What We Spent on a Weekend in Carolina Beach, NC (Family Budget Breakdown)
In September 2025 we spent a long weekend in Carolina Beach, North Carolina (about a 4-hour drive from home) celebrating good friends who are getting married next spring. They rented a giant beach house and invited several families to join (and even covered meals). Incredibly generous!
It was such a wonderful weekend: great food, easy conversation, and plenty of exhausted kids (and parents). Because our friends covered so much, our spending was far lower than it would’ve been for a typical beach trip. Most of what we spent went toward travel, food on the road, and a few extras.
What We Spent
Our friends went above and beyond, paying for the beach house, several shared meals, and even a trip to get ice cream. We bought some groceries to contribute and covered gas, dining on the road, snacks, and souvenirs.
Gas: $63
Two fill-ups, one on the way there, one on the way back.Dining Out (on the road): $120
We grabbed dinner and snacks during both drives. On the way down, we only bought dinner for E and H, since Mike and I packed wraps from food that needed to be used up at home.Entertainment (on the road): $9
Mike likes to stop at a thrift shop before long car rides to pick up a few games or toys for entertainment. This time: puzzles (regular and 3D wooden), a game, and something artsy/crafty.Dining Out (at the beach): $87
Ice cream, coffee runs, a wine slushie, and a few small snacks outside the group meals.Groceries (for the group): $61
Fruit, snacks, and food H would eat.Souvenirs: $58
A few things for the kids from the Carolina Beach Market.
Total: $398
Did Our Spending Change with Lodging and Meals Covered?
Definitely. I felt much less hesitation saying yes to souvenirs or little extras when E and H wanted something. That being said, beach shops can be dangerous territory, everything tempts them, so I tried to focus on things we couldn’t easily get at home (no random plastic toys!).
What Helped Keep Costs Low
Packing snacks and meals for the car:
Mike and I packed our own dinners for the drive, so we only needed to buy meals for the girls. Leftover snacks came in handy at the beach house, too.Cooking at the house:
All main meals were eaten at the house, no restaurants. We did go out for ice cream twice, but otherwise kept food costs down.Free activities:
The beach, the boardwalk, Carolina Beach Lake and playground, and Carolina Beach State Park, all free and a lot of fun.Generous friends:
The biggest savings came from our friends covering the house and groceries (obviously!).
Our Favorite Spots in Carolina Beach, NC
Carolina Beach Boardwalk (free)
Carolina Beach Lake Park + Brandy Myers Memorial Playground (free)
Carolina Beach Market (free to browse, one vendor even gave E and H shark teeth!)
Carolina Beach State Park (we spotted a Venus flytrap in the wild!) (free)
Ice cream at Celtic Creamery
Dairy-free ice cream for H at Latella at the Beach
The Veggie Wagon: wine slushies (the prosecco with peach/pear mix-in was amazing), THC seltzer, banana bread, and warm cookies. They also had great-looking grab-and-go meals.
If you’re planning a trip to Carolina Beach, I hope this breakdown gives you a sense of potential costs to expect beyond housing/groceries, plus a few ideas for fun and free local activities. I’ll be sure to post again when we take a vacation and cover all the costs ourselves! Though that might be a bit down the road, since it’s not in the budget right now!
