Winter-Perfect Time for the Beach?

Yes, I’ll still go to the beach in December.

The beach! Photo by the author

I get time off around the holidays, and I have no idea what to do with it. Of course, I use it to spend time with my family, but normally we have a small get-together at my parents’ house. They live close by, so it’s not a whirlwind adventure. My family hasn’t gone on a family vacation in ages. Since the beach is usually discounted in the offseason, we decided on Christmas to book a hotel room for the next week.

The next day I returned to my apartment, packed up my pets, picked up my brother, and we were off on our impromptu adventure (our parents were meeting us there).

Our hotel was downtown (my brother’s a fan of city life), so we stayed there for the first night. Ate some food, walked down the river walk, and settled into the hotel. The next day, we went to the beach.

Being an introvert, I’m not a fan of beaches packed with tourists. Sure, boogie boarding can be fun, but I don’t want to be on the lookout for which people I may crash into. Besides, more tourists often equate to more litter, and I have no desire to see more of that.

Besides, even if there are not any people, there’s still wildlife. There are the notorious seagulls and seabirds fluttering around, looking for food and fish to dine on. Plus, with no swimmers in their way, the dolphins come out to play. Or maybe they’re always there, but they’re easier to spot when there are no other distractions in the water.

Birds are everywhere. Photo by the author.

Dolphins enjoying the winter weather. Photo by author.

The cold weather also doesn’t stop me from getting my feet into the sandy tide-I get cold easily but it was worth it. I had on my long waterproof leggings, so I didn’t need to worry about drenched jeans either. I may not be getting a tan, but I was never into tanning anyways. If I’m not getting tan, I’m not getting sunburnt either.

I had to get my feet wet. Photo by author.

Aside from swimming, there are still plenty of beach activities to enjoy. Each member of my family found their own hobby to entertain them. I brought along a frisbee that my dad and brother threw to each other, my mom searched for shells, and I ran around doing bits of everything. While also taking shots with my camera (you know I was ecstatic to see dolphins when my camera was in my hand. Just ecstatic).

This was a city I had been to before, so if we had more time, I had plenty of other state parks and preserves lined up to explore. Most towns probably do-it just takes a simple Google search to find them. I’m not sure everyone in my family would be up to that, and we were only there for a couple of days, so we only made it to one of the beaches.

Keep in mind-this NC beach didn’t have many attractions that I’m aware of (like Ferris Wheels, amusement parks, tours, etc.) but these can close in the offseason. So if that’s what you’re into, look up the hours before booking a hotel.

It was the middle of the week, so when the sun went down, the nightlife was dead. That meant my brother and I had the opportunity to play air hockey a few times before a couple of other groups wanted a turn. See? Being less crowded has benefits. Then we returned to the hotel early since most places were closed. But it’s around the holidays, so what else would we expect?

We also noticed this in many of the restaurants. They weren’t very crowded, but this meant many didn’t have much waiting staff on hand. Service was still pretty fast though, so I guess they had the right amount of people. The popular downtown restaurants that have very little seating available (especially with patios closed due to the weather) still had around 45-minute waits. Even around 3 PM, when you might expect things to slow down a bit. We weren’t dead set on any of these fancier restaurants, so we tried others instead. I was really impressed with one of the taco places-they had a delicious tofu option and their margaritas were stellar. We also had the whole restaurant to ourselves.

Would I go to the beach in the winter again? Absolutely. Then again, I’d be happy to go any time (except during a hurricane I suppose). Coastal vibes are my thing.

If you’re looking for a low-key trip in nature, it might work for you too (make sure to pack for the weather though-freezing is never fun, and even the beach gets cold). If you’re looking for action and man-made attractions, however, you may want to wait until the summer.