Beaufort, NC

A converted historic boathouse at the end of Front Street — the longtime Front Street Grill at Stillwater, now rebranded The Rhumbar — serving coastal fare with a Caribbean lean and rum cocktails like the signature Painkiller. The dining room and waterfront bar look straight across Taylor's Creek to Carrot Island, so you can watch wild ponies graze while you eat. Every seat feels like a window seat.

Beaufort's original tapas spot, tucked in an alley off Front Street, where the whole point is ordering too much and sharing everything. The menu swings between local seafood and global flavors — ceviche sits next to lamb chops — and the wine list runs 80-plus bottles. The room is small and candlelit; locals pack it on weekends.

A bistro in a white clapboard building on Queen Street that does double duty — relaxed deli sandwiches and homemade soups at lunch shift to a proper dinner menu of fresh fish, lamb, and seasonal specials come evening. The garden patio out back is a neighborhood secret. The desserts are made in-house and not an afterthought.

A wood-fired pizza spot on the Front Street boardwalk with Rachel Carson Reserve views straight from the outdoor deck. The pies lean Neapolitan with a local twist — blue crab dip arrives as an app and there's a rotating cast of seasonal toppings. Best for a casual lunch or afternoon after a morning on the water.

Operating in the same building as a 1905 waterfront grocery store, this downtown staple does seafood and pub food without any pretension. The fish sandwiches and local catch are the move; the upstairs bar area gets lively. A solid choice when you want something reliably good in the middle of a busy day of wandering.

A three-story restaurant on Front Street with a rooftop Sky Deck that gives you 360-degree views over Taylor's Creek and the harbor. The kitchen runs Caribbean-coastal flavors — think seafood with island sauces and fresh-caught local fish — with a wine list that's won Wine Spectator recognition several years running. Best at sunset.

The kind of neighborhood deli that anchors a downtown — good sandwiches, salads, local wine, and craft beer in a friendly room on Turner Street. Breakfast and lunch are the play here; it's a one-stop grab-and-go or sit-down spot that locals use as a daily rhythm. Friday family meals are a weekly institution for regulars.

A tiny French bakery on Broad Street operating three days a week — baguettes Thursday and Friday, croissants and viennoiseries Saturday only. The owner learned to bake in France and it shows: the crust on the baguettes crackles and the croissants are laminated properly. Beaufort has been quietly obsessed since it opened.

Turner Street's all-day anchor — specialty coffee and pastries from early morning shift into wine and sandwiches by afternoon. It fills the gap between breakfast spots and dinner reservation territory with a relaxed room that locals use for laptop work, long lunches, and pre-dinner bottles. One of the more comfortable spots in town to linger.

Out at the Beaufort Hotel on Lennoxville Road with a dock-to-table menu that draws heavily from what the local fleet brings in that morning. The dining room overlooks Taylor's Creek and the views at dusk across to the marsh are genuinely good. More of a destination dinner than a casual stop — worth the short drive from downtown.

The signature trail at Fort Macon State Park, a 3.3-mile loop through maritime forest, salt marsh, and coastal dunes with multiple boardwalks and a sound-side canopied section. The variety packed into a short trail is what makes it: you move from open dune views to a cathedral of live oaks in under a mile. AllTrails rates it 4.7 with 1,600-plus reviews for a reason.

A 2.5-mile easy beach walk along the Atlantic-facing shore of Fort Macon State Park, with the old Civil War fort at one end and open sea for the full length. It's more of a beach ramble than a technical hike, but the fort ruins give it a destination. Good for families who want to combine history with a beach day without committing to a full trail.

A short boardwalk trail through maritime forest and salt marsh in Atlantic Beach that feels miles removed from the beach strip just behind you. The creek-side section has good wading bird sightings — herons and egrets are regular — and the wooden walkway keeps you dry through the marsh sections. An underused 20-minute stop that earns its slot between beach hours.

