

ThinkingOutLoud — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 19:29:53 GMT

@Lipstickdiva wrote:
We will be going on vacation to the OB. It appears that most, if not all rental houses in the OB have the same check-in time of 4:00. There is one bridge to get across and it is said to be a complete nightmare. There are stories of people sitting in traffic for 5 hours.

I have read some blogs that have said you can take an alternate route but only if you are going to Kittyhawk and south. We are going north. Supposedly if you aren't over the bridge by 9:00 a.m., you are in serious traffic troubles.

Initially our plan was to leave late Friday night and get there Saturday morning. However, it will be a 12 hour drive for us and then what do you do after you've driven 12 hours and can't get into your house until 4 in the afternoon? I'm thinking that the only thing that makes sense is to leave very early Saturday morning so we get there in the early evening Saturday. I would think that would avoid much of the traffic. However, I am getting some pushback by those who now want to go Friday, get a hotel and stay overnight. However, checkout time for a hotel is 11:00 so you still run into several hours of trying to find something to do until you can check into the house.

Any tips or tricks with the traffic situation?

I would break up the drive and see things along the way. Leave Friday and make a stop or two, find a hotel and start again in the morning again, taking time to do things before getting to the OB. Just because you can check in at 4: doesn't mean there's a rule you have to so have some fun while you wait to avoid the traffic jam.

Re: Anyone Have Any Advice on avoiding Outer Banks Traffic?

DREAMON — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 19:35:32 GMT

@Lipstickdiva,

Our family vacations in OBX every 4th of July week. We stay on the 4x4 section at the end of Corolla. Yes the traffic can be a nightmare. Last year it wasn't bad at all due to Covid but it was an off year.

We usually drive down the day before and stay in a Hotel. This year my husband has to work and we can't do that so we will leave as early as we can the morning of check in but still expect a lot of traffic.

Our best plan that works for us is....go the day before. When we leave the Hotel room the day of check in we go to the pool, breakfast, then do all of our food shopping for the week. That way we just bring the food to the house and have not wasted any precious vacation time. We make a list of what each family will buy and meet at the Food Lion or Harris Teeter to do all of our shopping. That way we are ready to set up at the house when we check in without going out again.. By the time we are done shopping and packing the cars the house is ready for us to check in.

Organization and planning is the key for us because we have little kids and a lot of people staying in the house.

We will have to leave really early in the morning this year but will meet for Food Shopping as usual.

We go to Nags Head every September (just my husband and I) and that is a totally different experience...no traffic at all.

You will have a great time once you get settled in the house...ENJOY!!!

Re: Anyone Have Any Advice on avoiding Outer Banks Traffic?

ScrapHappy — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 19:34:54 GMT

Go the night before or get there a day ahead and stay in a cheap, local hotel.

Re: Anyone Have Any Advice on avoiding Outer Banks Traffic?

Mz iMac — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 19:40:43 GMT

@Lipstickdiva " However, checkout time for a hotel is 11:00 so you still run into several hours of trying to find something to do until you can check into the house."

Call the hotel & request a "late" checkout from the "manager." I've done this plenty of times. Sometimes you may have to pay anywhere between $5-$10 extra. Sometimes no fee if the hotel honors a AAA or AARP discount to book rooms. Explain your situation to the manager.

Enjoy your vacay!

Re: Anyone Have Any Advice on avoiding Outer Banks Traffic?

patbz — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 20:12:39 GMT

Even though you can't check in until 4 pm, many times they'll let you in 1-2 hrs earlier if room / bungalow has been serviced. The other option is to do your grocery shopping and have lunch.

Re: Anyone Have Any Advice on avoiding Outer Banks Traffic?

depglass — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 20:51:28 GMT

Oh dear. I've always wanted to go there but would need to know what months are off season. We don't do well in crowds.

Re: Anyone Have Any Advice on avoiding Outer Banks Traffic?

Lipstickdiva — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 21:07:04 GMT

@DREAMON wrote:
@Lipstickdiva,
Our family vacations in OBX every 4th of July week. We stay on the 4x4 section at the end of Corolla. Yes the traffic can be a nightmare. Last year it wasn't bad at all due to Covid but it was an off year.
We usually drive down the day before and stay in a Hotel. This year my husband has to work and we can't do that so we will leave as early as we can the morning of check in but still expect a lot of traffic.
Our best plan that works for us is....go the day before. When we leave the Hotel room the day of check in we go to the pool, breakfast, then do all of our food shopping for the week. That way we just bring the food to the house and have not wasted any precious vacation time. We make a list of what each family will buy and meet at the Food Lion or Harris Teeter to do all of our shopping. That way we are ready to set up at the house when we check in without going out again.. By the time we are done shopping and packing the cars the house is ready for us to check in.
Organization and planning is the key for us because we have little kids and a lot of people staying in the house.
We will have to leave really early in the morning this year but will meet for Food Shopping as usual.
We go to Nags Head every September (just my husband and I) and that is a totally different experience...no traffic at all.
You will have a great time once you get settled in the house...ENJOY!!!

