Recommendations for North Carolina?

[mysteryfairy]

We'll be in Chapel Hill for around 10 days in October. In that time we'd like to do a weekend trip - Friday to Sunday - and possibly one other overnight trip. Have a totally open mind as to where to go as know so little about the state.

Anyone who knows NC can probably guess we are visiting a student. It's a random destination for us through this circumstance but want to also take the opportunity to see a bit more of a place we'd almost certainly never otherwise have gone to.

Asheville is very nice and worth a visit, as is the Biltmore estate which is close to the town.

Thanks Sorrel.

Do you know the state well? I had tentatively identified the Outer Banks and also Charleston as possible places to head to. Would you recommend?

I'm nervous about Chapel Hill as will have very hard to please 14 year old DD in tow. There's not much on trip advisor about it as a place - I suppose because it's not really a holiday destination. DD's an extremely fussy vegetarian and I'm less fussy but also vegetarian. Although admittedly vegan DS will have had 2 months to establish if/where we can eat!

Nope I don't know at all well. We've just done a driving trip across 16 states and met up with friends in Asheville NC. It's their favourite place and they got married at the Biltmore. We didn't go to Charleston as we visited Savannah straight after Asheville and a lot of people said that they're very similar in style and feel. Savannah was beautiful so if Charleston is similar then it must be worth a visit I'd have thought.

I don't know about Vegan/Vegetarian thing but Asheville is a very 'hippy' place (reminded me a bit of Totnes in feel!) so I imagine you'll be able to find some good veggie food there.

I've had three summers in the Outer Banks. Absolutely beautiful, but not sure what it would be like off-season. It's a bit like North Norfolk. We always rented a house in the town of Duck, I think there are more hotels in places like Kittyhawk (home of the Wright brothers' first flight) and Kill Devil Hills. You do need a car to get about (we lived on the East Coast and drove ourselves down there each summer).

We also had a weekend in Charleston, again really lovely and lots to see and do in the town itself and just outside (we hired a car to get to a nearby plantation). Great food and nice places to stay, and very walkable.

I am on hols with spotty wifi just now but happy to offer recommendations if that would help nearer the time.

I agree with previous posters: I love both Asheville and Charleston. The Outer Banks is definitely worth a weekend trip - I've been in late September and the weather was lovely.

Moon travel guides do a North Carolina guide which you can probably get on Amazon.

We drove through Kitty Hawk, Outer Banks etc. Beautiful

Ah! I went on exchange to Chapel Hill years ago. It is just beautiful there! Buildings like they're made of icing sugar. It's a student town so lots of veggie options. I'm veggie too and it was fine.

We drove to Ashville in the fall which was stunning. Gives New England a run for its money. They're really into sports there. The tar heels were an excellent basketball team which DD might be interested in, and the Durham Bulls play baseball nearby. It's a whole evenings entertainment!

Thanks Rusholme I've ordered the guide you mentioned.

We will be hiring a car but all the distances are long which makes day trips a challenge - if driving 3 hours in each direction it's not really appealing to come back on the same day.

Glad to hear people speak positively of it as a destination and any more ideas would be great.