The Ultimate North Carolina Travel Guide
North Carolina: Besides serving as a gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains, North Carolina is home to some more fabulous attractions! Here is my North Carolina travel guide outlining major North Carolina attractions!
To make it easy for you to navigate the content, I have organized my North Carolina travel guide into two sections. (1) A brief introduction to North Carolina, a little history, some geography, commute, and weather. (2) Major North Carolina attractions, if you wish, you can skip the introduction and move on to the next section, North Carolina Attractions.
History: North Carolina was admitted to the union as the 12th state on November 21, 1789. Until then, North and South Carolina were one colony. Carolina was named to honor Charles IX of France and then Charles I and Charles II of England. North Carolina got its nickname, the Tarheel State, as in the early days, tar was one of its main products.
Geography: Virginia borders North Carolina on the north, and it’s by South Carolina and Georgia on the south. In the east, North Carolina is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and on the west by Tennessee. North Carolina has quite a diverse landscape with gorgeous mountains and hills, several lakes, and waterfalls.
Getting There
Flight: Charlotte/Douglas Intl. Airport (CLT), Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU), Greensboro – Piedmont Triad Intl. Airport (GSO) and Wilmington International Airport (ILM) are the main airports in North Carolina, CLT being the busiest and economical among all.
Drive: If you live in any of the neighboring or southeastern states, you could drive to North Carolina.
Train: Amtrak offers a rail service called Silver Service / Palmetto connecting – New York, Washington, DC, Charleston, Savannah, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa / Miami.
Climate: Summers are mild in North Carolina, with high temperatures rarely crossing 80°F. The winter temperatures are seldom extreme, with temperatures in lower valleys ranging between 20°F – 45°F. Spring and autumn have pleasant temperatures. Check current weather conditions in North Carolina.
Time zone: Eastern Daylight Time UTC-4
Getting around: I recommend renting a car, but there are few other options in major cities – LYNX Blue Line Light Rail and CityLYNX Gold Line streetcar system.
Best Places To Visit in North Carolina
Is America’s Largest Home, built by George Vanderbilt, 8000-acre estate in the Blue Ridge Mountains, North Carolina. Today the estate is a historic house museum and a major tourist attraction.
Is located 25 miles southeast of Asheville, North Carolina. The iconic 315-foot spire overlook in Chimney Rock State Park, offers breathtaking views of North Carolina’s mountain scenery.
Is the most visited National Park in the US and is home to many scenic vistas, historic buildings, scenic drives, cascading waterfalls, roaming wildlife, wildflowers and several hiking trails.
