How Much We Actually Spent on a Spring Break Trip to the Outer Banks, NC
This was our third year heading to the Outer Banks in North Carolina for spring break. Mike and I got married on Roanoke Island back in 2011, so this place holds a special spot in our hearts. Now that we live within driving distance, we try to get back as often as we can (which is usually once a year).
Spring break feels like a sweet spot for the Outer Banks: significantly cheaper than peak summer season, way less crowded, and (knock on wood) we’ve lucked out with the weather at the end of March/early April.
Here are all our spending details…
Logistics
Who: 2 adults, 2 kids
How long: 5 days, 4 nights
Accommodations: AirBnb with a full kitchen, walking distance to the water and dunes
What We Spent
Accommodations: $965
We definitely could have found something cheaper, but we’ve stayed at this place before and had a great experience so we paid a little more to know exactly what we were getting
Dining Out: $253
One nice dinner out, one night of takeout pizza, and three ice cream trips (we love our ice cream!)
Food on the road: $45
Snacks and one lunch during the drive home
Groceries: $149
One pre-trip grocery run for snacks plus two trips at the beach for a few items. We brought a lot of our own food (too much!), we’ll probably scale back during future trips and just shop when we get there.
Entertainment: $89
A visit to the gardens where we were married and mini golf
Gifts: $49
A stop at the gift shop in the gardens, a craft store E wanted to check out, and one of those ridiculous beach stores that sells everything and is completely overwhelming and overstimulating 😅
Misc: $48
EZ-pass auto-re-up for tolls and a few pre-trip odds and ends
Total: $1,597*
*We must have paid for gas with cash because there aren’t any transactions showing up right before or right after the trip. It’s been about $60 to fill up our car so our total plus gas was likely between $1657 and $1717.
Did We Spend What We Expected?
I guess?! I didn’t go into the trip with a specific number in mind. We knew our lodging costs going into the trip and I remembered we spent about $150 on a nice dinner out the previous year, which put costs at $1,115. I figured a couple hundred on top of that would account for everything else we’d spend money on, so just below $1,600 was within the realm of possibilities. Overall, I feel good about our trip costs. We did all the things we wanted to do and didn’t feel like we were constantly worrying about how much things cost (it’s taken a long to time get to that place though!).
How Did We Fund Our Trip?
All travel related purchases went on a credit card that we pay off each month. We pulled the AirBnB bill from our savings bucket that sits in a larger high yield savings account (so it’s earning interest until we need it). All other expenses came out of our regular monthly income. Most expenses hit in April, which had some higher than usual non-travel expenses across a few budget categories (health/medical, kid activities, and clothing). We did end up going over budget for April, it was a perfect storm of a whole lot of things hitting at once. Instead of pulling money from savings we decided to lower our budgeted Flexible Spending amounts for May, essentially borrowing from May to cover the overage in April.
Our Favorite Spots on the Outer Banks in NC*
*Nags Head and Roanoke Island areas
Jockey's Ridge State Park (free): Huge sand dunes. Excellent for exhausting your children. Kite festival during early April was a hit with our kids.
Soundside Beach (free): Great for younger kids. Very calm water, and you can walk out really far. Worth checking water quality reports before you go, especially in warmer months. We spotted kite boarders this trip, which was a huge hit with the kids.
Surfin' Spoon ($): A family favorite. Soft-serve frozen yogurt/gelato, ice cream sandwiches, and lots of vegan options. We've gone every single year.
Keyz Ice Cream ($): A new one for us this trip. New Zealand-style ice cream with dairy-free options. Less sweet than traditional ice cream (which we appreciated). H had dairy-free vanilla with strawberries and sprinkles and it was so good.
Nags Head Pizza Company ($): So good! I wish we had this restaurant near us at home. They have vegan and gluten-free options too.
Elizabethan Gardens ($): Where we got married so obviously we're a little biased. But it really is beautiful, and they've added a fairy hunt for kids that kept our 4-year-old completely occupied.
Mutiny Bay Adventure Golf ($): Second year going. Good variety of holes, never felt rushed even with a steady stream of other visitors.
Dune Street Grill ($): Second time here. Great spot for a nicer dinner out, definitely make reservations.
Downtown Manteo (free to walk around): Definitely worth a stroll. There's a playground, a lighthouse, cute shops, and waterfront views. A nice low-key afternoon.
NC Aquarium on Roanoke Island ($): We didn't make it this year, but it's a good option for rainy days. Our wedding reception was held there, so again, we’re biased. Great for kids, but it gets busy on rainy days, buy tickets ahead of time.
