Anyone Have Any Advice on avoiding Outer Banks Tra... - Page 2

Lipstickdiva · ‎03-10-2010

@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.

Lipstickdiva · ‎03-10-2010

@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.

Eileen in Virginia · ‎08-25-2010

@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 · ‎08-25-2010

@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.

Carmie · ‎10-25-2010

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.

Lipstickdiva · ‎03-10-2010

@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.

Eileen in Virginia · ‎08-25-2010

@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!

depglass · ‎03-10-2010

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.

Eileen in Virginia · ‎08-25-2010

@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.