Kitty Hawk, North Carolina travel guide: things to do, food & where to stay

Overview

Kitty Hawk, located on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, consists of a thriving village that has been around for generations, a newer beach community of residential cottages, and a maritime forest called Kitty Hawk Woods which features a wide variety of plant and animal life.

2 things to do · 4 places to eat · 3 bars & cafés · 3 places to stay

Updated from Wikivoyage on 1 October 2026 · Something wrong or missing? Improve it on Wikivoyage

Best things about Kitty Hawk

Sea Scape Golf Links

Duck Woods Country Club

Plan your trip

Best time to visit & weather

Most comfortable: Apr–Jun, Sep–Nov. Summer highs reach about 89°F; winter lows dip to about 34°F. Wettest: Jul and Aug. (climate data from nearby Norfolk)

Blue bars: average daily high and low (°F). Purple columns: average monthly rain and melted snow (inches).

Getting there

From you: to see whether to drive or fly, and how long it takes.
ORF Norfolk International Airport, Norfolk — 64 mi away (major hub). Directions
PHF Newport News Williamsburg International Airport, Newport News — 86 mi away. Directions

The Norfolk International Airport is 1 hour and 30 minutes away. It is right off the highway and an easy drive to the Outer Banks and Kitty Hawk. You can also check flights into Newport News. That drive would be about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Pitt-Greenville is about three hours away.

Full “Get in” guide ↓

Budget & where to stay

No prices are listed for this place yet. See the Sleep guide ↓ for options.

Sample 1-day itinerary

Day 1

Morning Sea Scape Golf Links
Lunch Black Pelican Restaurant
Afternoon Duck Woods Country Club
Dinner Ocean Boulevard
Evening Barefoot Bernies Tropical Grill & Bar

Stops are grouped by area so each day needs little backtracking. Check opening hours before you go.

Food for you

Cuisine (tap to filter)

What to ask about, for your diet

Diet labels come from each listing's description and cuisine; “likely” means the cuisine usually has good choices, not a promise. Check with the restaurant. Open the food finder

Understand

Once a remote area, Kitty Hawk has grown with small-scale development into a summer resort and beach recreation area.

Orville and Wilbur Wright chose this remote fishing village on the Outer Banks in 1900 partly for privacy from prying eyes. Three years later, they flew for the first heavier-than-air flying machine. Since then, Kitty Hawk has been associated with the Wright Brothers as the birthplace of aviation, although the flight took place four miles south from the base of Kill Devil Hills.

On the oceanside, thousands of rental homes, restaurants and shops are part of the development that has characterized the northern Outer Banks from Nags Head to Corolla. But along the Albemarle Sound, the village remains off the beaten path. Shaded lanes wind along the marshes. Quaint clapboard cottages and fishing boats line a series of canals that lead to the open waters of the Sound.

Wright Brothers National Memorial and Visitor Center and the Memorial Pylon are nearby reminders of the days when Orville and Wilbur Wright made this area their headquarters.

See Aviation history for context.

Get in

By plane

Private pilots will want to make a visit to First Flight airport (FFA), just southwest of the Wright Memorial. OR Manteo Airport in Manteo, NC. There are Charter flights from Norfolk (ORF).