Carolina Beach Vs. Wrightsville Beach: Which Is Better?

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One thing about North Carolina, it’s not short of amazing beach towns, so it’s no wonder you’re choosing between Carolina Beach and Wrightsville Beach as a destination for a beach vacation.

We’ve visited both, and feel they offer something quite different, despite being just a 30-minute drive from one another and both on the Atlantic Coast.

girl on pier taking photo of Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina View from Johnny Mercer Pier

The good news is, if you’re still deciding Carolina Beach or Wrightsville Beach, you can take a day trip to the other and check it out – you can visit both, it’s totally doable.

However, when it comes to picking a base, we share our objective opinion on which is better. This is the Carolina Beach vs Wrightsville Beach match, let’s see who wins…

Which is better for beaches: Carolina Beach or Wrightsville Beach?

people walking on Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina Morning stroll on Wrightsville Beach North Carolina

There are not too many places in the world where you can watch the sunrise over the ocean and then watch it set once again over water.

You can in Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, and also in the Outer Banks.

Sunset in Wrightsville Beach Sunset at southend of Wrightsville

Both Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach sit on a stretch of a flat, sandy barrier island shoreline.

Wrightsville Beach is only 4-miles long and 1,000-5,000 feet wide, it presents the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the calmer waters of the Intracoastal Waterway on the other.

The sand is soft and clean, a shade somewhere between white and golden, and has small dunes separating the road from the beach, calm waves near the piers for swimming, and some more remote spots with bigger waves for surfing.

Wrightsville Beach is a year-round destination that offers water sports such as surfing, stand-up paddleboarding, kayaking, fishing, sailing and diving.

A group of people on a beach Carolina Beach

Carolina Beach is a bit more developed and has more condos and beach houses behind it. It’s patrolled in the summer, making it great for families, but is also great for water sports. It’s clean and free of trash.

You can surf here during the day, and head to the amusement park in the evening.

The difference between Carolina Beach and Wrightsville Beach is that Carolina Beach is backed by more attractions. So which beach you go to depends on your preference.

Which is better for attractions: Carolina Beach or Wrightsville Beach?

Kayaking in Wrightsville Beach Kayaking with Wrightsville SUP

One of the beautiful things about the New Hanover Counties is you don’t have to do anything. You can just grab your bike, or use your feet, and move from one pier to the other and enjoy being on an Atlantic beach.

You can have beach days, sure, you can do surfing or paddle boarding or simply sit and read a book.

We biked around the beach area at a slow lingering pace, and cars moved slowly and carefully, and I was taken back to my childhood in Australia and felt gratitude that I was raised in a small surfer beach town like this.

family playing on wrightsville beach Wrightsville Beach – the closest to Raleigh biking around Wrightsville Beach We loved biking around Wrightsville

Aside from the family-friendly beach, Wrightsville Beach has a variety of attractions that can keep the whole family entertained. Most of the attractions are nature-based, from cycling along to Shell Island Resort to going on boat tours to look for dolphins and other marine life.

There is also the Wrightsville Beach Museum of History, which to be honest takes a couple of hours to see, and plenty of piers to fish from.

people walking down colorful carolina boardwalk

Carolina Beach has more attractions for families, such as North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher, a 4X4 beach you can drive on at Fort Fisher, Freeman Park Beach, and Carolina Beach State Park.

Then there is the boardwalk, which is full of boutiques and nostalgic arcades, artists and buskers.

The attractions at Wrightsville Beach are slow-paced, minimal Southern living, and with activities designed to connect you to mother nature, tread lightly, and enjoy experiences that keep it LOCAL.

Carolina Beach are more big-ticketed attractions, lively, and adventurous.

Which has a better town: Carolina Beach or Wrightsville Beach?

Both Wrightsville and Carolina are a coastal town, so you can pretty much expect a similar vibe – you’ll see people out and about enjoying the sunshine, endless outdoor beauty, boardwalks with people skating on them.

You’ll find local establishments with character.

Carolina Beach has a unique town in that it has more entertainment. There are arcades for the kids, and at night the beach dive bars and tiki bars often have live music and other events.

The boardwalk in Carolina Beach is kind of iconic, in that it’s the place to find events throughout the year, including music festivals.

A close up of a colorful building

Wrightsville Beach doesn’t have that. It’s more about casual cafes and farm-to-sea-to-table restaurants and beach bars that offer sophisticated island life.

There’s no glam or soulless cookie cutter buildings, most of Wrightsville Beach is boutique.

people sitting at a coffee bar We loved the local vibe and coffee at SUNdays Cafe

It has a community-driven surf culture vibe, and most of the stores and attractions are focused on the waves.

