Senior Cycling

2025 Bike Tours

NC Outer Banks

Overview | The Tour | What's Included | Itinerary | Lodging | Pricing | Plan Your Trip

North Carolina: Outer Banks Senior Bike Tour

Dates: May 11 - 16, 2025
Pricing: from $2,700

One of our most relaxed tours, this week features exploration of these NC barrier islands that are so steeped in history. There were colonists here thirty years before the Pilgrims. This is where the Wright Brothers had their first flight at Kitty Hawk. Home to legendary pirates, shipwrecks, lighthouses and wild horses.

You won’t be able to miss the Atlantic Ocean beaches and Albemarle Sound marinas. Surfers, paddle boarders and hang gliders seem to be everywhere! There’s excellent shopping, fine and casual dining to enjoy. Naturalists can enjoy several wildlife refuges in the area, perfect for bird watching. Fisherman have their choice of several piers, surf fishing or chartered services.

You'll love our lodging: The Hilton Garden Inn Outer Banks / Kitty Hawk, has a relaxed resort feel about it, with its beach front location, Tiki Bar, restaurant, indoor and outdoor pools, fishing pier and more.

 

The Tour

NC Outer Banks – Senior Bike Tour

Tour Difficulty: Easy, Flat Coastal Riding
Duration: 6 days, 5 nights
Daily Mileage: 11 - 23 miles
 

Get ready to have more fun over 50 when you join in on this relaxed coastal adventure.

The riding here is easy, since it’s flat terrain and we’ll be almost entirely on bike paths. We’ll include a visit to the Wright Brothers National Memorial, have lunch in a town called Duck, and you’ll have plenty of time to walk the beach, charter a fishing trip, see the wild horses, or just read a book in the shade.

We’ll ride alongside giant sand dunes, through quiet woodlands, past docks and piers on the sound, utilizing the Dare County bike paths. We’ll also visit Manteo’s Festival Park, Fort Raleigh and the North Carolina State Aquarium. You will have one entire day without any scheduling to do whatever you please.

Our “home base” hotel features comfortable rooms, an optional full ocean-view upgrade, a fitness room, outdoor heated pool and spa and beach access. And it’s located right on the bike route so you can come and go as you please.

Most importantly, we'll ensure you have a fun, safe, and relaxed bike tour with other active folks over 50. Group size is limited to 13 riders (plus two experienced tour leaders) and our Senior Cycling support vehicle is available at all times to help out.

Why Senior Cycling?

For over 20 years, Senior Cycling has been a hands-on, owner-operated bike touring company for folks over 50.

We've helped thousands of active seniors enjoy fun, safe outdoor bike adventures in beautiful locations around the US, Canada, and abroad. Our senior bike tours are well planned and fully supported, so you can relax and enjoy the ride.

You'll find our tour guides are welcoming, experienced, and committed to making sure you have a great trip. Bike at your own pace, make new friends, and enjoy the adventure – we'll take care of the rest!

 

What's Included

  • 5 nights lodging
  • 5 breakfasts, 1 lunch, 2 dinners
  • Area-knowledgeable and cycling expert tour guides
  • Gratuities for included meals and accommodations
  • In-ride drinks and snacks
  • Van support
  • Route navigation via free used of Ride With GPS app
  • Admission to the Wright Brothers National Memorial 
  • Admission to the NC Aquarium Outer Banks

Itinerary

  • Day 1 - Sunday

    Welcome Meetup & Cocktail Social

    Meet at our tour hotel, the Hilton Garden Outer Banks. An introductory meeting at 5:00pm will begin our tour with cocktails, snacks, maps and details. Following the meeting we'll enjoy dinner together at a nearby restaurant (included).

  • Day 2 - Monday

    11 - 22 miles, flat terrain

    We ride from our hotel via bike paths to the Wright Brothers National Memorial (admission included). We'll have a picnic lunch (provided) near the Visitors Center. Cycle back to the hotel or ride back in the van, depending on conditions and your liking.

