Looking for the ultimate Outer Banks 3 day itinerary?
The Outer Banks of North Carolina have so much to offer for every type of traveler.
A 3 day itinerary is perfect for enjoying a little bit of everything.
Driving the Cape Hatteras National Seashore is the main attraction, but there’s also the lost Roanoke colony site, escape rooms, fun restaurants, and wine tasting.
If you’re looking to be a beach bum on your Outer Banks vacation, you’ll need to add another day to your itinerary because this one is packed.
The Ultimate Outer Banks 3 Day Itinerary
JP and I decided to spend a few days visiting OBX because he had some vacation time to use up and we had a timeshare that was available on the dates we were looking to travel.
I had only visited once previously in high school for my senior year spring break for a week.
My mom used to go several times a year and was obsessed with the lighthouses.
So this trip was JP’s turn to explore the Outer Banks.
We like to mix in a bit of scenic drives, historical sites, good food, down time, and unique attractions when we choose destinations to travel to.
The Outer Banks is perfect for all of that!
Day 1: Arrival
Day one will be like a half day itinerary.
If your first day is a full day, then starting off with a morning or half day at the beach is perfect!
Afternoon: Resort Check-In
Most hotels and resorts have a 3 pm – 4 pm guarantee for your room to be ready, so that’s the best time to get checked in and un-packed.
Then you’ll be situated in time to head to dinner!
Where To Eat Dinner: Dirty Dick’s Crabhouse
It’s obviously not the greatest food ever, but you’re going here for the experience!
I had completely forgotten that this place existed – it’s a chain with 2 locations in OBX and 1 in Panama City Beach, Florida.
It had been over 10 years since I visited in high school and once I saw the restaurant I knew I had to take JP.
My favorite thing here is the Hushpuppies which you can get as a side with really anything.
I had a Crab Melt for dinner and JP had a Shrimp Po-Boy.
Evening: Pirate City Ghost Tour
We’ve started doing ghost tours on a lot of our trips because so many places don’t have any evening activities.
Everything closes by 8 pm a lot and that’s when our ghost tour started!
I highly recommend doing a ghost tour on your first night because it helps you get acquainted with the local area and your guide can also recommend good food in the area.
We always do our ghost tours with US Ghost Adventures because they’re in something like 100+ cities and you know what to expect.
We’ve done ghost tours with them in Cincinnati, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, and DC so far!
You can add-on a rental for an EMF reader, which basically tells you if there is any paranormal activity in the area.
They also have an additional 30 minute add-on tour at the end that’s usually more adult focused.
Click Here To Book Your Pirate City Ghost Tour Today!
Day 2 is when you really get to see the most of OBX.
Morning: Drive The Cape Hatteras National Seashore
We love to use self-guided audio driving tours for scenic drives to make the most of our adventure.
The one we used went south from the visitor center at the start of the Cape Hatters National Seashore.
It tells you all the landmarks you’re passing, the history of the area, and tells you everywhere you can park and get out along the way.
There are several beaches with huge sand dunes and there are lighthouses along the way to stop and see as well.
If you drive straight through it takes a little less than 2 hours.
Click Here To Download Your Self-Guided Audio Driving Tour Today!
Afternoon: Ocracoke Island
Once you’ve reached the end of Hatteras, you can take the car ferry or the passenger ferry to Ocracoke Island.
The perk of the passenger ferry is that you can book a guaranteed ticket in advance for just $12.
With the car ferry, it’s free, but it’s also first-come first-served, so you might have to wait a couple hours if you’re there on a busy day.
If you don’t have any evening activities booked, then that’s fine, but I prefer not to waste my day just waiting around.
We went on the very first day of the season and there was a massive storm rolling through all day.
We weren’t sure if they were going to cancel or not, but we checked in and they said we were the only 2 people booked on the ferry!
They ultimately decided we were good to go and we enjoyed a 1 hour trip over to Ocracoke Island.
It’s a covered ferry, so you’re sitting indoors, just like the ferries to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, if you’ve ever done those.
Once you’re on Ocracoke Island, it’s very walk-able.
They do have a trolley that runs through town and the popular tourist spots, so that can help you get around faster.
We had to get a golf cart rental for about $45 for 2 hours because it was too flooded for the trolley and it was raining so hard our umbrellas were not even protecting us.
Where To Eat Lunch: Ocracoke Oyster Company
You’ll have a few hours before you have to check in for the return ferry, so enjoy a local meal!
We ate at Ocracoke Oyster Company because it looked like the perfect place on a cold and rainy day.
