FAVORITE PLACE HERE. We spent hours finding the most amazing shells. The water is crystal clear and…read morethe wanes aren't bad at all. I would come back in a heart beat.

We had so much fun on Shackleford Island. We saw so many horses, found a lot of cool shells, and…read morethe beach was beautiful. It's about a 30 minute ferry ride from Beaufort. There is a restroom but NO amenities or food available for purchase. Bring everything you need with you. Once we arrived, there was a tour guide but it wasn't much of a tour. She walked us to the other side of the island to show us two horses on the beach and then walked all the way back to where we started to show us where to find the best shells. Her "tour" lasted about 30 minutes. We did most of the exploring on our own and that's when we found the majority of the horses. As long as you aren't looking for a super guided tour, this is a great day trip!

I'm a big fan of the Cape Lookout area and have been several times. This would be a new one…read more Instead of the usual approach of driving to Harkers Island and then taking the ferry from Island Express over to the Cape, I thought let's do something different. Instead, I made a reservation with AB WaterSports to do their jet ski tour which departs from their dock on the Atlantic Beach causeway and goes out to the lighthouse. The setup here is very easy. Head to the website and click the below link. Choose the date, number of people and the time, pay and after filling out the necessary safety waiver, you're ready. link.areservation.com/event/abwatersport www.abwatersport.com/rental-services/jet-skis-tours Admittedly, I had a more unique experience in that it was just me going out with Noah, more on him later. The upside to that was, within reason, for two hours where did I want to go and what did I want to see? If you need help with that, AB has a large map of the area and Mike the owner can more than help you out with suggestions. I was easy and basically told Noah whatever he wanted to do and that I just wanted to head all the way to The Point on Cape Lookout, on a Google Map it would be Cape Lookout Shoals and on the way back I wanted to head close-ish to the Port of NC at Morehead City since they were busy with several ships loading at the time. No problem on either request. The ride in both directions is a hell of a lot of fun. Rippin' away dong 50-ish MPH while occasionally catching air from the wave of another passing boat or two...yeah, that's a hell of a lot of fun. Plenty of time at Cape Lookout, or if you want, Shackleford Banks or probably both for a bit to take some pictures, have water and enjoy the amazing weather. We got down to The Point, saw a pod of dolphins very close by and on the way back I got to see marine activity with two ships getting loaded at the same time. Regarding Noah...great dude. He knew all the best routes to see everything that could have been seen while always looking behind to make sure I was still there and checking up every now and again to make sure everything was going well. A+ Let me finish with this: Should you come to Atlantic Beach in general? Yes Should you come to AB Water Sports for any of their offerings ? Yes Will you have the time of your life? Resoundingly, Hell! Yes! I'll be back.

Fun 2 hr. guided tour of isle. Would definitely repeat next time we're down visiting. Business…read morefriendly and guide knowledgeable and helpful in our trek to lighthouse.

We booked the Crystal Coast Lady Cruises dinner cruise on July 2, 2026, from 7-9 p.m. for our…read morefamily and extended family, which included one toddler, four children, two teens, and six adults. My husband and I paid close to $800 for our group. Because we had several small children with us, I specifically chose tables close to the buffet, knowing that the adults would need to help make plates for the kids. Anyone who has done a buffet with little ones understands that it often takes multiple trips to get everyone settled and fed. I went through the line to get my food and food for my niece, then realized my sister was holding the toddler and also needed a plate, along with my other four-year-old niece. My husband was helping our other children at the time, and my family was still in the buffet line. I stepped beside my elderly parents, who were getting their food, and said, "Sorry, I forgot two more plates." At that point, the man serving yelled, "Ma'am, STOP!" His tone and behavior were completely unnecessary and embarrassing. I was not cutting in front of another party or trying to get extra food unfairly. I was simply helping feed the children in our group -- a group we had paid a significant amount of money for. The way I was treated was rude, humiliating, and completely unacceptable. It felt as though I was being scolded for trying to get food that we had already paid for. For a family dinner cruise, there should be some understanding that adults may need to assist young children at the buffet. Unfortunately, based on this experience, I would not recommend this dinner cruise for families with small children. If your children will need help getting food from the buffet, this is not a family-friendly experience. We left feeling disappointed and disrespected.

We had a wonderful time tonight. Good food, great music and beautiful scenery. We got to see wild…read morehorses and lots of dolphins. The sunset was spectacular. Our crew was super friendly and gave us lots of pointers about the area. Would definitely do it again!

