Brunswick Islands

I genuinely don’t understand why more people aren’t talking about the Brunswick Islands. And I’ve thought about this a lot, because by any reasonable measure this stretch of the North Carolina coast has everything: wide uncrowded beaches, warm shallow water, spectacular shelling, a car-free island accessible only by ferry, sea turtle nesting, some of the most beautiful sunsets on the East Coast and yet it consistently flies under the radar while the Outer Banks and Myrtle Beach get all the attention. The only explanation I can come up with is that the Brunswick Islands simply don’t market themselves very hard. Which, honestly, might be the most Brunswick Islands thing about them.

Running from Bald Head Island in the north down through Oak Island, Caswell Beach, Holden Beach, Ocean Isle Beach, and Sunset Beach, this is a region that rewards the travelers who seek it out with something increasingly rare on the Carolina coast: genuine peace and quiet. Bald Head Island bans cars entirely and makes you get around by golf cart, which changes the whole mood of a vacation in ways that are hard to explain until you’ve experienced it. Oak Island lets you watch both sunrise and sunset from the same shoreline. Sunset Beach sits beside Bird Island Reserve, undeveloped and accessible only on foot, one of the last truly wild places on the North Carolina coast. If you’re ready to get off the beaten path, this is where you go.