Inside: A guide to all the fun things to do in North Carolina’s Brunswick Islands, built from our family trip to these beautiful islands and beaches.
Looking for a laid-back beach getaway that’s still packed with family fun? North Carolina’s Brunswick Islands offer it all — whether you’re chasing waves, exploring local history, or just trying to find the best donut in town (spoiler: we did!). Here’s everything we loved — plus a few more local spots worth checking out!
Thanks to North Carolina’s Brunswick Islands for hosting us and providing accommodations.
About the Brunswick Islands
North Carolina’s Brunswick Islands are really a family beach gem, with 45 miles of barrier island beaches that are wide open and beautiful. You’ll find the 5 Brunswick Islands on the southernmost coast of North Carolina between Wilmington and Myrtle Beach. These islands are home to a wonderful mix of outdoor adventures, quaint family fun, and stunning natural beauty. Plus, a wide variety of accommodation options, and some seriously delicious things to eat including awesome seafood.
The Brunswick Islands are made up of Bald Head Island, Oak Island, Ocean Isle Beach, Holden Beach, and Sunset Beach.
Watch! Our Visit to the Brunswick Islands
We explored many pieces of the Brunswick Islands and loved them, but we didn’t even crack the surface of the full scope of activities and the gorgeous coastline available here. If you want to learn more about the Brunswick Islands and what’s there for your family, check it out at the Brunswick Islands website.
Our Visit to Southport, NC
Southport Water Tours: Boats, History, and Big Laughs
We kicked off our trip to the Brunswick Islands with Southport Water Tours, and wow — it was the perfect start.
- The boat tour winds along the Southport waterfront, with views of Fort Caswell, Bird Island, and Bald Head Island checking out the Cape Fear River and the Intracoastal Waterway.
- What really made it shine? The funny, friendly staff who shared cool stories about Southport’s fishing town roots and Fort Caswell’s Civil War past.
- You’ll learn about the lighthouses in the area, tidbits about local wildlife, plus other places in Southport to visit.
- It was affordable, relaxing, and entertaining — even our teens stayed tuned in and agreed after the tour that it was pretty cool!
After the tour:
- We treated ourselves to Boba Tea from Southport Coffee Co. (yep, Boba at the beach!). They also have great coffee, sandwiches, and more. This was actually our second time in Southport and we had to make this return visit, it was that good the first time.
- Then, we wandered through the North Carolina Maritime Museum and strolled along the waterfront. The Maritime Museum is small but totally free. It’s very localized bits of history about the area’s fishing and wartime boats and coastal stories. It’s definitely worth a stop.
- The whole area is super walkable and fun to explore.
More Things to Do in Southport
- Purchase fresh seafood right off the boat from Potter’s Seafood
- Enjoy fresh seafood at local restaurants along the yacht basin including the very popular Provision Company
- Walk through the summer farmer’s market on the waterfront
- 4th of July brings big crowds and a huge festival: NC 4th of July Festival
One Morning in Oak Island, NC
Climb a Lighthouse: Oak Island Views for Days
Oak Island Lighthouse is such a cool (and free!) stop if you’ve got older kids or teens.
- Make a reservation ahead of time if you want to climb to the top.
- Docents are full of stories, and the views are worth every step. See the ocean, salt marshes, Fort Caswell, and lots more!
If you’re not up for the full climb, it’s still fun to walk around the base, peek inside, and check it out!
You can learn all about our visit and climb at the Oak Island Lighthouse in our full review!
Everything you need to know about visiting the Oak Island Lighthouse.
☕ Breakfast + Pier Time = A Good Morning
Right down the road, we loved hanging out at the Oak Island Pier. This fishing pier is totally FREE to walk on. (So to recap- you’ve got a free lighthouse tour and free pier access- we are LOVING Oak Island! The parking was free, too.)
- Watch the fishermen, enjoy the views, and take it slow.
- Don’t miss Ruby’s Coffeehouse on the Pier — they’ve got muffins, breakfast bites, and really good coffee.
- What’s better than coffee with wide ocean views? I can’t think of anything.
Perfect little spot to start your day.
The pier also has a local restaurant called Koko Cabana, if you’re ready to enjoy lunch or dinner, instead.
Ocean Isle Beach is Lovely!
Oh, how we enjoyed this island! So many family-friendly things to do, a long beautiful beach, great ocean-front homes and condos to rent, plus delicious food.
We have a whole Ocean Isle Beach spotlight where you can learn a lot more about what you’ll find at Ocean Isle.
Beaches
The beach at Ocean Isle (and really all the Brunswick Island beaches) is wide open. With mostly condos and houses for accommodations, you have fewer crowds than some other big and touristy beach areas. Plus, there are not a lot of public access points for the beach, and the parking lots aren’t huge.
The beaches on our visit in May were not crowded at all, and we had plenty of space to boogie board, look for sharks’ teeth, and enjoy the sun together.
More Things to Do at Ocean Isle Beach
My kids really loved Go-Karting at Ocean Isle Beach Super Track & Axe Shack. So much that we had to go again!
- Go-kart races are $12 a person and about 5 minutes long — but our kids would’ve happily raced all day.
- The staff was amazing — friendly, helpful, and made us feel totally welcome.
- Adults can try axe throwing, too, if you want something a little different.
We played a family round of mini-golf at River Country Mini Golf. It’s right in the middle of the island and super fun. We haven’t done something like that in such a long time, and it was great for a calm evening with my teens.
If you have younger kids, you do NOT want to skip the Town Center Park & Playground.
- HUGE park with play equipment for all ages, and even a splash pad!
- It’s free, and has free parking
- Super clean, and it brings all the beachy vibes with its bright colors.
- There’s also a beautiful amphitheater for live music and events in the summer.
Mini-golf and the playground are both within walking distance to the pier area where you’ll find Scoops Ice Cream. We grabbed some delicious flavors and enjoyed in at the pier backyard area with access to the beach.
More! A few that we didn’t get to try
- The Swamp Park Eco Adventures: Zipline canopy tour, guided ATV rides, and a swamp boat eco tour
- Museum of Coastal Carolina is in Ocean Isle Beach and packed with hands-on exhibits about marine life, sharks, weather, and local wildlife
Food Finds We’re Still Craving
We had an excellent dinner at Sharkey’s Waterfront Bar & Grill.
- This place has great food and awesome views.
- We sat outside and watched boats float by while enjoying ribeye, poke bowls, hush puppies, and shrimp & grits. Yum.
Spilt Milk offers ice cream and donuts. We stopped by on our last morning for some donuts and they did not disappoint. They’ve got both classics and fun flavors that even picky eaters will love. Get the Spilt Milk Cookies & Creme and thank us later.
On our first night in town, we decided to order in, and Joey O’s Pizza was perfect. We used DoorDash, and our dasher was super communicative and helpful. Everything arrived hot and delicious.
- Our order (pizza, calzone, wings, and salad) fed us for two meals!
- The Italian Dessert Zeppolis were amazing. Seriously.
- Pepperoni Zone Calzone was cheesy perfection with ricotta AND mozzarella.
What Would Your Family Pick First?
We loved our time in the NC Brunswick Islands — it’s the kind of place where you can do a little of everything or just relax by the water and snack your way through town.
Have you been? Drop your favorite spots in the comments!
And if you’re dreaming of more family beach fun, check out our other travel guides and start planning your next adventure. ☀️
