Cost Effective Ways To Get To The Beach

Cost Effective Ways to Get to the Beach

Rising travel costs haven’t stopped families from enjoying beach vacations—and the Outer Banks of North Carolina is one of the reasons why. With flexible vacation rentals, miles of free beaches, and smart ways to save on travel, OBX vacations continue to offer exceptional value. With over 200 miles of sound and ocean coastline, almost every home is within walking distance to the water (if not right on the water), and there are plenty of amenity options to choose from. A beach vacation in the Outer Banks of North Carolina doesn’t have to come with a high price tag. From budget-friendly vacation rentals to smart travel planning, there are many ways to experience the OBX without overspending. Whether you’re planning a trip to Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills, Duck, Corolla, or Hatteras Island, these cost-effective tips can make your beach getaway surprisingly affordable.

Why Affordable Beach Travel Matters Right Now

With airfare prices fluctuating and families prioritizing meaningful travel, beach destinations that offer space, flexibility, and value are more popular than ever. The Outer Banks stands out because travelers can control costs—choosing when to go, where to stay, and how to spend—without sacrificing the beach experience.

The Rental Choice That Saves Travelers the Most Money

One of the most effective ways to reduce your total vacation cost is by choosing the right Outer Banks vacation rental. Compared to hotels, rental homes and condos offer more space, full kitchens, and better value—especially for families and groups.

Cost-saving rental tips:

• Look for off-season or shoulder-season stays in spring and fall
• Choose soundside or oceanside homes instead of oceanfront
• Take advantage of direct booking discounts
• Select homes with included amenities like pools, grills, and beach gear

Sometimes, Seaside Vacations creates special deals and promotions for select homes where you can save anywhere from 10%-20% off the rate! Also keep an eye out for a certain amount of money down or even promos, like free pool heat! Click here to see our current deals and exclusive offers (but hurry because these deals are only available for a limited time)!

Why Families and Friends Are Booking Together More Often

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Have you and your friend been talking about needing a vacation? Have you been planning a trip with your parents? Now is the time! From 2-bedroom condos to large, 10-bedroom luxury homes, Seaside Vacations has a home that will fit any friend or family group. Traveling with a group may seem challenging—everyone has to take the same week off, you have to figure out how much everyone needs to contribute, and you have to organize what to pack and what to buy. However, in the long run, taking a little time to prepare and organize these issues will be well worth it when you can afford a better rental simply by splitting the cost.

When you’re looking for a home, don’t be intimidated by a price tag that seems large and immediately write off the chance of a vacation. Instead, figure out what the actual cost would be per person, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how affordable it actually is to visit the beach. Let's look at a few examples. Assuming you need to give notice at work at least a month in advance, we'll look at a few available homes for the week of August 1st - 8th.

Break Down The Cost Per Person

First, we’ll look at the beautiful home, Lighthouse Pointe, in Colington (Kill Devil Hills). Located right on the sound and packed with amenities—including a private pool, elevator, hot tub, pool table and foosball—this home clearly is designed for fun and relaxation. The rent for that week is $7,057 with the option for our convenient and easy layaway plan! The house provides enough bed space to sleep UP TO 16 guests, but for this example, we’ll just assume that 5 couples (10 people) are traveling together. When you divide $7,057 by 10 people, you get a total of $706 per person* (or less than $100 per night per person). This is a great value for such a luxurious house, especially when the cost of just a single hotel room can range upwards of $400 per night on the Outer Banks in the summer. Breaking it down this way helps you realize it doesn't need to cost a fortune to spend some awesome time on the beautiful Outer Banks!

You might be saying, “That sounds great, but traveling with 10 people this late in the year isn’t feasible.” That’s okay too—we have smaller homes still loaded with amenities that still offer a much better value than a hotel. For this example, we’ll look at a 2-bedroom oceanfront condo in Nags Head. That’s right—Herpy has the added bonus of the Atlantic Ocean RIGHT in your back yard—you can't get closer to the beach than that! But how much will it cost for such a luxury? This time, we'll assume you and a few friends want to travel together and you’ve got 4 people signed up. For that same week, Herpy is just $3,055!* When you take the total and divide by 4 people, you end up with $764 per person for the week! Imagine waking up to the sun rising over the ocean every morning…and not even having to leave your house to see it. That’s money well spent!

*Remember that the rent amount listed does not include the required state and county sales tax or the guest service fee. Click “Book Now” on your desired week to get the total cost including these amounts. Should you choose to add any extras like Early Check-In, Beach Towel Rentals, Mid-Stay Cleans, Pet Fees, etc., your price will increase. Rates listed in this article for comparison purposes reflect the rate at the time this article was written and are subject to change.

Consider Other Shared Expenses

Now that you see how affordable a rental home can be when traveling with friends, consider the other expenses that will be shared among the group. Items like toilet paper, paper towels, drinks, snacks, and ingredients to prepare meals cost less when the expenses are shared. Suddenly, a $6.99 12-pk of toilet paper becomes $1.75 per person (when split between 4 people). Try making an itinerary of when you will cook in VS, going out, and create a menu ahead of time that everyone agrees on. Once you arrive, a dedicated team of shoppers from your group can go get everything on the list and then divide the total by the number of people in your group. You’ll be surprised how reasonable everything costs when you’re only responsible for a percentage of the total!

Plan Ahead for Contributing Your Share

Sometimes, the hardest part about sharing expenses is figuring out how to contribute your portion. If you get a couple of hundred bucks out of the ATM before your trip, you will, of course, receive all $20-dollar bills. When you get groceries, however, your portion may be $28.00, and no one has change. Do you give $20 and figure out how to pay someone $8.00 later? Do you give $40 and keep track of someone else needing to pay you back? This can get messy pretty quickly. To avoid the issue altogether, go into your bank when you withdraw money and ask for a collection of $20s along with plenty of $10s, $5s $1s. 

