Heading off to Holden Beach

[whereinthehellami]

The family is heading off to Holden Beach this weekend for a week. It'll be my first time, though my parents have been there once before. Anyone have any suggestions? Keep in my mind that i have two little toe-heads, one is 2.5years old and the other 6 months, and a Brittany.

[Olympic Fan]

My mother has lived on Oak Island (Holden Beach is on the eastern end of the island) for the last decade.

The beach itself is just a beach -- a lot of condos and a pier. There is golf course, although it's nothing to shout about.

You're not too far from Southport, a lovely little community on the water with some great restaurants. You can also catch a ferry there that runs across the Cape Fear to the tip of the mainland near Fort Fisher and the NC Aquarium -- both fascinating places to visit -- although your young ones might be a bit too young to appreciate them.

Other than that, you're almost an hour away from Wilmington, the battleship (again, when your kids get a little older) and the more built-up Wrightsville and Carolina beach areas ... although I have to say that Holden and the rest of Oak Island are getting fairly built up too.

[CathyCA]

Holden Beach is my favorite vacation spot! I've been going there for 40 years. It is an east-west beach, so the waves are calmer than those at north-south beaches. In fact, the ocean is more like a bay most of the time. We did have some rip currents there a few weeks ago, and we kept our kids out of the ocean. You can find beautiful seashells along the white sandy beach. The ocean water temperature hovers in the mid-80s during the summer months.

It is a family beach, free of crowds*, and there is very little in the way of entertainment, other than just enjoying the beach. The Paradise Cafe (on the island) has karaoke nights on Wednesday and Friday nights. Other restaurants you might want to try include The Seafood Barn and The Provision Company (both on the causeway). Both do take-out, and we've found that, with kids, take-out is preferable to going and standing in a long line at one of the restaurants.

There is a Food Lion on the causeway (*which is packed with tourists on Saturday afternoons), and it is stocked with all of the groceries you might need. If you want to buy fresh seafood, I recommend Star Seafood on the Old Ferry Road. You can buy fresh produce at Ludlum's, which is just down the road off the causeway from the ABC store.

If you want to do more, Holden Beach is located about 45 minutes north of Myrtle Beach and about 45 minutes south of Wilmington.

You mentioned that you have a dog. Dogs aren't allowed on the strand from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. during the summer months. The beach patrol was enforcing this ordinance when we were at Holden Beach a few weeks ago.

Have fun.

[whereinthehellami]

Thanks for the replys. Definately looking forward to heading down there tomorrow morning. There is nothing like walking on the beach.