Plan an adventure to the Carolina Coast

In early March, my husband Tom and I escaped for a getaway to the Crystal Coast in North Carolina’s Carteret County. Our destination: Beaufort, NC. If you are ready for a roadtrip and a satisfying getaway that checks all the boxes, Beaufort is the place. This charming and historic town is the perfect place to get away from it all and still take in tons of fun, a bit of adventure and lots of delicious food and drink. With so much to share, I’ll be bringing you all the intel here in several of my safe travels, Springtime posts.

Today, just a taste of all that is to come abut food and travel adventure in Beaufort NC. In addition to this post, I was delighted to share all there is to see and do in Beaufort with my friend Ken Smith at WRAL in Raleigh and then again with my friend Beth Troutman on Charlotte’s WCNC,

In case you missed it. You can watch the interview with Ken Smith here.

Then, watch the interview with Beth Troutman here.

Start making plans for your next trip today. Stay tuned for more to come about all there is to enjoy in Beaufort, NC. But first, here is a taste of all you will find…

Never Miss a Beaufort NC Sunset

No matter what time you arrive or what time you wake up in the morning; plan your day, every day of your trip, around the timing of the Beaufort sunsets.

Sunsets in Beaufort are nothing short of spectacular. Hands down, the best place to take them in is from the patio or docks at the Beaufort Hotel. You couldn’t find a better spot for photo opps. After you’ve snapped a few, put down your camera or phone, order a glass of wine or a craft cocktail from the lobby bar; breathe deep and take it all in.

The Beaufort Hotel, Beaufort NC

The Beaufort Hotel was our host for the week of our visit this month. I’ve stayed with them before and love the ease of the relaxed waterfront setting and the hotel’s attention to detail. Open in 2019, the hotel sits on Taylor’s Creek. The property is the original site of Beaufort’s longtime Menhaden fish processing plant; and the hotel celebrates the rich maritime history of the area.

Not officially a resort, the Beaufort Hotel doesn’t have a golf course or a spa, but iit certainly feels like a resort. It offers everything you need and then some. Enjoy the state of the art fitness center, acres of green space, hospitality suites and meeting rooms, large guest room bathrooms, imported linen and a wonderful lobby bar and restaurant called 34 Degrees North.

If you are on a working vaca, enjoy officing on the patio of your room at the Beaufort Hotel or in the large open lobby at the large double sided lobby fireplace.

These days it is important to say that the Beaufort Hotel has gone to great lengths to keep guests and staff safe and socially distanced. Guests are required to wear masks in common indoor areas unless eating or drinking. Happily the lobby and restaurant enjoy the gift of space, so there is plenty of room for social distancing.

And, you will rest easy knowing that the hotel take great care to spray sanitize all public spaces daily and all rooms before guests check in.

More on the rich history of the ten acre site of the hotel in follow up post. For now, lets talk about the recreational amenities.

Beaufort NC by land, sea and air

USA Today recently named Beaufort the Best Small Town for Adventure. Additional accolades include having been named among the “South’s Best Small Towns” by Southern Living magazine and “America’s Favorite Town” by Travel and Leisure Magazine.

There is much to do and many ways to see all the sites.

heidi and kayaks — If you’d like to kayak across Taylor’s Creek over the Rachel Carson Reserve or Carrot Island to see some of the area’s wild horses, The Beaufort Hotel is glad to arrange for Kayak or paddleboard rental from Beaufort Paddle, launching directly from the dock at the hotel.

While there is parasailing, paddleboarding and kayaking readily available; for those who know me well, it should come as no surprise that for this week of adventure I opted to keep my feet on the ground.

Unless that is, I was pedalling a bike with Tom and Besty Cartier from Hungry Town Tours or drifting down Thomas Creek on a Cruisin’ Tiki’s with Captain Jose at the helm. More details on both of these extraordinary experiences coming up. But just take a look at this cute tiki hut on the water, and be sure to watch the video that kicked off our voyage.

Here’s how my Cruisin’ Tiki Beaufort adventure began… watch the video as begin our voyage .

tiki boat — On most days this Cruisin’ Tiki is docked at the Beaufort Hotel. Guests are invited to arrange to make advance reservations with the front desk to schedule your own private cruise.

Wild Horses and Lighthouses are not to be missed

While you are in the area, you simply cannot miss a 20-30 minute drive over to Harkers Island. Harkers is located Down East from Beaufort at the very most southern end of North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Harkers is also home to the Core Sound Museum, you can read more here about a visit I made several years ago.

It is here that you will take a ferry over to Shackleford Banks Island, home to over 100 wild horses; and then on to Cape Lookout, for shelling and to see the historic Cape Lookout Lighthouse. Both, adventures and experiences you won’t find many other places in the world. And the Beaufort Hotel is happy to pack you a picnic lunch to take along for the ride.