The undeveloped Core Banks of Cape Lookout stretch for 56 miles of shell-covered beach accessible only by ferry, with the iconic black-and-white diamond-patterned lighthouse at the southern end. There are no paved roads, no concessions, no facilities — just barrier island walking as isolated as it gets on the East Coast. A full-day or overnight commitment, not a casual stroll.

The simplest way to reach Carrot Island, Bird Shoal, and Sand Dollar Island — a small passenger ferry departing from the Front Street dock every 30 minutes in season. The real draw is the combination of shell hunting, wild horse sightings, and safe swimming beaches with no cars. Staff know where the horses are roaming and will adjust the drop point accordingly.

Catamaran tours out of the Front Street docks running dolphin-spotting cruises, Cape Lookout trips, and sunset sails. The boat is spacious enough that you don't feel stacked on top of each other, and the crew makes the experience — they know where the dolphins are working and read the inlet well. The sunset cruise is the most popular and most worth booking ahead.

The 1967 English double-decker bus that rolls through the historic district is the most eccentric and enjoyable way to get a 45-minute overview of Beaufort's 300-year history. The guides don't read from a card — they give proper storytelling about pirates, maritime trade, and colonial life. You can also book walking tours of the Old Burying Ground that go deeper into the cemetery stories.

A neighborhood brewery on Lennoxville Road named for the lumber mill that once sat on the site, complete with a 4:45pm daily whistle that signals the end of the work day and the start of happy hour. Small rotating tap list, patio with picnic tables, and a genuinely local crowd that isn't chasing Instagram moments. The kind of place you stay longer than you planned.

A dive bar in a century-old former bakery behind Clawson's on Middle Lane, appearing on Southern Living's list of the South's best dive bars and earning it with a room that looks unchanged since the 1980s. Pool tables, pinball, cheap beer, and a crowd that runs from fishermen to visiting sailors who just tied up at the dock. Exactly what it sounds like.

The best free stop in Beaufort, with artifacts recovered from the Queen Anne's Revenge — Blackbeard's flagship wrecked off the coast in 1718 — displayed alongside exhibits on the state's commercial fishing heritage and coastal ecology. It reads faster than you'd expect but rewards slowing down. Cross the street after for the Harvey Smith Watercraft Center where you can watch wooden boats being built.

A colonial cemetery a block off Front Street dating to around 1731, where captains, soldiers, and early settlers are buried under Spanish moss-draped oaks. The carved stones and weathered epitaphs tell the actual history of the town in a way no museum can. People come for history in the day and ghost tours run through in the evenings.

A cluster of nine restored 18th- and 19th-century buildings on a block of Turner Street, including a courthouse, apothecary, jail, and doctor's office, all open for guided tours. The double-decker bus that does the 45-minute historic district loop is the most efficient way to cover the town if you're only here for a day. The guides are genuinely knowledgeable, not just reciting a script.

An undeveloped barrier island across Taylor's Creek — Carrot Island, Bird Shoal, Horse Island, Town Marsh — reachable by ferry or kayak from the Beaufort waterfront. The reserve is home to a herd of wild horses that have grazed the islands since the 1940s and over 200 bird species. You walk the primitive trails, watch ponies graze along the shore, and feel like you've stepped entirely outside of time.

A nine-mile undeveloped barrier island at the southern end of Cape Lookout National Seashore, with wide shell beaches and a herd of around 100 free-roaming Banker Ponies descended from Spanish mustangs. The ferry from Beaufort takes about 20 minutes and deposits you on a shoreline that looks like it hasn't changed in centuries. Strong shelling, strong swimming, no facilities — come prepared.

A working boatbuilding shop across the street from the Maritime Museum where traditional North Carolina wooden boats are built and restored on the floor while visitors watch from a mezzanine gallery above. The craftsmanship on display is legitimate — these aren't decorative props — and the workers answer questions cheerfully. Short stop that pairs naturally with the museum.