Travel Recommedation

[1995PSUGrad]

My wife and I live in the Raleigh, NC area. We love going to Nashville and Key West but are looking for something new. I would like to find a place like Key West, basically something small enough that we can Uber to our hotel or resort and then can walk everywhere while we are there. On the water is nice--beach not necessary so it could be a spot with a nice riverfront area. We just want a small(ish) place where we can walk around, do some shopping and have a number of bar and restaurant options. Not looking for a long trip, just some place we can go for long weekends. If we could drive, that would be great but if not, would like to be able to get a nonstop flight from RDU.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Wilbury]

My wife and I live in the Raleigh, NC area. We love going to Nashville and Key West but are looking for something new. I would like to find a place like Key West, basically something small enough that we can Uber to our hotel or resort and then can walk everywhere while we are there. On the water is nice--beach not necessary so it could be a spot with a nice riverfront area. We just want a small(ish) place where we can walk around, do some shopping and have a number of bar and restaurant options. Not looking for a long trip, just some place we can go for long weekends. If we could drive, that would be great but if not, would like to be able to get a nonstop flight from RDU.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Amelia Island, Savannah, Sanibel Island, Gulf Shores, Destin, Asheville

 

[psuro]

Charleston, SC.

 

[Ghost of OM]

Southport, NC. Very small town. Couple cute motels and Air B&Bs right on the Cape Fear river. Lots of good restaurants and shops all walkable from downtown. Also an easy drive from Raleigh.

 

[Steve JG]

Amelia Island, Savannah, Sanibel Island, Gulf Shores, Destin, Asheville

Greyton Beach on gulf coast Fla

 

[GringoStarr99]

Banff, Alberta

 

[MtNittany]

Locally - here, Juno Beach, FL if you want a quiet beach town. Jupiter if you want a little more people. The Breakers on Palm Beach - at least for a cocktail - just to see it.

Jupiter and Juno Beach are all about the water and the beach. Nightlife, not so much. Great food but everything pretty much shuts down at 10pm.

 

[Lion84]

My Daughter went to College in Savannah at SCAD and it is a very walkable town with many shops, bars and restaurants on the riverfront and no open container law near the water so you can bring your drink with you which I had done many times.

 

[s1uggo72]

if you dont want to come to Huntington, wv why not try Annapolis MD. very walkable town with plenty to see , and some great places to eat and drink.

 

[barry j fenchak]

Amelia Island, Savannah, Sanibel Island, Gulf Shores, Destin, Asheville

All very good locations, hard to go wrong with any of those.

 

[Bison13]

if you dont want to come to Huntington, wv why not try Annapolis MD. very walkable town with plenty to see , and some great places to eat and drink.

or a little further to the coast, Lewes/Rehoboth/Bethany DE

 

[s1uggo72]

or a little further to the coast, Lewes/Rehoboth/Bethany DE

always good to take the Cape May -Lewes ferry way!!!

 

[LionJim]

or a little further to the coast, Lewes/Rehoboth/Bethany DE

Dewey Beach, ffs. My grandparents had their beach house oceanside on Dagsworthy Street, directly across from the Life Saving Station. My Aunt Joan and Uncle Don had a house at 14 Swedes Street, spent many happy days there with my wife and kids.

Honestly, for what the OP was asking, I’d do Rehoboth or Bethany, as Dewey Beach is a one-street town. But Dewey will always be home for me.

I’ve told this story before: on Father’s Day 1995, one month after getting my doctorate, I was walking on Dewey Beach with my 18-month-old daughter when my wife ran up with the news that our second daughter (who we were eventually to adopt) had been born and was waiting for us in Baltimore. Dewey Beach for the win.

 

[Bison13]

Dewey Beach, ffs. My grandparents had their beach house oceanside on Dagsworthy Street, directly across from the Life Saving Station. My Aunt Joan and Uncle Don had a house at 14 Swedes Street, spent many happy days there with my wife and kids.

Honestly, for what the OP was asking, I’d do Rehoboth or Bethany, as Dewey Beach is a one-street town. But Dewey will always be home for me.

I’ve told this story before: on Father’s Day 1995, one month after getting my doctorate, I was walking on Dewey Beach with my 18-month-old daughter when my wife ran up with the news that our second daughter (who we were eventually to adopt) had been born and was waiting for us in Baltimore. Dewey Beach for the win.

