Boutique oceanside vacation rentals on North Carolina's Crystal Coast — Atlantic Beach & Pine Knoll Shores
The collection
Out of hundreds of condos between Atlantic Beach and Emerald Isle, these two win on the details that decide a beach trip: how far you carry the chairs, whether the pool is in sight of the sand, and whether everyone fits comfortably at dinner.
Atlantic Beach, NC
A relaxed oceanside retreat in Atlantic Beach, B302 is a great fit for couples and smaller families looking for an easy Crystal Coast getaway, with the beach, pool and Atlantic Beach attractions close at hand.
Sleeps 6 · 2 bedrooms · 2 bathrooms
Pine Knoll Shores, NC
A welcoming oceanside retreat in Pine Knoll Shores, Coral Shores 12 offers families a comfortable home base for beach days, pool time and exploring the Crystal Coast, with a private beach walkway just outside the door.
Sleeps 6 · 3 bedrooms · 2 bathrooms
Trade the city for the Crystal Coast
Atlantic Beach and Pine Knoll Shores make an easy coastal escape from Raleigh, Charlotte, and communities across inland North Carolina — close enough for a long weekend and worth settling into for a full beach week.
Approximately 3 hours to Atlantic Beach
Find Your Beach EscapeApproximately 5 hours to Atlantic Beach
Find Your Beach EscapeDrive times are approximate and vary by starting point, route and traffic.
Our Story
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
The beach
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
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
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
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
A protected herd has lived on Shackleford Banks for centuries. Small-boat tours run from the Beaufort waterfront through the season.
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
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
Shrimp off the boat, grouper on the waterfront, and the shrimp burger — a genuine regional invention worth ordering 'all the way'.
On the water
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
No high-rise strip, no manufactured boardwalk. Atlantic Beach, Pine Knoll Shores, Salter Path and Beaufort still look and feel like themselves.
The 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
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
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.
The official destination organisation for Carteret County publishes current visitor information, beach access maps and the annual events calendar for the Crystal Coast.
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 is federally protected by the National Park Service — official recognition of the barrier islands, lighthouse and Shackleford Banks wild horses just offshore.
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
The destination marketing organisation for Carteret County — events, beach access maps and visitor information.
The state's official travel site, with regional trip ideas and seasonal guides.
National Park Service information on ferries, camping, lighthouse climbs and the wild horses.
Hours, tour times, trail maps and beach access for the restored Civil War fort.
Tickets, daily programmes and dive show times, ten minutes from both rentals.
Guided walking tours, historic homes and the Old Burying Ground in Beaufort.
NCDOT schedules and fares for state ferry routes along the coast.
Explore
Book direct
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.