Don’t forget that during busy hours, most restaurants are unable to split up your bill by more than 2 separate parties. Instead, plan how you will handle a restaurant bill when you all go out together. Perhaps one of your group members wants to put the whole amount on their credit card to earn the reward points, meaning the rest of you can pay them back after dinner. If you have more than 4 people, charging a large meal might not be an option. Instead, plan to have 2 separate parties and then sit at the table in your pre-arranged groups. Let the waiter/waitress know immediately that one half of the table is on one bill and the other half is on a separate bill. This will make the total smaller and therefore, more manageable, which makes it easier to divide up the cost or allow one person to charge the total. If you’re paying your portion or the tip in cash, you'll be thankful you got smaller bills so you can give the exact amount you owe!

There’s an App For That

The expression, “There’s an app for that!” is totally applicable in this situation. If you’re generally someone who doesn’t use cash or you won’t be close to your bank and want to avoid extra ATM fees, there are many other ways to pay people. Consider using apps like PayPal, Square Cash, Zelle, Google Wallet, Cash App, or Venmo! These apps don't usually charge additional fees and make sharing payments super easy! You can also opt for immediate bank transfer (usually for a small fee) or both Cash App and Venmo also offer physical cards - meaning everyone can contribute and then you pay directly from the group pool, without ever touching your bank account. Talk about peace of mind! 

Use our Flexible, Interest-Free Layaway Plan and Pay Over Time

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One of the most challenging aspects of booking a vacation rental is having to pay a large upfront deposit. A vacation layaway plan allows you to secure your preferred Outer Banks rental early while spreading payments over time—without interest.

Why this helps travelers:

• Lock in the best direct price

• Avoid last-minute rate increases

• Make beach vacations more financially manageable

• Ideal for families planning months ahead

This strategy is especially useful for peak summer weeks in popular areas like Duck and Corolla. We get it—most of us don’t have thousands of extra dollars lying around and instead need to budget a vacation into our normal paychecks.

That’s why Seaside offers an awesome Layaway program! If you’re ready to start planning at least 3-6 months ahead, now is the time to book! Our layaway program has no hidden fees, no added interest, and lets you extend your payments over multiple months! Simply pick a day of the month that works best for you and get up to 14 months (length depends on the number of months between the time you book and the time of your vacation) to pay! This makes paying for a vacation much more manageable and affordable!

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Use Local Discounts and Guest Savings Programs

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Many Outer Banks vacation companies offer guest savings programs that provide discounts on dining, attractions, and activities.

Look for:

• Local coupons

• Seasonal promotions

• Guest loyalty programs

• Partner discounts for tours and experiences

These savings can quickly offset daily expenses.

GoGuide Coupons

The GoGuide Coupon book is presented each year by the Outer Banks Visitor’s Guide. This guide is filled with useful coupons for visitors and is broken down into three simple categories—shopping, dining and activities—making it easier than ever to find a coupon that might be useful to you. These coupons can also be accessed online.

Follow Businesses On Social Media

Another great way to find good deals and promotions is to follow your favorite local business on social media! You never know when your favorite restaurant may be having a steamed shrimp happy hour or an all-you-can-eat feature. Before you go out, scroll through your feed or visit a company's Facebook/Instagram page to get the latest information on what might be going on that night.

Club Seaside

When you stay with Seaside Vacations, you are eligible for exclusive promotions and discounts just for being our guest! Club Seaside is a partnership between our company and different local companies designed to provide our guests with exclusive offers, discounts, promotions and complimentary deals! All Seaside guests are automatically eligible for Club Seaside–there is no membership or additional cost. Visit our Club Seaside Page to find deals on activities and adventures, rentals and gear, tours and charters, food and wine, art and history, health and wellness, and essentials/services or click here to learn more about how Club Seaside works. 

*We have the GoGuide Coupon book in our lobby along with several brochures for local businesses (all materials are free). We are also always happy to answer any questions you have or make suggestions if you’re looking for something fun to do so feel to stop by!

Follow these simple tips for cost-effective ways to get to the beach, and you'll be enjoying an Outer Banks Vacation in no time (without breaking the bank!) Click the button below to get started by finding your perfect rental!

Take Advantage of Free and Low-Cost Outer Banks Activities

The Outer Banks offers many free or inexpensive attractions, perfect for budget-conscious travelers.

Popular low-cost OBX activities:

• Beach days and shell hunting

• Jockey’s Ridge State Park

• Bodie Island and Cape Hatteras Lighthouses

• Soundside sunsets

• Fishing, crabbing, and kayaking

• Seasonal festivals and local events

Drive Instead of Fly When Possible

For many East Coast travelers, driving to the Outer Banks is significantly more affordable than flying.

Driving advantages:

• No baggage fees

• Easier transport of beach gear

• Ability to split gas costs

• Flexible arrival times

Visitors from Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, and Pennsylvania often find driving to be the most economical option.

The Best Months for a Cheaper Outer Banks Vacation

Spring and fall are among the best times to visit the Outer Banks on a budget.

Shoulder-season benefits:

• Lower rental rates

• Fewer crowds

• Pleasant weather

• Better availability

• Easier dining and activity reservations

September, October, April, and May are especially popular with budget-savvy travelers.

Travel pricing and availability can vary by season. These tips reflect current Outer Banks travel trends and booking strategies.