Are you a coke head? Coke head it the name for someone that hangs out on OCRACOKE Island. We just spent a fabulous day on the island of Ocracoke Island part of the Outer Banks, beyond Hatteras, and the last stop in the OBX Islands! To get to Ocracoke Island you have to travel via ferry. There is so much fun to be had on the island and it’s amazing that once you leave the island you can barely see it whenever you do cross back to Hatteras, it’s like it disappears, but the memories you make will linger forever! There are a few things you might want to know whenever you go to Ocracoke Island and I’d like to share this with you these are my tips for visiting Ocracoke Island as you lavishly live travel out loud!
Make A Plan For Getting Around Ocracoke Island
First things first, when you get there you definitely will need to figure out what it is you plan on doing are you going to the beach? Are you going shopping? Or are you there just to learn the land? Whatever the case maybe there are different things you need to prepare for.
Golf cart rentals are available and they are very fun to go around the village in and actually become one on one with the area that you’re allowed to ride them in. The golf cart rentals run between $35-$45 for up to three hours of fun for a four passenger. We rode around all of the streets, to the lighthouse, to many shops, restaurants and craft stores. You get to see the Bohemian architecture, great art and so many wonderful crafts. We found ornaments for Christmas trees for gifts they are really pretty lighthouses and they run anywhere from a dollar .50 up to $4.50 depending on the gift shop you purchase it from.
Golf Carts on Ocracoke
Why go by golf cart? That’s actually a really good question and the answer is actually because in a golf cart you actually you can pull in to all the parking spots as the roads are much more narrow and many people not only walk but bike and getting around any vehicle is a bit difficult. It is possible so if you’re taking your vehicle over and you choose to actually use that vehicle you can but you warn that it is hard to maneuver in and out of parking especially in an SUV. Parking during peak tourism season gets cramped but you will see many people driving, but honestly the golf cart is the way to go. You will definitely see more if you walk, or go by golf cart than if you go by car, it is just more intimate, IMO(in my opinion).
We like that we would just travel from place to place such as the lighthouse then over to a art store and just park and go and it was so easy to maneuver in and out. We also like feeling the breeze as well as the fresh air and sunshine which made it a really nice Island type day.
Bike Rental On Ocracoke
Many people chose to bike and that is another great option especially if you’re headed to the beach and you don’t want to be boundary restricted as when you take a golf cart you can only go as far as Howard’s pub if you go beyond this you might be subject to $160 plus fine for violating this as you may not take those golf cart rentals anywhere but within the village limits. You will not have access to the beach oh and did I mention that if you drink and drive you can actually get a DUI as we were warned. How could you get drunk? There are plenty of good local restaurants there so dive in and enjoy, but remember, if you drove there, from the ferry you have to drive back and alcohol and driving don’t mix. Drivers on the golf carts have to be 18 years or older and they do take Visa and MasterCard or cash.
If you choose a bicycle you can get around the island and to the beach is without restriction just follow the signs as far as instructions for bicycler’s. If you decide to walk a walk to the beach is possible however you will need to park your car in the main parking lot by the war Memorial where you can park for a while if you don’t want to bring the car. I thought that was about a 1 mile walk to Beach from the actual area where you parked and drove into the little village.
Wildlife on Ocracoke
Here’s the one thing that kind of bothered me, we were told over and over that there were these ponies we had to see on the island. No one ever really explained that even though you could stop by and see that they were NEVER to be fed or interacted with as they were to always understand they were just WILD. We drove by because it was marked PONY something or other and I was like, “seen one pony seen them all!”
Overall With Ocracoke
The island is a great few hour escape, and well worth the FREE Ferry ride experience, but don’t plan on finding TONS to do, because the Island is simple, the area you will find shops in is small and unless you LOVE water sports, you may be bored. Travel and adventure a really fun on the island and you will find many great crafts and souvenirs lavishly live life out loud with a quick rental of either a bike golf cart or use those feet to move around the Island of Ocracoke. These are my quick tips for Visiting Ocracoke Island.
