Cape Hatteras National Seashore Self-Guided Audio Driving Tour

Overview

Embark on a captivating drive along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore with this self-guided tour of North Carolina's Outer Banks. Dive into a rich tapestry of history, from tales of the Lost Colony to the legendary pirate Blackbeard as you marvel at stunning oceanside scenery. Visit the majestic Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, encounter the unique marine wonders of the Pamlico Sound, and so much more. This tour ends at the Hatteras Ferry in case you want to keep the adventure going on the remote island of Ocracoke. The barrier islands await!

After booking, check your email to download the separate Audio Tour Guide App by Action, enter your unique password, and access your tour. These steps require good internet/Wi-Fi access. From there, follow the audio instructions and the route.

Buy once, use for one year! Ideal for extended visits and return trips over the next 12 months.

This isn't an entrance ticket. Check opening hours before your visit.

City: Outer Banks

Wed 11 Jun

Other dates

You can choose the date already on the booking website

Starting at $14.99

Check availability

Wed 11 Jun

Starting at $14.99

Check availability

Outer Banks Tours

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What's Included

Easy-to-use app: download Action’s Tour Guide App onto your phone

Great value: purchase per car, not per person. More affordable than bus or guided tours!

Engaging storytelling: Uncover unique tales and thrilling history for a memorable journey!

Perfect narrator: nothing can beat listening to a great voice. Proven with tons of rave reviews!

Offline maps: no signal, no problem! Works perfectly without cellular or wifi.

Comprehensive route and stops: See it all, miss nothing, leave no stone unturned!

Go at your own pace: Start anytime, pause anywhere, enjoy breaks for snacks and photos freely!

Hands-free: audio stories play on their own based on your location. Easy to use!

Additional Info

Public transportation options are available nearby
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
How to access: Once you book a tour, you’ll get a confirmation email and text with instructions: • Download the separate tour app by Action • Enter the password • Download the tour MUST DO while in strong wifi/cellular Works offline after download
How to start touring: Open Action’s separate audio tour guide app once onsite. • If there is just one tour, launch it. • If multiple tour versions exist, launch the one with your planned starting point and direction.
Go to the starting point No one will meet you at the start. This tour is self-guided Enter the first story’s point and the audio will begin automatically Follow the audio cues to the next story, which will also play automatically. Enjoy hands-free exploring. If you face audio issues, contact support. Stick to the tour route & speed limit for the best experience.
Travel worry-free: Use the tour app anytime, on any day, and over multiple days. Start and pause the tour whenever you like, taking breaks and exploring side excursions at your own pace. Skip anything you don’t care about or explore bonus content for everything that interests you
Savings tips: Driving tours: purchase just one tour for everyone in the car
Buy once, use for one year! Ideal for extended visits and return trips over the next 12 months.

What To Expect

Bodie Island Lighthouse

In a moment we’ll come to Coquina Beach and the Bodie Island Lighthouse. Coquina Beach gets its name from the coquina clams found here, but it’s famous for something totally different: The wreck of an old ship!

Oregon Inlet Life Saving Station

Coming up on our left is the Oregon Inlet Life-Saving Station from 1874. It’s the only structure we’ll see when the bridge meets land again; you can’t miss it. Can you imagine being on a ship in the dark, trying to find a dock along this coast? Before there was radar, GPS, or sonar, sailors didn’t have an easy time navigating this cape or the Oregon Inlet. Shipwrecks were incredibly common. So common, in fact, that the Outer Banks earned the nickname “The Graveyard of the Atlantic".

Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge

We’re now driving through 13 miles of nature preserve! It’s the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, and it stretches from the bottom of the Oregon Inlet to the northern border of the community of Rodanthe. And it’s part of what scientists call “the Atlantic Flyway.” This is a corridor that migratory birds use to travel up and down the coast, sort of like a highway in the sky! Birds use these beaches as pit stops along their way.

Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station Historic Site & Museum

Off to our left is another life-saving station, the Chicamacomico US Life-Saving Station. Like the Oregon Inlet Life-Saving Station, this served as a hub for rescue crews to live, observe the coast, and conduct training exercises with the peculiar device known as a beach apparatus. But what on earth is that?

The Mother Vine

The Outer Banks are home to some fascinating pieces of history, but one of the most unusual can be found on Roanoke Island. It’s known as the Mother Vine, and it’s the oldest grapevine on the continent still producing grapes! The vine is about 400 years old, though no one is sure of its exact date of origin.

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

Do you remember that the Bodie Lighthouse was so poorly built that it leaned like the tower of Pisa? Well, you’re about to see the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, and it had a tough time starting out too.

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