@DREAMON we are staying in Corolla as well.

Thank you very much for the information. I appreciate it.

Re: Anyone Have Any Advice on avoiding Outer Banks Traffic?

Lipstickdiva — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 21:08:01 GMT

@patbz wrote:
Even though you can't check in until 4 pm, many times they'll let you in 1-2 hrs earlier if room / bungalow has been serviced. The other option is to do your grocery shopping and have lunch.

@patbz the house we are staying in is rented and the prior guests are checking out the morning of the day we check in. We have already been told we absolutely cannot check in until 4:00.

Re: Anyone Have Any Advice on avoiding Outer Banks Traffic?

Eileen in Virginia — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 23:37:02 GMT

@Lipstickdiva When are you going and where are you coming from? The time that your vacation occurs in the season will have a big impact on the amount of traffic you encounter.

We're going to Duck in a couple of weeks. For the past 5 years or so, we've broken up the trip by leaving home a day early and staying in Williamsburg. This gives us plenty of time to pack the car and have a leisurely early lunch before heading out. We relax once we arrive at Williamsburg, take in some tourist sights and take a dip in the pool before getting dinner. We continue on to Duck around 10'ish the next morning. This allows us to beat most of the converging Virginia Beach and OBX traffic. We don't usually have a problem crossing the bridge. Once we get across, we like to stop at Steamers in Southern Shores for lunch. The food's great and the staff are very friendly. The community where we rent our house has a community pool at the entryway. We make sure our pool bag is readily accessible and go to the pool while we wait to get into the house. Two weeks later, we reverse the process.

It may sound strange for us to break up our trip when we're only going between Northen Virginia and the OBX, but it works for us. That trip should only take about 4 hours or so, however, it's taken us as long as 7 hours in the past. For us, the lion's share of the traffic is the stretch on 95 between Woodbridge and Fredericksburg. I keep hearing about another bridge that would cross the Sound around Corolla, but I don't know if we'll see it in our lifetime.

Re: Anyone Have Any Advice on avoiding Outer Banks Traffic?

Eileen in Virginia — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 23:36:18 GMT

@depglass wrote:
Oh dear. I've always wanted to go there but would need to know what months are off season. We don't do well in crowds.

@depglass In-season usually runs from June through early September. The beaches aren't nearly as crowded as those in New Jersey. During the season, the bike paths are pretty busy. Some of the local shopping centers can get busy during the season, especially on rainy days. During the season, traffic's one of the biggest problems because the only road going north is Route12 which is 2 lanes all the way to the end. Despite that, we enjoy our Duck vacations.

Re: Anyone Have Any Advice on avoiding Outer Banks Traffic?

Carmie — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 14:25:30 GMT

I hope you're not going to be there during hurricane season.

Every year like clockwork, my sister gets chased off of the island by a hurricane. When they have a mandatory evacuation, everyone leaves around the same time. It takes hours sitting in traffic moving at a snail's pace to get anywhere.

Be across the bridge before 11am or go later, after 6pm. You don't have to check in at 4:00 sharp.

If you go early, there are plenty of places to hang out for a few hours. Have lunch and go shopping. There are plenty of malls and boutique shops. Go sit on the beach though a public access.

Watch your speed when driving through NC. Police are out on Saturday and Sunday in both directions coming from the north and south to catch those driving over the limit on their way to the OB.

Re: Anyone Have Any Advice on avoiding Outer Banks Traffic?

Lipstickdiva — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 15:35:49 GMT

@Eileen in Virginia wrote:
@Lipstickdiva When are you going and where are you coming from? The time that your vacation occurs in the season will have a big impact on the amount of traffic you encounter.

We're going to Duck in a couple of weeks. For the past 5 years or so, we've broken up the trip by leaving home a day early and staying in Williamsburg. This gives us plenty of time to pack the car and have a leisurely early lunch before heading out. We relax once we arrive at Williamsburg, take in some tourist sights and take a dip in the pool before getting dinner. We continue on to Duck around 10'ish the next morning. This allows us to beat most of the converging Virginia Beach and OBX traffic. We don't usually have a problem crossing the bridge. Once we get across, we like to stop at Steamers in Southern Shores for lunch. The food's great and the staff are very friendly. The community where we rent our house has a community pool at the entryway. We make sure our pool bag is readily accessible and go to the pool while we wait to get into the house. Two weeks later, we reverse the process.