One of our mornings while at the beach, my wife and I got up early and drove down to Fort Macon…read moreState Park. We were told this would be a good spot to find trails to go for a short run, and it was true. There was plenty of trails, to safely walk and run on, rather than along the busy road with beach bums driving by at crazy speeds. There is plenty of parking and nicely maintained trails we found. After our run, we decided to poke into the fort it self, which was free to enter, and we explored some of the space, and some of the educations exhibits. They had a little bit of something for everyone, and tried to make the visitors center exciting and fun for kids. I'd 100% visit this spot again, maybe when it's not so hot, but either way, we enjoyed our visit. The park and fort are well maintained, and preserved, with clean restrooms, and staff to answer any questions you might have.

Okay, this place is quite the gem of beaches in the area. Tons of free parking. Lots of shelters…read morewith grills. Convenient and clean bathrooms. Even a massive covered shelter with a snack bar and lockers to keep your stuff in. Oh yeah, did I mention all of this is FREE?? Even at 3:00pm, the beach wasn't over crowded and there was plenty of parking. On rainy days, you can forgo the beach and check out the Fort Macon museum. There are even trails you can walk! Not hard to spend an entire day here! There were park rangers patrolling to keep everyone safe and maintain the beauty of the park. Not much more you can ask for.

I cannot recommend Captain Oliver enough! We had the most fun, joyful experience with him. He…read moreunderstood our needs (I.e. that I do poorly with ocean motion) and adapted without complaint. My ten year old said our day with him was the best day of her life. Please, if you're considering chattering a boat to visit a few islands and skip the rigid cookie-cutter experience offered by others - CALL CAPTAIN OLIVER!

HIGHLY RECOMMEND CAPT. OLIVER!! Went on a 2 hour dolphin charter with captain Oliver and It was…read moreAMAZING!! He is the nicest guy and knew everything about the area and animals. Him being so knowledgeable of the area was huge since we did this to see more of the east coast (we are from the west coast). We saw wild horses, beautiful houses and SO many dolphins. My daughters favorite part was when she got to "drive" the boat. He was the best captain we could have asked for. This tour exceeded our expectations!!

This was what I needed getting out on the water was the highlight of my trip!…read more Thank you CA John for an awesome sunset tour it's a beautiful scene! Thank you so much!!! We brought a small cooler so we didn't get thirsty ... carry on carry off keep it clean! The tours are very reasonable $20-$25 a person on a smaller charming boat. I'd get advance tickets if you want to do this tour maybe holds 10-12 people, we had 7. I can't believe I didn't get a photo of the boat, ooops!

We were so exited to take the boat tour and see the wild horses. Unfortunately we didn't get to…read moresee any horses on this particular day. The tour guide said it was probably because it had been too hot and humid for the horses. We did get to see lots of birds. My only compliant about the tour was that it was very difficult to hear the tour guide over the sound of the boat engine. Waterbug Tours takes reservations and walk ups. I believe it was $18 a person for a 45-60 minute tour by boat that takes you out to the island and through the harbor. The inside of the boat was cleaned and sanitized between trips that took place every hour. I had a great time and learned a lot about Beaufort. I really wish we had been able to see some horses but that's not their fault. I'd totally take the tour again.

Such a great playground for kids of all ages! I love the foam padding instead of sand or wood…read morechips! It's spaced out while still being close enough to watch everyone. When we visited, the splash pad wasn't opened yet, but my son (14 months old) adored this area of the playground! I couldn't recommend this enough!!

This park is wonderful. We were there on a very hot day and the only suggestion would be for a…read morelighter colored turf. The whole place is covered in a rubber like substance which is great for falls but it was red and black in some places and blue and black. Outside of the water area the flooring was way to hot for our toddlers bare feet. We had to be very careful when moving from the water area to the dry areas. But wow is this a cool park. Lots to do with a wide age group.

Fun for all! This is 100% geared towards kids, but Captain Spike definitely throws in some adult…read morehumor too. The trip is perfect amount of time for the kids to not get bored. Mrs Fettuccini was great and remembered every kids name. The treasure was icing on the cake - my kids loved it. Absolutely a must do when in the area.

This tour was amazing. Took the evening Ghost Float tour. It was fun exciting ghostly and had…read moregreat story's the staff was great. Definitely worth the visit.

Great activity for a rainy beach day. Highly recommend booking the first available time as seating…read morefor adults is limited as well as the parking. Clean, family run business. Delicious coffees and reasonably priced snacks. 2 hour play time for $12 was worth it! No fee for adults. The owner came around consistently to ask if people needed anything and to occasionally monitor play areas for safety. Highly recommend!

Another fun day at this indoor playground! We love coming in. Still holding there wonderful…read moreservice, and amazing drinks! The ambiance is so nice and chill for this time of day. Highly recommend this place if you have littles like me. My sons 1 1/5 and its perfect for him. He can practically do everything they offer.