Our State Trips & Events

What to Expect Newsletter Travel Club Carolina Calendar
Outer Banks | May 4 - May 8, 2026

Outer Banks Lighthouses, Legends, & Landscapes

Visit iconic spots and hidden gems along North Carolina’s windswept Outer Banks.

On the Outer Banks, the sound and the sea are separated only by a strip of sand and maritime forests. From wild horses to heroic life-saving tales, this trip offers an intimate look at the places and people that define our state’s unique shoreline.

May 4-8, 2026

 

Package Includes:

  • Round-trip motor coach transportation from Raleigh to the Outer Banks
  • Four nights’ accommodations at the oceanfront Hilton Garden Inn in Kitty Hawk
  • Four breakfasts, two lunches, 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 lifesaving missions
  • Local guide, historian, and storyteller Aida Havel
  • Edenton and Elizabeth City tours
  • Wild Horse Adventure tour 

 

Detailed Itinerary:

Day 1: Elizabeth City • Kitty Hawk
Monday, May 4, 2026

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 oceanfront property has beautiful views of the Atlantic Ocean, a restaurant and bar, and indoor and outdoor pools. Dinner tonight is a private catered meal at the hotel. Our local entertainment is Keeper James Charlet, a 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: Dinner
Overnight: Hilton Garden Inn — Kitty Hawk

 

Day 2: Corolla • Wright Brothers Memorial
Tuesday, May 5, 2026

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. You will have time to visit the Currituck Maritime Museum as well. In the afternoon, we will visit the Wright Brothers Memorial, which will include a tour and talk. Dinner tonight will be at a local seafood restaurant.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: Hilton Garden Inn — Kitty Hawk

 

Day 3: Cape Hatteras
Wednesday, May 6, 2026

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, an 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 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: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight: Hilton Garden Inn — Kitty Hawk

 

Day 4: Manteo
Thursday, May 7, 2026

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 at Basnight’s Lone Cedar Cafe.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Overnight: Hilton Garden Inn — Kitty Hawk

 

Day 5: Edenton
Friday, May 8, 2026

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 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 in Raleigh.

Meals: Breakfast

 

Tour Rates:

Double-occupancy rate: $1,905 per person
Single rate: $2,405

 

For Reservations & More Information:

AAA Vacations
Sandra Horton
(919) 832-0543 ext 16015
sdhorton@acg.aaa.com

For more information on physical requirements and what to expect on an Our State trip, click here.

 

Explore More

Get excited for your trip and learn more about your destination with our curated list of books, films, music, and more.

 

Read

Katharine, the Wright Sister by Tracey Enerson Wood (2024) — The younger sister of aviation pioneers Wilbur and Orville Wright played a crucial behind-the-scenes role in the first powered flight. This historical novel uncovers the contributions and sacrifices that helped her brothers soar.

Between Tides by Angel Khoury (2021) — Alternating between the late 1800s and the 1940s, this historical novel is based on the true story of a U.S. Life-Saving Service station keeper who disappeared from Cape Cod and started a new life — and a new family — on Roanoke Island. Read Our State’s review of Between Tides here.

Graveyard of the Atlantic: Shipwrecks of the North Carolina Coast by David Stick (1952) — The treacherous shoals of the Outer Banks have caused thousands of shipwrecks over the centuries. Historian David Stick recounts some of the true stories of the violent storms, devastating wrecks, and heroic rescues that earned this area the nickname “Graveyard of the Atlantic.”

The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate (2013) — After the death of a longtime Hatteras resident, Tandi Jo Reese — who has been escaping her manipulative husband in the woman’s rental house — discovers 81 prayer boxes that tell the story of a life through handwritten hopes, fears, and reflections.

From the Our State archives:

 

Watch

Nights in Rodanthe (2008; Max) — Based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks and filmed on location, this romantic drama is the love story of two strangers (played by Richard Gere and Diane Lane) who have come to an Outer Banks inn to heal from their past relationships.

The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019; Netflix) — In this heartwarming film cowritten and codirected by Outer Banks native Tyler Nilson, a 22-year-old man with Down syndrome escapes his caregivers to pursue his dream of becoming a professional wrestler, befriending an outlaw fisherman on the run.

Call Sign Romeo (2022; rent online) — This story of a high school wrestler who dreams of being a Navy fighter pilot was filmed primarily on the Outer Banks, features a mostly local cast and crew, and was inspired by true events at a high school in Kill Devil Hills.

The Outer Edge (2025) — Six episodes — each about eight minutes long — dive into fishing, distilling, music, boatbuilding, wildlife, and weather on the Outer Banks.

 

Listen

“The Lost Colony of Roanoke: History’s Greatest Mysteries” on History Extra (2020; Apple Podcasts, Spotify) — Historian Misha Ewen discusses the alluring mystery of the English settlers who disappeared from Roanoke Island in the late 16th century — and the clues they left behind.

Ruth Wyand — On her latest instrumental album, Guitar Routes, singer-songwriter Ruth Wyand pays homage to the beauty of her home on the Outer Banks in her songs “Sea to Sky” and “Warm and Windy.” The guitarist and music teacher has toured around the world playing a diverse array of blues, folk, bluegrass, and more.

“Feelin’ It” by Scotty McCreery — The music video for Garner native Scotty McCreery’s song about summertime at the beach features many iconic locations on the Outer Banks, from the Bodie Island Lighthouse to Jennette’s Pier.