I like Dewey as well, and it’s probably fine to visit right now, I guess I was just thinking about during the summer when it gets crazy there.
Back in 2005 I spent three days in the summer at AP stat summer session in Lewes. we decided to drive down to the starboard in Dewey one night as they had a band. One of the guys that was down there with us got so wasted that we couldn’t find him, finally in about 1 AM. We went home and figured he was a sturdy guy so he could figure out how to get back. Sure enough, he was sitting in the conference room when I got there at 8 AM the next day.

 

[ApexLion]

Southport, NC. Very small town. Couple cute motels and Air B&Bs right on the Cape Fear river. Lots of good restaurants and shops all walkable from downtown. Also an easy drive from Raleigh.

shhh, don’t tell anyone. Most of us in Chapel Hill travel east as a group 8-10x a year to our quiet Southport.

 

[nittanymoops]

I will second the Charleston rec, will throw one in for Pensacola Beach/Gulf Breeze or New Orleans, and just spent six days in Seattle.

Loved the national WW2 museums in NO and everything is close enough to walk/uber.

In regard to Seattle, the lakes and the sound are beautiful and the public transit is fast, clean and very reasonably priced, as is the ferry system. And there’s a wide variety of food and drink.

 

[1995PSUGrad]

Amelia Island, Savannah, Sanibel Island, Gulf Shores, Destin, Asheville

My wife has talked about Destin but there are no direct flights from RDU. It might be worth the layover. We have done Savannah. I will have to look up the others. Thanks

 

[1995PSUGrad]

Charleston, SC.

We love Charleston. We went several times when my daughter was going to go to school there but she changed her mind to go to NC State,

 

[1995PSUGrad]

Southport, NC. Very small town. Couple cute motels and Air B&Bs right on the Cape Fear river. Lots of good restaurants and shops all walkable from downtown. Also an easy drive from Raleigh.

I just told my wife yesterday that we need to check out Southport.

 

[1995PSUGrad]

Banff, Alberta

Too far, but thanks.

 

[psuro]

always good to take the Cape May -Lewes ferry way!!!

I really like the ferry as well. they allow bikers to get on and off first which is a plus.

 

[massimoManca II]

Lock Haven.
DuBois.

 

[MtNittany]

Amelia Island, Savannah, Sanibel Island, Gulf Shores, Destin, Asheville

Agree with Amelia Island/Fernandina Beach area. Like going to the Keys w/out the drive and all the Keys stuff.

 

[psuro]

My wife and I live in the Raleigh, NC area. We love going to Nashville and Key West but are looking for something new. I would like to find a place like Key West, basically something small enough that we can Uber to our hotel or resort and then can walk everywhere while we are there. On the water is nice--beach not necessary so it could be a spot with a nice riverfront area. We just want a small(ish) place where we can walk around, do some shopping and have a number of bar and restaurant options. Not looking for a long trip, just some place we can go for long weekends. If we could drive, that would be great but if not, would like to be able to get a nonstop flight from RDU.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Have you considered NorthWest Georgia? I have a friend who lives in Ellijay and raves about it - seems to be fairly bucolic with lakes, rivers, mountainous terrain and forests. That might have the riverfront area you were thinking of.

 

[PSU87]

Another vote for Amelia Island/Fernandina Beach. Very Key West like with a bit less bustle. The water's not the same, but then nothing in the continental US is.

 

[Ghost of OM]

I just told my wife yesterday that we need to check out Southport.

If decide to come down, reach out and I’ll give you some more specific ideas.

 

[Big_O]

My Daughter went to College in Savannah at SCAD and it is a very walkable town with many shops, bars and restaurants on the riverfront and no open container law near the water so you can bring your drink with you which I had done many times.

You paid a lot of tuition. My daughter looked at SCAD when she was thinking about going to art school. She ended up going the traditional route doing BFA work in college and ended up getting a Bachelors in Art Ed. The art schools all have expensive tuition, but Savannah is definitely a nice town to go to school.

 

[Big_O]

or a little further to the coast, Lewes/Rehoboth/Bethany DE

I lived in Lower, Slower back in the 90’s. It was really nice then, but all the retirees from NY and NJ moved down there and the place just exploded with growth to the point that it’s unrecognizable to me. I remember when there was open farmland on either side of 1 between Lewes and Rehoboth. There was nothing between Milford where I lived and Lewes. Not so much now - my neighbor here in FL still has his home in Bethany and stays there in the summer, but doesn’t enjoy it that much anymore due to the overcrowding.