One of the best nights of our vacation was our sunset sail with Jill and Ryan!…read moreThe sailboat is gorgeous and the sail itself was both fun and relaxing- they were such great hosts. And the charcuterie was delicious. Thank you so much!!

Fabulous experience! Captain and mate both did a great job making us feel very special, a…read morepersonalized trip crafted to your preferences in music, food and drink. Lovely clean boat with comfortable seating, space to move around and spread out. Smooth sail on the sound ending with a beautiful sunset. The provided charcuterie and drinks were delicious and generous. Splurge on the rum cakes, they were so good!

If you think your kids have even the slightest interest in this Pirate Adventure - DO IT! My…read morehusband and I took our 6 year old niece and nephew, and they had a BLAST! If you have a lot of people going along, it can get pricey, but for us, it was worth every penny and the hour long drive down from the northern end of the island. The kids start off with a pirate tattoo - our little mateys decided on "PIRATES!" knuckle tattoos and a seashell - and getting dressed up in pirate garb. There are accessories too for purchase, but we told our niece and nephew that we could do ice cream after if they forego the swords. Thank God, they chose wisely. At that point, adult chaperones, just sit back, relax, and take some picture, because the crew takes care of everything. They sneak the kids through town onto the boat and take them through an adventure complete with finding a treasure map, firing water cannons at Stinky Pete the pirate, and sharing the booty. In reality, you're driving around in circles, and the ship's captain will have a few fun asides for the adults, but the kids really buy into it, and the crew is top notch. They really get into it, which I believe is saying something for these guys putting on multiple shows a day, many times a week.

What a fantastic voyage and show! We took our (just) 2 year old and 6 year old on the boat. Our…read moreolder one was definitely more into the action than the little one. The mate, Jinx, and "Captain Blarney" did a great job! The music was spot on and they kept the kids entertained the entire time. I loved it too! The pirate costume to borrow and tattoo was a nice way to start the adventure! The cost is pricey, but we all had a nice time! They have a tip jar out (well deserved) and it was nice they didn't even ask for a tip or stand there at the end of the voyage with the jar. If you have a little one 3-9 they'd probably love it too.

It's a chance you take when doing a tour like this but we had an amazing day and saw so many…read morehorses. The ride was comfortable and fun. It was a fun off-road adventure and money well spent in my opinion. I would recommend this tour to anyone visiting the area. It was my favorite part of our week long vacation.

We took a tour on April 24. Our guide was Booth. He was informative, attentive to his group and…read moreadapted to our request. He made sure the "photographers" in the group had plenty of time for their shots. When I dropped my phone in the sand, he turned around and found it quickly. We saw so many horses(and dolphin's)! This was the best horse tour we've taken.

Gretchen put together a marvelous customized trip for me to Australia last year. Since I'd never…read morebeen, I thought it was wise to engage professional assistance with the planning air & ground travel, lodging, & activities, as well as selecting appropriate insurances. She worked closely with me to find activities that were both interesting & fun, while staying within my budget. I think most agents would have encouraged me to take a cruise but I much prefer to spend my time experiencing the culture & the people, doing walking tours, kayaking, & spending time exploring. Gretchen really listened & built an amazing trip!! Although it's taken me quite a while to write this review, I think she deserves the highest recommendation for her tireless efforts to provide a smooth travel experience. She was happy to answer any questions & even provided me a detailed printed & electronic itinerary. Since I was traveling alone, I relied completely upon her expertise. I highly recommend her services!!

If I could give Gretchan Winterstein from Recharge travel a ten-star review, I would. I found her…read moreby googling. Her website is very professional. Gretchan worked with us for months planning flights, seats, hotels, location, tours, eurostar train tickets. Our trip was US to Germany to London and home. Gretchen made us an itinerary printed everything had it all in order with the exact airline seats, class of tickets/seats and followed any airline changes. She collected all the tickets for tours and any tickets we needed printed them and mailed them in a packet to us. She followed our trip via email to make sure we had everything, and things were going as planned. She made sure we had travel insurance and a checklist of everything we needed to take care of for international travel. She is very well educated and prepared. She truly cared that our trip was exactly as we imagined and dreamed of. I would recommend her to, not just anyone, but everyone! I am not a friend or family member. This review is from a real customer. I have already begun to plan a cruise for next year with her.

The Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center has plenty of parking. The center is divided into two…read moresections, one area for restrooms and another area with a gift shop and state travel brochures. They have brochures for places all over the state and some for Virginia as well. There was a note to limit yourself to 7 but I was provided with a bag and encouraged to take more as I gathered ideas for future trips. The staff was very friendly and provided suggestions on other stops to make in the area. You can walk to the boardwalk that is against the canal and read some of the signboards and markers.

Perfect weather to be outdoor? Then head on over to the dismal swap trail. It's not really a hike…read morethrough the trails tail. Great for bike rides with the family. Running a race? Then this is the place for you to practice on asphalt and not worry about cars. Plenty of parking available and restrooms are available in the parking area as well. They do have a boat ramp available as well!

our 1030 cruise got canceled so they were able to reschedule us and comp us alcoholic beverages and…read moretreated us like VIPs on our afternoon cruise. We saw dozens of dolphins and the crew was very friendly and gave us a lot of history of the area.

