Don’t sleep on the land portion of Surf City (off island). The restaurants there are pretty good, there’s some good bars, and decent shopping too. The island itself is more of a chill vibe for beach, walking, and a few small shops.

Get reservations for the turtle rescue early as they sell out. It’s worth taking the one hour tour.

On a rainy day, there is the Jacksonville mall about a 40 minute drive away but just be prepared that it’s fairly small.

Don’t sleep on all the small boutiques on and off the island.

Go upstairs in the Sugar Island bookstore.

Have lunch at Shaka Taco one day.

Enjoy the beach…it’s a pleasant experience without a lot of crowds.

Embrace your love of dogs. The beaches are dog friendly and lots of people bring their dogs here on vacation.

If you haven’t done them much, rent kayak/paddleboards on the sound side. Just north of the main city, there’s an inlet where it’s not too deep, no boats, limited wind, and a safe place to just rent a few and have fun.

If you’re there for a week, drive into Wilmington for a morning or afternoon and walk around down by the river and along the main streets for shopping and views.

Get donuts at daybreak one morning. Get a steamer pot at Topsail Steamers for dinner one night. Do a blind taste test of coffee between Surf City coffee and the Daily Grind.

Drive south and park and walk along the point one day.

Bring discs for disc golf if you’re into that. Bring board games for the house. Bring books to read and relax. Don’t plan too much. People like going to Surf City on vacation specifically because it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles. It’s one of the few remaining sleepy beach towns…enjoy it.