Happy September! Welcome back to the blog! I hope you all had a great Labor Day Weekend. With pumpkin spice season in full swing, I wanted to round out the summer blog content with a recap of our recent trip to the Outer Banks! This was our first time exploring OBX and we had the best time. It was the perfect little getaway to celebrate our one year wedding anniversary which was so sweet and special! The Outer Banks are located just shy of two hours south of where we live in Virginia so it truly felt like a much needed “staycation”. In today’s post, I wanted to share our weekend itinerary along with some of our recommendations that we discovered! There is so much to do and see and I hope you choose to visit some of these places if you find yourself in the area!
Friday
We arrived in the Outer Banks on Friday and checked into our Airbnb located in Kill Devil Hills. One of the best things about the OBX area is the proximity of all of the different towns. We weren’t quite sure where to stay when booking our trip, but I came to learn that it didn’t really matter! All of the towns, restaurants, attractions, and beaches, are a short drive (or walk!) away. Check-in wasn’t until 4pm so we ended our night with a casual dinner at Shripwreck’s in Kitty Hawk, followed by mini golf, and a quick grocery run to pick up some essentials to have on hand for breakfast in the mornings.
Saturday
Saturday was our anniversary! We started the day by driving to Duck to visit the Waterfront Shops. These coastal stores sit right on the Currituck Sound. They have everything from souvenir shops to art galleries, clothing boutiques, a yoga studio, and a little lunch spot called Coastal Cantina which is a great place to pick up a quick bite while walking around! We picked out some souvenirs from the Duck General Store, made our way around to all of the different shops, and grabbed a snack at the Cantina before heading back towards our Airbnb for more exploring. We of course made a stop at the iconic Duck Donuts before ending up at the Wright Brothers Memorial in Kitty Hawk. It was really cool to learn more about the history and see the site where they launched all of their test flights! If you enjoy history, definitely stop by!
After exploring, it was time to head back and get ready for our anniversary dinner! Ironically, Southern Living magazine rated the Outer Banks the best southern vacation spot for summer 2025. We referenced this issue of the magazine when planning our trip and it gave a great overview of each town and different must-see attractions in each. We initially planned on having our anniversary dinner at The Blue Point which is also located at the waterfront shops, but after a recommendation from my husband’s aunt, we decided to reserve a table at The Colington Cafe in Kill Devil Hills. This is a family-owned restaurant that used to be an old home. They have something on the menu for everyone and you can see and feel the southern charm and character inside! We both ordered the barbecue chicken with fettuccine alfredo and shared a slice of the chocolate cake for dessert. This restaurant is truly a hidden gem! If you take one recommendation from this post, let it be The Colington Cafe!
Sunday
On Sunday, we had planned to have a beach day in Kill Devil Hills but the weather had other plans! It ended up being an overcast morning with lots of wind so we only stayed for about an hour reading our books before deciding to switch up the plans. We got changed and ended up driving to Corolla to visit the Lighthouse and explore the area. For $13 per person, you can climb to the top of the lighthouse which was so much fun! There are great views of the ocean at the top and you can see out to the different towns! There is also a lot of history in Corolla, including the wild horses which we didn’t see but would be fun to add on the list for next time!
After exploring Corolla and the lighthouse we drove back to Kitty Hawk to stop for a late lunch / early dinner at John’s Drive In. This is the cutest roadside stand serving seafood boats, burgers, fries, milkshakes, and soft serve! They close at 5pm so make sure to go early! We both got chocolate milkshakes with our dinners and would definitely recommend!
Monday
Monday was Labor Day and time for us to drive back to Virginia! On our way back north, we stopped in Duck one last time to visit Duck’s Cottage which is located in the waterfront shops. This is a coffee shop and bookstore that we did not get a chance to visit earlier in the trip, so we made it our final pit-stop to grab coffees for the road! One of my favorite things about traveling is finding cute coffee shops and Duck’s Cottage does not disappoint! I ordered the “swan” which was a vanilla latte with white mocha and it was the perfect treat to wrap up our trip and kick off the month of September! We drank our coffees outside on the Adirondack chairs before hitting the road!
Overall, we had a great weekend and cannot wait to visit again! I know that there is still so much that we didn’t see so if you have any more OBX recommendations, feel free to share them in the comments or send me a message on Instagram. I would love to connect with you!
Thank you so much for reading!