This was our first dolphin/sunset cruise and we had a good time. Our captains were fun and had lots…read moreof stories and knowledge about the area. We had to drive quite a ways in order to find the dolphins, and we didn't see many up close, but dolphin sightings are not 100% guaranteed. The weather was not cooperating so we weren't able to see a sunset, but overall, it was a fun experience.

We were looking for a kayak rental location where we could get into the water onsite, and Kitty…read moreHawk Kites delivered! The process of renting and paddling out was really easy, and the customer service was great. There is some mismatched information online around hours and location, so I would call ahead to make sure this place has what you're looking for, but I highly recommend if you are visiting and looking for an easy kayak rental experience.

My travel companion and I were looking for a lowkey kayaking activity for an hour or two on a sunny…read moremorning. We did not want to take a tour so after calling around we were directed to the Kitty Hawk Nags Head - Whalebone destination as it was where you could directly launch kayaks into the water. The people were incredibly friendly and very helpful. They got us set up quickly with two single kayaks and gave us directions. We headed into the sound, which was a bit wavy but not bad, and then into the salt marshes, which were incredibly cool and very calm. It was a wonderful way to spend an hour! $30 for an individual kayak felt very reasonable and we appreciated that we didn't have to transport the boats.

Bottom: A fun and relaxing two-hour cruise on a 55-foot sailboat for which you can bring your own…read morefestive drinks and snacks. Having vacationed in Nags Head for the past 40+ plus I feel like I've done it all so when my husband mentioned taking a sunset cruise on Downeast Rover I was curious. I also vaguely recalled that I had seen this excursion featured in Our State magazine earlier in the summer. With the forecast looking favorable we signed up for a Friday evening sail in mid-August. We booked about 10 days in advance and at that time there were only a handful of spots left on the sailboat so next time I'll be mindful to book earlier. Downeast Rover does daytime trips as well but I suspect the sunset cruise is the most popular. I was worried that sailing on a sailboat with 20+ people would feel cramped and chaotic but it didn't at all. The group in the stern was very chill and the group in the bow was tastefully having a good time with their cooler of Trulis. My husband and I sat mid-ship and just quietly relaxed and took in all of the sights. We probably seemed disenchanted but we were just soaking it all in. About those Trulis . . . Downeast Rover welcomes passengers to bring food and drinks. Most groups brought something festive to drink and perhaps a snack. The nature of the sunset cruise is that it squarely goes through the dinner hour. I think we had to be on the Manteo waterfront at 5:30pm and we didn't return until after 8pm. We didn't take much in the way of drinks or snacks onboard with us because we hoped to get a nice dinner afterwards but by the time we got back to the slip most restaurants we wanted to try were closed. Sooo, in hindsight, maybe we should have taken some sandwiches from Poor Richard's to enjoy on the sail. And as a side note, we encountered an epic sunset so we lingered out on the sound a bit longer than planned which is why we didn't return until after 8pm. Also, the departure time for the cruise changes a bit to accommodate the sunset time. Chris was our Captain and he diligently steered us into the sunset. Mate Ethan kept us all entertained. Ethan shared a lot of interesting history and stories about the Outer Banks. Having spent a good bit of time studying the history of the barrier islands I thought I knew a lot but Ethan's knowledge really impressed me and was shared in an entertaining way. He also sang us a sea chanty or two which was fun. Which reminds me, be sure to bring cash to thank the crew for a safe and fun adventure. Regarding the Downeast Rover, I was expecting it to be a romantic historic wooden sailboat but it is straight out of the 80s! The steel 55 foot topsail schooner has been retrofitted and certified to accommodate 25 passengers. There is a head on board but its probably not very glamourous so I was sure to skip it. We were fortunately to have decent winds so we were able to get under sail after leaving the Manteo waterfront.

What an amazing journey - we didn't realize it was the last sunset tour of the season but Captain…read moreScott and Captain Ken gave us the best night! Peaceful views, education of the area and best of all - new friends both human and aquatic! They found a pod of dolphins that ran with us for nearly ten minutes! What a bonus! We can't wait to return!

This was easily the most fun we had on our recent vacation! We had a pretty mixed group with a lot…read moreof kids and some adults who were crabbing. I just came along for the ride and helped locate the little guys. At first, it seemed like it would be a project finding them, but every minute it gets darker, you realize you're surrounded. Between the beautiful sunset, kids having a ton of fun, and learning some about the local wildlife (we found a couple pregnant crabs!), it really was a great experience and we'll do it again for sure on our next trip. Fair warning though for my fellow mid-lifers -- if you're not much of a hiker/runner, walking through the sand dunes for a good two hours REALLY left me pretty sore! So plan a dip in the hot tub after if you've got one in the rental. :)

Awesome time, great guides, lots of crabs! Easy to set up, informative and exciting experience.read more

The boat ride was very informative about the 30ish dolphins we saw as well as other animals that we…read moresaw.

I chose this dolphin watch because of their guarantee to see dolphins during the high season. We…read morehad a nice time on our cruise. The captain and guide were very knowledgeable about the area and dolphins. We were able to see several dolphins on our trip. They get the children involved by having them do some science experiments. If you were looking to see dolphins I would highly recommend this company.