  • Day 3 - Tuesday

    16 - 22 miles, flat terrain

    Today features a combination of roadside bike path and neighborhood roads + some walking. We’ll load bikes into the trailer, jump in the van and head north along the barrier island to the Currituck Banks Maritime Forest. We'll park and begin our day's exploration with a leisurely 2 mile out-and-back stroll to the lookout site on Raccoon Bay. Then we'll begin cycling south, through quiet Corolla Village to visit the sprawling and gorgeous grounds of Historic Corolla Park, which features a magnificent view from the 162 ft., 220 step red brick Currituck Beach Lighthouse as well as the Currituck Maritime Museum, the excellent NC Wildlife Educational Center, and Whalehead Club. You can take your time exploring as much or as little as you like before continuing south along Ocean Trail toward the town of Duck, where you'll get lunch on your own.* After lunch you can ride the remaining 6 miles back to the hotel on the roadside bike path or take the van.

    * If you're thinking ahead to tomorrow's day off and/or a summer visit to the beach with your grandchildren, you might want to stop into the family-owned Flying Smiles Kites before leaving Corolla!

  • Day 4 - Wednesday

    Rest Day

    You are on your own to enjoy the area’s many attractions. From beachcombing or kite-flying :) out the hotel’s back door, a wild horse tour, to chartered fishing, to surfing… the day is yours.

  • Day 5 - Thursday

    15 miles, flat terrain

    Today we’ll regroup to share stories and pictures from our rest day activities, and do some more riding to see the sound side of the Outer Banks from Roanoke Island. We'll take the van to Roanoke Island Festival Park to begin our ride through the quiet town of Manteo to the NC Aquarium (admission included), followed by a snack. A stop at Fort Raleigh is next, a park with lots of history.

    You’ll ride back on the trail and end up in downtown Manteo for lunch on your own, plus a chance to walk the scenic boardwalk on the marina and to see the many shops there. A quick van ride back to the hotel, then out for dinner in Kill Devil Hills, included!

  • Day 6 - Friday

    Visit Nags Head-Jockey's Ridge State Park

    For anyone interested, we'll take a 20 minute ride in the van to Jockey's Ridge State Park in Nags Head, which includes includes the tallest active sand dune system in the eastern United States. The visitor center features a museum about cultural and natural history of the park, including the dunes, plants and wildlife, weather, pirates and local maritime history. The ridge area is accessed either from the back deck of the visitor center or the parking lot via a 350-foot-long boardwalk. You may see hang gliding lessons in progress! We'll return to hotel in time for check-out at 11:00. You've thoroughly experienced the famous Outer Banks of North Carolina!

Lodging

HILTON GARDEN OUTER BANKS | Kitty Hawk, North Carolina

5 nights at the Hilton Garden Outer Banks are included with this trip. Standard rooms have ocean side view. Ocean-front view upgrade available.

Located right on the beach with a fishing pier, the hotel has comfortable rooms with balconies. Perks include a fitness center, outdoor heated pool with spa, and onsite restaurant & bar.

 

Pricing

The cost of this trip is $2,700 per person (double occupancy).

  • Single room supplement fee is $600
  • Optional $350 upgrade (per room) for Ocean-front view room
  • 50% of the base registration fee + 100% of single supplement/ocean view upgrade/bike rental fee is required deposit due upon registration
  • You'll receive an invoice for the balance due 90 days prior to the first date of the Tour
  • The remainder is due 60 days prior to start of the Tour

Plan Your Trip

Trip Insurance and Cancellation Policy

Please review Senior Cycling's Cancellation Policy here.  

Please purchase Trip Insurance. Especially at our age, even though no one expects or wants it, health issues arise and accidents happen.  At Travelinsurance.com you can get quotes for coverage from several different providers and get all your questions answered about different levels of coverage, such as "Cancel For Any Reason (COFR)" polices and Pre-Existing Condition waivers. Allianz Travel Insurance and TravelGuard by AIG are also well-known companies with reasonable rates. Please check it out and protect your travel investment.


Your Travel Plans

This trip starts on Sunday, May 11, 2025 and ends on Friday, May 16.

If you are flying, there are shuttle services available from the Norfolk International Airport. OBX Shuttle or Outer Banks Transportation Service are two options. 

If you are driving, we meet you at our hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn Outer Banks / Kitty Hawk, 5353 N Virginia Dare Trail, Kitty Hawk, NC 27949. 


Non-Standard Bikes

If you plan to bring your own bike and it is a non-standard bike such as an E-bike, recumbent or tandem, you will need to discuss transport issues with me before you register for this trip. Although it's a Hub tour, we load bikes in and out several times because we van to the start of our ride on several days. 

Space in our trailer is limited and we may or may not be able to accommodate.

Email: ned@seniorcycling.com