Get the scoop on a Topsail Island Beach Vacation for Families…a gorgeous island with so much to offer for all ages, including some of the most beautiful beaches.
We snuck away for a week to Topsail Island, a 26 mile barrier island in North Carolina. It was one of the best weeks ever! We had been wanting to plan a beach vacation for awhile, and started looking at different areas. After a lot of research on the best (and least crowded) beaches for families, we decided it was the perfect place to go.
Topsail Island Beach Vacation for Families
We found a house on the beach in Surf City on the island, which ended up being the exactly what we wanted. It had plenty of space, a pool, and was just steps from a quiet beach. With six kids, ranging from younger up to teenagers, we needed some place that would work for all of them. And it did!
Some of the highlights included:
- Walking into town to eat at Hog Diggity Dogz, Shaka Taco, and have Hawaiian shave ice.
- Morning and evening walks along the beach…the kids collected hundreds of seashells that washed up with the tide, and discovered sea creatures too! (That were also washed up…)
- Super soft sand that was perfect to play in, build castles with, and pour water on.
- Shallow water for a long way out…making it easy for even the little ones to enjoy the water.
- Incredible waves that were made for boogie boarding and playing for hours in.
- Quieter beach that had no crowds–even on the hotter days.
- Walking distance to the pier, and close to other attractions in the area.
- We saw a lot of people fishing, so if that’s something you love, it’s another plus!
- Walking distance to a small grocery store, but larger stores just two miles down the road, off of the island.
This was our view from the balcony, where we were able to enjoy the gorgeous beach even from afar! And the sunrise? So beautiful over the water!
Definitely plan on bringing or buying boogie boards. It was the highlight of the week for my bigger kids–8+. My littler ones still enjoyed the waves without the boards, and closer to the shore. They all loved jumping in them,–and spent hours doing so. It was stormy a couple of the days we were there, but it didn’t rain all day. That made the waves a little bigger, so it was even more exciting! We saw a lot of surfers on the water, and fishermen too.
Collecting seashells was also a big part of our week. The tide would bring in so many different ones each morning, and it was so fun to take a pail and pick them up. As we walked along the beach, there were a few places that had more shells than others, like this picture above. It was fascinating to see them all together!
Every morning and evening we’d walk along the beach. It was one of the best parts of the day. The sparkling water, crash of the waves, soft sand between your toes—absolute perfection. The kids ran up and down looking for sea creatures, shells, and splashing in the foamy surf that came to shore.
These fascinating creatures also washed up along the beach, and my kids had to stop and look at them every time we walked by.
At the end of the week, we had exactly what we were looking for. We can’t wait to go back!
Things to do on Topsail Island:
- Permuda Island Coastal Reserve
- North Topsail Beach Town Park
- Seaview Pier (one of the longest piers in North Carolina!)
- Surf City Ocean Pier
- Jolly Roger Pier (lots of activities there too!)
- Missiles and More Museum
- Intercoastal Waterway & Lea Island
Learn even more about what North Topsail Beach,NC and Surf City on their websites!
Other places to travel to…
- The Best Maine Family Vacation
- Family Ski Trip to Mont Tremblant in Quebec
- Top 10 Places to Visit Near Niagara Falls
Miranda Mann says
What a fun post! My husbands cousin has a home here and so does my Grandma! We love about an hour from Topsail beach.
Old Salt Farm says
Oh, so lucky!! We so enjoyed our stay there, and hope to go back!!