Fun Fact:Wrightsville Beach is recognized as the birthplace of surfing in North Carolina! This town has a rich history of surf culture and is deemed one of the best surfing beaches in the USA.

A bike ride down a side beach road will take you to an old brick corner store that has surf gear on the lower floor and a coffee and beer cafe with a surfie vibe on top.

Wrightsville Beach homes Front of beach house

Or an old surfboard-making, blue shack that now sells some of North Carolina’s best beer with a cozy beer garden encouraging community interaction. We loved biking to Lighthouse Beer & Wine on our trip!

High-rises won’t block your view or your sunshine. In fact, the majority of the shoreline and the sound is faced by charming beach homes.

Again, it’s hard to decide on a preference on which is better for the town. I would say if you want more entertainment and nightlife, head to Carolina Beach, for more relaxed, boutique vibes, head to Wrightsville Beach.

Which is better for atmosphere: Carolina Beach or Wrightsville Beach?

Surfers gathered for a morning paddle at Crystal Pier Surfers gather for a morning paddle at Crystal Pier

I found the town of Wrightsville Beach kept dragging me away from my computer and phone and allowed me to connect to the present.

This is real living. This is how we all used to do it when we were teens growing up in a community that only needed us to bike around, play in nature, and talk to one another.

Life is far too chaotic now for you to NOT invite this kind of beach vacation into your life.

I’m sure like us, you’ve had ups and downs, problems to solve, deadlines to meet, and busy days to manage. You endured yet another long and cold winter.

One of the contributing factors to this was that all the cafes and coffee shops, places we would consider working in because we work remotely, had such a welcoming vibe you wanted to close the laptop and soak it up.

Staff were chatting with customers, there were usually views of the ocean, patios with comfy chairs that beckon you to relax with a book. This laid-back vibe was infectious, not gonna lie.

Malama Cafe, Carolina Beach Cafe in Carolina Beach

Carolina Beach also has a laid-back feel but is more family friendly.

Wrightsville Beach has a more upscale vibe to Carolina Beach, with more modern restaurants and eateries, whereas Carolina Beach has more nostalgic vibes.

Overall, the vibes were laid-back for both destinations, so it’s really comparing apples to oranges.

It depends on whether you want modern or old-town charm. If it’s modern, Wrightsville Beach, if it’s old-town, it’s Carolina Beach.

Which is better for location: Carolina Beach or Wrightsville Beach?

Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina View from Johnny Mercers Pier

One of the reasons why we visit Wrightsville Beach so often is because it’s a 12-minute drive to downtown Wilmington, and it’s also the closest beach to Raleigh (2 hours’ drive).

And if you’re looking for beaches near Charlotte NC, you can be here in 3.5 hours.

However, one of the beauties of Carolina Beach is its remote location. It’s all about being in nature and relaxation.

Its nearby attractions are equally as remote – Kure Beach, Freeman Park, Pleasure Island, and Fort Fisher.

So, when it comes to location, do you want to be closer to the cities and towns, or do you want more seclusion? If you want to be nearer to civilization, Wrightsville Beach is better, if you want peace and quiet, Carolina Beach is better.

The Verdict: Which is better? Wrightsville Beach!

Taking all of the above into consideration, we love Wrightsville Beach more (though only slightly) – it’s one of the best beaches in North Carolina.

Wrightsville Beach has a surf culture which we love, and we also love how close it is to Wilmington and its historic attractions. Carolina Beach is a great family-friendly destination and has a relaxed atmosphere and a ton of family-friendly attractions – but we prefer a quieter vibe.

They both have wonderful beaches and coastal beauty, and tons of things to do, so you wouldn’t be disappointed whichever you choose.

Another contributing factor is that our Wrightsville Beach vacation was just before the pandemic and was our last vacation before lockdown, so we look back on it with fondness.

I’ll never forget the time I spent an hour watching the sky’s colors change from deep orange to pink as the sun rose over the ocean.

Sunrise at Wrightsville Beach View of sunrise from our room at Trailborn

We watched as birds, large and small, flew by our balcony window in flocks or on their own. Ducks swam about in the ocean before the surfers and swimmers began enjoying life’s simple, but necessary, pleasures.

It reminded me to enjoy the finer things in life – things that money can’t buy.

Blockade Runner Beach Resort, Wrightsville Beach Aerial view of Trailborn Surf & Sound Resort

Time is life’s greatest luxury, and when you can dedicate an hour to watch the magic of nature’s perfection, you know you are wealthy and in the right place.

It’s a favorite destination in the USA for older teens to visit with friends.