Happy Wednesday, friends! After another fun week in North Carolina, I wanted to share a full travel guide! In the past, I have shared vacation recaps of what I have worn, where we’ve eaten, and places we’ve gone (head to the travel section to read those!), but after my third time visiting, I thought I would just compile everything into one comprehensive post. I hope you enjoy!
Jacksonville
Jacksonville, NC is the home of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. I think I have mentioned this before, but my boyfriend is a Navy Hospital Corpsman who works with a group of Marines here. I fly into Jacksonville and spend most of my time here during my visit. This area consists of mostly chain restaurants, but there are two places worth noting:
Carolina Ale House
Carolina Ale House is a casual restaurant with your typical bar food – think appetizers, burgers, salads, and sandwiches. The environment is very family-friendly and is a great option when you want a sit-down meal but nothing too formal.
Port City Java
Port City Java is a North Carolina coffee chain that is based out of Wilmington. They have plenty of drink options and flavors on the menu. I personally love ordering the iced caramello leche with either a chocolate chip muffin or a bacon, egg, and cheese croissant – so yum!!
Surf City
If you head south on Rt. 17, you’ll hit Surf City – a quaint little beach town with plenty of ice cream parlors and a large beach with a pier. Surf City is home to one of my favorite restaurants in the area, Shaka Taco! This is a great place to stop at on your way to or back from the beach. They have tacos, bowls, and bottomless chips and salsa! My favorite thing to order is a fish taco bowl with coconut rice (with a sweet tea of course)! There is also a coffee shop close by called The Daily Grind. We didn’t get a chance to stop here but it looked so cute!
Topsail Beach
North Topsail has a great restaurant called Splash by the Sea! It is located within a condo complex but is open to the public which is really nice. Their outdoor seating overlooks the ocean and has so many delicious options on the menu! All of the entrees are moderately priced and I highly recommend the shrimp tacos! We split the crab dip as an appetizer and the cookie skillet for dessert – not going to lie I’m still thinking about it, haha! Unfortunately they do not take reservations so definitely get there early!
Emerald Isle
Emerald Isle is another beach town located north of Jacksonville. The beach up here is a little bit quieter and the crowds are more spread out. When I visited in March, we ate at a restaurant called The Trading Post which served lots of traditional southern food! If you ever come here, definitely order a side of mac-n-cheese with your entree!!
Wilmington
Wilmington is only an hour south of Jacksonville and is a fun place to visit if you want to take a drive! We love heading to the historic district for a stroll on the riverwalk where there are so many great restaurants. We have eaten at both The George and Michael’s on the Waterfront. Both have great fresh seafood and indoor/outdoor seating options. Further east is Wrightsville Beach which is such a cute area! I loved seeing all of the modern homes and think this would be such a fun place to rent an Airbnb!
Thank you so much for reading! If you ever find yourself in southeast North Carolina, I hope you check out some of these recommendations! Although I mainly shared restaurants, there is always fun to be found wherever you visit! What is one of your favorite vacation spots?
