Honeymoon Destination and Accomodations? Asheville vs Outer

Banks...

I really don%26#39;t know which would make the best honeymoon. I am also at a loss at where to stay. I do love NC but I%26#39;ve only visited Carolina Beach and the Triangle. Neither of those are honeymoon-y (well Carolina Beach maybe but i got a superbad sunburn there so I don%26#39;t really want to go back).

I want to visit both the Outer Banks AND Asheville, but time does not allow to do both.

So can anyone give recommendations or pros and cons of Asheville vs Outer Banks and then the ideal place to stay at either location? We are thinking 4 nights or so.

THANK YOU in advance!

Honeymoon Destination and Accomodations? Asheville vs Outer

I think the mountains are quite romantic - spent part of our honeymoon there! What%26#39;s your budget? You could do a nice B%26amp;B or stay at the granddaddy - Grove Park Inn ( great spa!) or Inn at Biltmore. Or, you could rent a cabin. You might also consider the Boone/Blowing Rock area - a place such as Chetola Resort. I highly recommend the Bob Timberlake Inn there.

To me, the only lodging option at the beach is ocean front. Not much else is picturesque. but in the mountains, there%26#39;s a view around every corner!There are also great hikes and historical things to see..and shopping and dining.... more variety.

Best wishes.

Honeymoon Destination and Accomodations? Asheville vs Outer

This is such a personal decision it%26#39;s hard to say. The beach, and the mountains each have their own charm, romance, and unique benefits. It%26#39;s the ultimate ';apples and oranges'; question! If it were my choice, I would go to the area that is different from what you usually do. So, if you ski, and go to the mountains every year, I would make my honeymoon a beach trip. For me personally, it would set the trip apart, and really make it special, and different from my usual travel spots.

That being said, for the Outer Banks, I would think that Corolla would be a great spot. It%26#39;s is less crowded, beautiful homes, and some nice shops and restaurants. I would stop at the Harris Teeter store in Corolla for your groceries. Fairly new store, and very nice. There are some very nice places to eat there, too. 4 days will give you time to relax and enjoy Corolla, and also to drive south, and see Hatteras, etc.

As far as the mountains, I am not as familiar with places there, but if you go to VRBO.com, there are some great places to rent. We went to the mountains this October, and stayed in Boone. Rented through Blue Ridge Vacation Cabins. The cabin itself was beautiful, but the rental agency is terrible. So, do not rent from them, but do look at the rentals available. A lot of them have private decks, hot tubs, etc. The area is beautiful, and has a lot to do. Cannot comment on restaurants as we ate dinner in our cabin the 2 nights we were there, and we were camping the rest of the time.

Well, that is just it. I never go anywhere. I lived in IL my entire life and rarely went on vacations. I just moved to Iowa last year and that%26#39;s about as far as I go.

I guess I go to beaches more for vacations when I DO go, but just because I love the sound of the ocean.

I%26#39;ve never been to the mountains and I think that would be different and nice as well.

Thanks for your thoughts!

Another factor to the equation is when will you be taking your honeymoon. I enjoy the mountains tremendously, but if I had to pick to go somewhere it would be the beach 99% of the time. If you are going in the spring or summer, Asheville has a lot to offer. It is a beautiful part of the state and as a previous poster said, the Grove Park Inn is the gold standard for hotels in the area. Their spa is luxurious and they often have decent deals in the offpeak season. They downtown of Asheville has shops and places to hang out and the hiking and scenery is breathtaking.

As for the OBX you have a great deal of variety. My favorite location is Ocracoke island. It is a self maintained village without a hint of city life. They do not have a Mcdonalds or Starbucks, much less any other chain resaurant. It is only reachable by ferry and the locals that call it home year round mostly bike from place to place. Once you get outside of the village there is Highway 12 that runs from one side of the island to the other, the only thing seperatind you from ocean are the dunes. There are quite a few nice B%26amp;Bs that offer all the luxuries you could want and the island resaurants are great. Most of the island does not wake up from winter until mid April so keep that in mind. The rest of the OBXs are usually lively throughout the year and have more of the luxuries that we have grown accustomed to.

Both places are serene and relaxing and could offer you a wonderful honeymoon!

One other note: If you fly into Charlotte it will take 1.5-2 hours to reach Asheville vs anywhere from 4-8 hours to get to the OBX depending on your location.

If you fly into Raleigh, you can reach most locations in the OBX (or beach areas) in 2-4hrs and asheville will take you closer to 5 hrs.

Honeymoon are as unique as the couple. Joe and I have taken sever second honeymoons, and all have been in the mountains of western north carolina. The beauty and serenity it out of this world. And for a really nice trip take one up the blue ridge parkway, and take a picnic lunch, stop take pictures, wade along the edge of the river, sit and talk a little, take a nice blanket for when it warms during the day and set down and enjoy your picnic. One day when we were on the parkway enjoying a beautiful day picnicking and all of the sudden we heard a noise, we set very still and was able to watch and elk move across the field. Things like this you never forget.

EG:

You can not go wrong at either place. The next question you need to ask if you decide on the mountains is what do you want to do?

If you are looking for nightlife, clubs and bars then stick with Asheville. If you want a place with peace and quiet, do some rafting, hiking or sight seeing then check out the Smokies to the southwest or the Blue Ridge to the north.

I live in Sylva, so I am partial to the Smokies region which is Maggie Valley, Sylva, Dillsboro, Franklin, Cherokee and Bryson City. Bryson City is surrounded by Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Nantahala National Forest. There is tons of hiking there, white water paddle sports, mountain biking, horse back riding and boating on Lake Fontana. There are lots of great cabins, B%26amp;Bs and more here.

I have been to Boone a few times and it is a wonderful spot as well. I do not know as much about it as the central mountains here.

Congrats on the engagement.