I actually don’t eat oysters – I don’t care for the texture of slimy foods – but JP loves them, so he had some Raw Oysters as an appetizer.
We shared their Blue Crab Soup and Crab Stuffed Flounder as our main entrees.
The flounder was a special, so they might not always have it.
It was so good and so filling – the flounder really is made to be a 2 person meal.
After our lunch we went to a nearby gift shop to get some dry clothes and then we returned our golf cart before checking in for the return ferry.
We were also the only ones on the return ferry.
Evening: Escape Hatteras Escape Room
We cannot get enough of escape rooms.
I would do them all day every day if I could!
Escape Hatteras is a newer escape room that you can do when you’re heading back north up the coast.
We went with the lighthouse themed room because we try to find the most unique and relevant rooms to the destinations we’re visiting.
Another good option is their German U-Boats themed room (fun fact – there were German U-Boats right off the OBX coast during WWII).
The lighthouse room was really unique though because essentially you’re repairing a mock lighthouse and your goal is to get it working before the time runs out.
This room is great for those who like to solve puzzles in sequential order.
Where To Eat Dinner: The Colington Cafe
If you go to any of the restaurants I recommend on the list, this is the #1 must-do restaurant.
You’ll have to call ahead to make a reservation.
They are very old school.
The Colington Cafe is like a cottage home that has been converted into a restaurant and every little room is uniquely decorated, so half the fun is just the atmosphere.
While it’s more of a fine dining style restaurant, you’re also still in a beach town, so the dress code still allows for shorts and sandals and stuff like that.
The filet mignon with the garlic mashed potatoes and the vegetable medley is so good.
JP got his topped with some crab meat.
My favorite part though was that they bring out all the desserts on a tray for you to choose from!
It was so hard to narrow it down, but we picked 2 to take home for later because we were just so full.
Day 3: Roanoke & Wine Tasting
Today is all about the historical sites and indulging in some local treats.
Morning: Lost Roanoke Colony Sites
There are 2 sites for the lost Roanoke Colony.
The first is Fort Raleigh National Historical Park which was the actual settlement site of the Roanoke colony.
There’s a short trail where you can see some re-creations.
Other than that, it’s really just a state park with some walking trails and nice views.
Then there’s the Roanoke Festival Park which is a re-creation of the Roanoke settlement site and also the local indian tribes.
It’s a living history museum with outdoor exhibits, a regular museum (with great props for photos), and a movie.
Where To Eat Lunch: Poor Richard’s Sandwich Shop
The sandwiches here are massive, so you might want to share!
I had a Club sandwich and JP had a Pastrami sandwich.
If you go out back to the docks, there are a few picnic tables where you can enjoy the view!
Afternoon: Wine Tasting & Scenic Drives
While you’re here in Roanoke, enjoy a quick wine tasting at Vineyards of the Scuppernong.
They have all fruit wines and the tasting is free!
You can also get wine slushies here and walk around with them.
We found 2 or 3 bottles we really liked and bought them to take home for later.
The next activity will be to take the scenic driving tour north.
It starts at the same point the other tour started and just goes in the opposite direction all the way up to Corolla.
With this tour you can make a stop at the Wright Brothers Memorial.
If you have a national park pass, that will be used as your admission ticket!
Once you’ve done that, you can detour back over towards Currituck and enjoy a wine tasting at Sanctuary Vineyards.
They had a great variety of whites, reds, and blends.
We also picked out a couple bottles from here to take home with us.
When we did this itinerary, we were continuing on to Virginia Beach, so I don’t have a dinner or evening recommendation, but I’ve heard great things about Kill Devil Grille!
Centrally located in Kitty Hawk is the Hilton Vacation Club Beachwoods Resort!
They have free parking and they even have a special beach parking lot that you can park in for free too with your room key.
We love to stay in timeshare resorts for the extra space.
We had a one bedroom during this stay and it was recently renovated and huge.
The room even had 2 full bathrooms and a full kitchen.
It’s so affordable, even if you’re not a timeshare owner.
Click Here To Book Your Hilton Vacation Club Beachwoods Kitty Hawk Stay Today!
Conclusion: The Ultimate Outer Banks 3 Day Itinerary
I absolutely loved our time in the Outer Banks, even with the bad weather we had in the beginning of our visit.
In a perfect world, I would say to try to spend 5 days here if you can.
This way you can have a full beach day and you can separate out the driving days so that you have a little bit more down time when you’re traveling.
There’s also more escape rooms in the area that we didn’t have time for – one of which has VR escape rooms!
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