Can someone explain the appeal of the Outer Banks, Please!

I found the same issue with Hilton Head. If you are very used to Florida beaches, Mid/Northern Atlantic beaches do seem much "sleepier". We went to HHI and honestly left 1 1/2 days early because we were so very bored. Part of it had to do with being unfamiliar with the area, not golfing or being really into bicycling. Friends that go at least 1 time per year love it and seem to know more things to do behind the scenes.

I prefer Gulf Coast Florida/Alabama personally.

As someone coming from New England, you get a lot more for your money with rentals, you get water that is warm enough to swim in, you get clean, uncrowded beaches. I'm not sure exactly what it is Florida beach towns offer that's different. To me the appeal of a beach vacation is it's a relaxed, casual vacation with your family doing family activities--eating seafood, playing mini golf, doing some sightseeing, getting ice cream. 

I lived in Norfolk/Va Beach for many years and the beaches there are really great and unless you know the locals spots you're going to be extreamly crowded by other tourist when going there. The OBX was my vacation away from Va Beach tourist because it was so much more laid back. I never had people right on top of me on those beaches, they have things to do without it being too commercialized IMO.

I don't know but I'm going in June and I'm so excited I could scream! I just want to with my family, learn about Kitty Hawk, enjoy our friends, ride our bikes, be lazy, play games and fly kites.

DD and I are going to Washington, NC this weekend and hope to visit the beaches of NC. We want to go to Shacklebanks and maybe Okracoke beach. So to say that DD and I are excited is an understatement!!! LOL!! I really prefer quiet and less crowed beaches. My sister moved to Largo, FL and we love the beaches near her. Indian Rocks beach was so nice last year on July 4th. It wasn't crowed at all.

Another OBX lover and I agree with everyone else--we go for the laid back rustic beauty of the beaches there and just the relaxation. We usually go to the Rodanthe/Waves/Salvo area which is VERY quiet. We generally rent a house on or near the beach with a private pool and we just enjoy family time. We spend long lazy days on the beach reading, swimming, boogie boarding, shell gathering, sand castle building. We head back to the house in the afternoon, maybe swim some in the pool, shower, mix some cocktails or open a bottle of wine and make dinner. We just unwind and listen to the surf, play some games, go in the hot tub--we just love it. At least once or twice we do a fire down on the beach, make s'mores, have a few beers, the kids chase ghost crabs on the beach with a flashlight. We've done some touristy things--went to the Lost Colony (the oldest, longest running outdoor drama in the US), visited the Wright Bros Memorial, went on a dolphin watch cruise, did a sunset sail on Roanoke Island, rented jet skis, etc. We usually take one trip over to Ocracoke Island and walk around to all the shops, visit the beach there, eat lunch at Howards and ice cream at Sweet Tooth. Sometimes we'll go to the acquarium. It's just such a lovely relaxing vacation. We've went there for years and I never tire of it. But it's not for everyone. If you're looking for a really busy boardwalk and tons and tons of shops and novelty things, it may not be for you.

My mother lives in Newport NC which is on the mainland across from Atlantic Beach. I grew up in Southern California but really appreciate the relatively untouched beaches of the Outer Banks. Shackleford Banks is a nice place for shell scavenging and looking for wild ponies.