When it comes to accommodations, just like every other thing on the Outer Banks, you can have it as small and peaceful or big and busy as you choose. Visitors looking to stay a night, several days, or a week can choose from a range of family-owned seaside motels to multiple-story franchises of national lodging chains. The farther south you go, the fewer chain-owned accommodations you'll find; in fact, they almost disappear. And north of Kitty Hawk, you'll find only two hotels and two bed-andbreakfasts. In recent years, elegant inns and a variety of bed-and-breakfast establishments have opened their doors-offering a little more luxury and personal attention than the traditional barrier island hotels.

A few of these motels and hotels require two-night minimums on the weekends, and many require at least three-day stays for Memorial Day weekend, July Fourth weekend, and Labor Day weekend, since those are, by far, the busiest times on these barrier islands. A lot of Outer Banks hotels also have suites, efficiency apartments, and cottage units that rent by the day or week. Of course, you can stay in any room in any of these accommodations for a week or longer if you wish.

More and more, however, the Outer Banks is a vacation rental destination, where an increasing number of private homes rent by the week rather than hotel rooms renting by the night. In Dare County alone (excluding the Currituck beaches and Ocracoke) there are approximately 13,500 rental cottages compared with 3,000 or so rooms or apartment- style rooms in hotels, bed-and-breakfast inns, and cottage courts. Modest cottages that offer comfort and convenience line the ocean from Kitty Hawk through Hatteras Village. Many families and groups of friends choose to rent these cottages for a week's vacation or longer. Companies that lease these properties are included in our Weekly and Long-Term Cottage Rentals chapter.

If you're planning a summer stay on the Outer Banks, call early for reservations. Most accommodations are filled to capacity from early June through the first week of September. Sometimes, you can obtain walk-in rooms during the week; however, if you know the exact week or weekend that you're planning to visit, your best bet is to book a room immediately.

Locations are indicated by milepost and town. Most of the hotels, motels, and inns are along North Carolina Highway 12. A few line U.S. Highway 158, which is also called the Bypass. Roanoke and Ocracoke Islands have several tucked beneath the trees off the beaten paths. Bed-andbreakfast inns are becoming more popular on the Outer Banks, with the largest numbers on Roanoke and Ocracoke Islands. There are now more than 180 bed-andbreakfast rooms on the Outer Banks.

Rates vary dramatically from one area of the Outer Banks to another, from oceanfront rooms to those across the highway, between in- and off-season times, and especially depending on the amenities offered with each unit. In general, fall, winter, and early spring prices are at least one-third lower than midsummer rates-sometimes as little as $30 per night. The most expensive season, of course, is from mid-June to mid-August, when rates in general range from $50 a night for two people with two double beds to nearly $380 per night in some of the fancier establishments.

Many hotels and motels honor AARP and other discounts and often allow children to stay free with paying adults.

More and more accommodations providers keep their doors open all year, catering to fall fishing parties, spring visitors, and people who like the Outer Banks best in winter when few others are around. If you prefer isolation at the beach and don't mind wind and temperatures in the 40s and 50s, November through February is a wonderful time to visit. September and October, however, are our favorite months. The ocean is still warm enough to swim in, the daytime temperature seldom drops below the mid-60s, most restaurants, attractions, and retail shops remain open, yet the prices are much lower and most of the bustle is gone once school starts up again.