Atlantic Beach, NC
Island Beach & Racquet Club B302
A light-filled oceanside condo with sweeping Atlantic views, steps from the sand and directly beside the resort pool — the easiest beach day a family can have.
Sleeps 6 · 2 bedrooms · 2 bathrooms
Stay Southern Outer Banks — boutique oceanside vacation rentals in Atlantic Beach and Pine Knoll Shores, NC
Boutique oceanside vacation rentals on North Carolina's Crystal Coast — Atlantic Beach & Pine Knoll Shores
The collection
Two oceanside rentals, chosen for how a family week actually feels
Out of hundreds of condos between Atlantic Beach and Emerald Isle, these two win on the details that decide a beach week: how far you carry the chairs, whether the pool is in sight of the sand, and whether everyone fits comfortably at dinner.
Pine Knoll Shores, NC
Coral Shores 12
A quiet, maritime-forest retreat in Pine Knoll Shores with a private beach walkway, oceanfront pool, and an open layout built for multi-generational trips.
Sleeps 6 · 3 bedrooms · 2 bathrooms
Our Story
Three Decades of Crystal Coast Memories
For more than 30 years, our family has been making summer memories on North Carolina's Crystal Coast. What began as annual beach trips with our extended family from Massachusetts, New York, and Ohio has grown into a tradition we now share with our own children.
Stay Southern Outer Banks was created to help other families and friends experience the same joy we've found here—relaxing on the beach, discovering great local restaurants, exploring coastal towns, and making memories that last long after vacation ends.
We hope every guest feels at home from the moment they arrive, and nothing means more to us than welcoming families back summer after summer to create traditions of their own.
We look forward to welcoming you to the Crystal Coast.
Create Your Crystal Coast Tradition
Why here
Why choose the Crystal Coast
The beach
Wide, uncrowded sand
Bogue Banks faces south, so the surf is gentler and the beaches are broad. Walk five minutes from any access and you will have a stretch to yourself, even in July.
The water
Clear and warm
The Crystal Coast earns its name — southward-facing beaches and Gulf Stream influence make the water noticeably clearer and warmer than the northern Outer Banks.
Families
Built for families
Shallow entry, lifeguarded access at Fort Macon, an aquarium ten minutes away and mini golf on the causeway. Nothing here requires a long drive with tired children.
Cape Lookout
A national seashore
The diamond lighthouse and 56 miles of undeveloped barrier island, reachable only by ferry — the best shelling and emptiest beaches on the coast.
Wild horses
Wild horses on Shackleford
A protected herd has lived on Shackleford Banks for centuries. Small-boat tours run from the Beaufort waterfront through the season.
Beaufort
Historic Beaufort
North Carolina's third-oldest town, twenty minutes away: 18th-century Front Street, the free Maritime Museum, boutiques and the best dinner on the coast.
Aquarium
NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores
Loggerhead turtles, a large shark tank with dive shows and a touch pool — the island's best rainy-day plan and a good sunny-day one too.
Seafood
Excellent seafood
Shrimp off the boat, grouper on the waterfront, and the shrimp burger — a genuine regional invention worth ordering 'all the way'.
On the water
Boating, fishing & diving
Protected sound water for pontoons and paddleboards, inshore and offshore charters, and wreck diving on the Graveyard of the Atlantic off Morehead City.
The towns
Authentic coastal towns
No high-rise strip, no manufactured boardwalk. Atlantic Beach, Pine Knoll Shores, Salter Path and Beaufort still look and feel like themselves.
The pace
A genuinely relaxed pace
The Crystal Coast is a place where the plan is sunrise, sand, pool, early dinner and crabbing after dark — and that is the whole point.
Fort Macon
Free history at the point
A restored Civil War fort with trails, a jetty and the calmest swimming on the island — free to visit, ten minutes from Atlantic Beach.
Recognition
A destination recognised by official sources
We don't invent awards. Below are official organisations that document and promote this destination — use them to research the Crystal Coast independently. Any recognition described here belongs to the destination, not to Stay Southern Outer Banks.
Crystal Coast Tourism Authority
The official destination organisation for Carteret County publishes current visitor information, beach access maps and the annual events calendar for the Crystal Coast.
Visit North Carolina
North Carolina's official state tourism site features the Crystal Coast and the Southern Outer Banks among its coastal regions, with state-published trip planning resources.
Cape Lookout National Seashore
Cape Lookout is federally protected by the National Park Service — official recognition of the barrier islands, lighthouse and Shackleford Banks wild horses just offshore.
Fort Macon State Park
Fort Macon is consistently among the most-visited state parks in North Carolina, per North Carolina State Parks' own published visitation reporting.
Plan your trip
Official planning resources
Crystal Coast Tourism Authority
The destination marketing organisation for Carteret County — events, beach access maps and visitor information.
Visit North Carolina
The state's official travel site, with regional trip ideas and seasonal guides.
Cape Lookout National Seashore
National Park Service information on ferries, camping, lighthouse climbs and the wild horses.
Fort Macon State Park
Hours, tour times, trail maps and beach access for the restored Civil War fort.
North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores
Tickets, daily programmes and dive show times, ten minutes from both rentals.
Beaufort Historic Site
Guided walking tours, historic homes and the Old Burying Ground in Beaufort.
NC Ferry System
NCDOT schedules and fares for state ferry routes along the coast.
Explore
Guides to the Southern Outer Banks
Book direct
Two rentals. One very easy beach week.
Island Beach & Racquet Club B302 in Atlantic Beach and Coral Shores 12 in Pine Knoll Shores both pair direct pool access with a short, flat walk to the sand — the two things that make a family trip effortless.