Visit some of the most iconic lighthouses and windswept scenery along the East Coast as we discover hidden gems.
May 5 – 9, 2025
Package Includes:
- Round-trip motor coach transportation from Raleigh to the Outer Banks
- Four nights’ accommodations at the ocean front Hilton Garden Inn in Kitty Hawk
- Four breakfasts, one lunch, three dinners
- All sightseeing and admissions per itinerary
Itinerary Highlights:
- Currituck, Bodie, and Hatteras Lighthouses
- Elizabethan Gardens, Manteo
- Wright Brothers Memorial
- Evening performance with historian and actor Keeper James Charlet, recounting harrowing life savings missions
- Local guide, historian, and storyteller Aida Havel
- Edenton and Elizabeth City tours
- Wild Horse Adventure tour
Detailed Itinerary:
Monday, May 5, 2025
Depart Raleigh for the Outer Banks via a Deluxe Motor Coach. Arrive in Elizabeth City, which is a historic river city that welcomes boats from around the world. You can explore more than 400 years of history from a time when Blackbeard sailed the waters, trains were still a way of life, and Wilbur and Orville Wright stopped for provisions on their way to the Outer Banks. You will have some free time downtown for shopping and lunch on your own. In the afternoon, we will take a guided tour of The Museum of the Albemarle. Later, we will arrive at the Hilton Garden Inn – Kitty Hawk, where we will stay for four nights. This ocean front property has beautiful views of the Atlantic Ocean, restaurant and bar, and indoor and outdoor pools. Dinner tonight is a private catered meal at the hotel. Our local entertainment is with Keeper James Charlet, an historian who recounts harrowing lifesaving missions with an intense dramatic flair and in period costume. He is a true local legend. Signed copies of his book Shipwrecks of the Outer Banks are included in the package.
Meals: D
Tuesday, May 6, 2025
Breakfast today will be provided in the main hotel lobby. We will then head out to the beautiful village of Corolla, where we will see the North Carolina state horse, the Outer Banks wild Spanish Mustang, on our Wild Horse Adventure tour.
Afterward, we will visit Currituck Heritage Park and Currituck Beach Lighthouse. Catered sandwiches will be provided for lunch in the picnic. You will have time to visit the Currituck Maritime Museum as well. In the afternoon, we will visit Wright Brothers Memorial, which will include a tour and talk. Dinner tonight will be at a local seafood restaurant.
Meals: B, L, D
Wednesday, May 7, 2025
Start the day with breakfast, which is included at the hotel. We will then depart the hotel for a Cape Hatteras National Seashore excursion. Here, we will take a guided tour with Aida Havel – Outer Banks historian and storyteller. Then, we will visit Bodie Island Lighthouse, Oregon Inlet, and Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. We’ll head over to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, which is the tallest brick beacon on the American coast, standing at 208 feet high. Learn its marvelous history, which includes its half-mile move away from the sea in 2000. Enjoy an included lunch in the quaint confines of the Cape at the local favorite Diamond Shoals Restaurant and Seafood Market as well as some time for light shopping. In the afternoon, we’ll explore the Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station Historic Site & Museum. Dinner tonight is on your own.
Meals: B, L
Thursday, May 8, 2025
After an included breakfast at the hotel, we’ll head to historic Manteo to explore the beautiful Elizabethan Gardens. Fanciful and elaborate Elizabethan Gardens were designed to entertain Queen Elizabeth I during her reign. This garden is a project of the Garden Club of North Carolina and was created as a living memorial to the time when Sir Walter Raleigh’s lost colonists lived in this very place more than 400 years ago. We will then have time to wander the village of Manteo and enjoy lunch on our own. Tonight, we will have a wine-paired Farewell Dinner Basnight’s – Lone Cedar.
Meals: B, D
Friday, May 9, 2025
After an included breakfast at the hotel, we will depart Kitty Hawk for Edenton. Edenton is a vibrant community that welcomes its visitors and residents to share in the beauty of its land, water, and the vibrant small Southern town. Established in the late 17th century and incorporated in 1722, it is located on Edenton Bay at the head of the Albemarle Sound, 90 miles southwest of Norfolk, Virginia. A town of 5,000 people, Edenton retains an extensive historic district with a wonderful assemblage of 18th, 19th, and early-20th-century buildings. While in Edenton, we will take a Historic Edenton Trolley Tour and visit the Cupola House. You will have some free time to explore downtown and have lunch on your own. We will then depart Edenton for arrival in Raleigh.
Meals: B
Tour Raters
Total cost: $1,819 per person (based on double occupancy)
Single rate available.
For reservations or more information:
AAA Vacations
Beth Rackham
(919) 832-0543 ext. 16012
barackham@acg.aaa.com
Additional Information:
What to expect on an Our State trip:
Traveling with a group of Our State readers is an enriching, enjoyable, and safe way to experience new cultures, people, and places. In addition to the informative narration from the tour director and local guides, an Our State host will be available to assist in making your trip successful.
We usually fly to our destination, then travel by a comfortable motor coach with anywhere from 35 to 50 people who appreciate learning about new regions. Your entire trip will be guided, planned, and arranged for your upmost enjoyment. Many activities are things you can only do because you are traveling with Our State. There is some free time built in for you to explore on your own.
You can also choose not to attend an activity if you prefer something different. Please let your tour director know if you are not coming on a scheduled day.
Many meals are included. Where you have meals on your own, suggestions will be provided.
Most of the motor coaches have restrooms but every effort will be made to make regular rest stops.
One of the best parts of traveling with Our State is that you will meet new people, many of whom you will already have much in common with since most travelers read the magazine. Many guests often develop friendships that go on long after the tour is finished. Our State trips are generally filled with dynamic and friendly people.
Physical requirements:
Our tours are physically active but not meant to be strenuous.
Please be aware you will be on your feet, walking and standing for much of the day, indoors and outdoors, in all weather conditions and terrains. There will also be extended time on the motor coach when we travel from place to place. If there are any mobility issues you will need to have an able-bodied traveling companion to accompany and assist you.
Most days are moderately paced with approximately two to three total miles of walking, possibly including some hills and stairs.
We regret that we’re unable to provide individual assistance to guests with walking difficulties or other personal needs. The responsibility of the Trip Director who accompanies your trip is to ensure that the larger group enjoys a relaxing and informative journey, and he or she cannot be relied upon to provide ongoing individual assistance to any one guest. Guests requiring such individualized assistance must be accompanied by an able-bodied companion who can provide it.
If you have additional questions, please call Our State’s Travel Director Amy Wood Pasquini at 336-286-0600, or email apasquini@ourstate.com.