It may sound strange for us to break up our trip when we're only going between Northen Virginia and the OBX, but it works for us. That trip should only take about 4 hours or so, however, it's taken us as long as 7 hours in the past. For us, the lion's share of the traffic is the stretch on 95 between Woodbridge and Fredericksburg. I keep hearing about another bridge that would cross the Sound around Corolla, but I don't know if we'll see it in our lifetime.

@Eileen in Virginia , we are coming from Ohio and staying in Corolla. It's about an 11-12 hour drive. We are going in mid-June.

Re: Anyone Have Any Advice on avoiding Outer Banks Traffic?

Eileen in Virginia — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 19:03:47 GMT

@Lipstickdiva wrote:
@Eileen in Virginia wrote:
@Lipstickdiva When are you going and where are you coming from? The time that your vacation occurs in the season will have a big impact on the amount of traffic you encounter.

We're going to Duck in a couple of weeks. For the past 5 years or so, we've broken up the trip by leaving home a day early and staying in Williamsburg. This gives us plenty of time to pack the car and have a leisurely early lunch before heading out. We relax once we arrive at Williamsburg, take in some tourist sights and take a dip in the pool before getting dinner. We continue on to Duck around 10'ish the next morning. This allows us to beat most of the converging Virginia Beach and OBX traffic. We don't usually have a problem crossing the bridge. Once we get across, we like to stop at Steamers in Southern Shores for lunch. The food's great and the staff are very friendly. The community where we rent our house has a community pool at the entryway. We make sure our pool bag is readily accessible and go to the pool while we wait to get into the house. Two weeks later, we reverse the process.

It may sound strange for us to break up our trip when we're only going between Northen Virginia and the OBX, but it works for us. That trip should only take about 4 hours or so, however, it's taken us as long as 7 hours in the past. For us, the lion's share of the traffic is the stretch on 95 between Woodbridge and Fredericksburg. I keep hearing about another bridge that would cross the Sound around Corolla, but I don't know if we'll see it in our lifetime.
@Eileen in Virginia , we are coming from Ohio and staying in Corolla. It's about an 11-12 hour drive. We are going in mid-June.

@Lipstickdiva Okay, that's close to the beginning of in-season. If you're planning to drive East to the DC metro area to get to a Southbound highway, you'll hit a bottleneck where the Washington Beltway (I-495) merges with I-95 in Springfield, Virginia. This extends for a fair distance before traffic starts moving again. Then, you'll hit the delay between Woodbridge and Fredericksburg. If you've got multiple drivers, you'll be able to share the driving. If you decide to break up your trip, you might stay somewhere in the Richmond area or East of Richmond.

There are quite a few Virginia state rest stops along I-95, but they don't sell food or gas. They provide restrooms, vending machines for water and snacks, picnic tables and have a dog-walking area. Big rig truck drivers also use them, but the truck parking lot's behind the building, whereas all others park in front parallel to the highway. If you want to get food or gas, you'll have to exit the highway.

From Williamsburg, we usually head due East, taking routes 64, 664, a tunnel just past Norfolk and eventually end up on route 295, a short toll road that ends a few miles from the NC border. I think the road becomes 168 in Virginia and 158 in NC. There's a nice, slick rest stop just over the Virginia/NC border that was only open to distribute fishing licenses when we went down last May, even though their website said they were open for business. They literally had a card table on the front porch and that was all. If this is still the case and your party needs a pit stop, the place just above it (I think it's called Border Crossing) isn't as new as the other one, but it's fine.

From this point, you'll be on a 4-lane road (2 in each direction) for the remainder of your trip. There are a few small towns along the way, but much of it is farmland. As another poster noted, be careful of speed traps. Good luck!

Re: Anyone Have Any Advice on avoiding Outer Banks Traffic?

depglass — Sat, 01 May 2021 17:12:51 GMT

Thank you, Carmie. How is December? That's when we go to Anna Maria Island in Florida and beat the rush in January. We don't care if it is a bit chilly, just need to have a few places open.

Re: Anyone Have Any Advice on avoiding Outer Banks Traffic?

Eileen in Virginia — Sat, 15 May 2021 21:00:54 GMT

@Lipstickdiva We just arrived in Duck this afternoon. We got to the bridge at 12:50 pm and drove right across. There was no back up.

ETA: The slick rest stop just over the NC border is now open. I think it's called the Currituck Welcome Center. They provide clean restrooms, coffee and hot water for tea, maps of the Outer Banks and a gazillion brochures on areas of interest. They also have a small souvenir counter. The staff are very welcoming and helpful.

Re: Anyone Have Any Advice on avoiding Outer Banks Traffic?

Tinkrbl44 — Mon, 17 May 2021 01:40:38 GMT

OB? Is this in the United States?