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Holden Beach is a great vacation spot for all different types of vacationers.
If you’ve never heard of it, Holden Beach, North Carolina, is about an hour outside of Wilmington, North Carolina, 30 minutes northeast of Ocean Isle Beach, and 15 minutes from the town of Shallotte.
You can enjoy Holden beach with your family, bring along your close friends, or even take a solo trip!
Here are our recommendations for 11 Holden Beach things to do on your vacation.
Visit Holden Beach
Our top recommendation is to visit Holden Beach itself, as you might have guessed!
Holden Beach is not very commercialized or overcrowded like many lovely beaches tend to be, but it is still kept very clean.
This beach is a fabulous place to take a stroll, have a picnic, read a book, or simply relax. There are also various water sports and activities that you might be interested in partaking in if you are looking for a more adventurous vacation.
Holden Beach is also an excellent place to bring kids because the water has a gentle slope. Therefore, it takes a while before the ocean gets too deep, making it a safe, family-friendly beach.
Go On a Fishing Trip
Another fun activity to do at Holden Beach is trying to catch a fish or two!
You don’t need your own boat, and you don’t even need to know how to fish. You can book with Ollie Raja Fishing Charters, and they’ll lead the way so you can learn the ropes and have a fun-filled afternoon.
Fishing with a chartered boat is a fun group activity; you can cheer on your loved ones if they happen to catch something tasty!
And many inexperienced fishers have indeed caught fish on this trip. However, if you don’t end up catching one, that’s fine too. You’ll still have a lot of fun out in the beautiful waters.
Take a Wildlife Boat Tour
Some people want to go out on a boat to catch fish, while others like to just sit back, relax, and admire the wildlife they see.
If you go on a boat trip with a tour group like Windy Point Nautical Adventures, you might see different aquatic life such as dolphins, sharks (hammerhead, spinners, blacktip), and stingrays!
You can also use a tour company to go tubing if you’re looking for an additional fun activity to complement your boat tour.
Rent Your Own Boat
Unfortunately, if you own a boat, you can’t take it everywhere you travel.
Fortunately, at Holden Beach, you can rent your own boat for the day and take your friends, your family, or just yourself out on the water.
Even beginner boaters can take some lessons and try driving the boat with the guidance and supervision of your boat rental service.
In addition to boats, you can also rent jet skis, which are thrilling, fast, private motorboats that will surely make your day exceptional!
There are several companies you can rent boats from, such as FantaSea.
Play Golf
Many people come to Holden Beach and the surrounding towns to look for a high-quality golf course.
There are several places in town to play golf, but one with undoubtedly lovely greens is the Lockwood Folly Country Club.
All visitors say that the Lockwood course is always in excellent shape and the service is first class.
Relax at the Spa
Vacations are an excellent opportunity for adventure, but they are also a great opportunity to relax and wind down.
At The Spa at Anaya Salon, you can treat yourself to a well-deserved, full-service spa and salon treatment. Get a soothing massage, experience a rejuvenating facial, or get your nails or hair done – or book them all to get a full-day treatment!
If you are only interested in massages, you can check out Julie Dean Massage as well.
They offer popular Swedish and deep tissue massages. We recommend getting a 90-minute massage towards the end of your trip, so you can return to your life feeling brand new!
Visit the Wild Horse Preserve
If you love horses, you can visit the Wild Horse Preserve at Grayce Wynds. Since these are wild horses, they are not for riding. However, you can feed, interact with, and learn about wild horses.
This activity is engaging and informative for anyone at any age.
Also, it’s a nice option for a non-beach activity on a beach-focused vacation — just to change the pace a bit.
Learn How to Surf or Paddle Board
Holden Beach has some decent waves, especially for beginners. Why not challenge yourself on your vacation and try learning how to surf? You can book a session with the Carolina School of Surf.
Learning how to surf or paddleboard is another wonderful activity for the whole family or friend group. Your instructor will help each person appropriately, depending on their level and experience.
Go Shopping
Like many beach towns, Holden Beach has plenty of shops to explore. The Coastal Gem is a good gift shop, one where you can find bracelets, necklaces, and trinkets to take home or give to a friend.
Beach mart is another, more expansive shop where you can find beach gear, gifts, and souvenirs.
Visit Museum of Coastal Carolina
The Museum of Coastal Carolina is one of the best Holden Beach things to do for those looking to learn about wildlife and marine life in the area.
This is an engaging museum that has interactive exhibits and exciting programs. These exhibits and programs teach visitors about marine life, coastal reefs, and wildlife in the coastal area.
They also emphasize teaching conservation and preservation of this coastal life.
This museum is also fun for kids because of its touch tanks, arts and crafts, and summer camp program.
Ingram Planetarium
The Ingram Planetarium is another exciting educational activity in Holden Beach, but instead of focusing on biology, they focus on astronomy and meteorology!
The planetarium makes learning about the solar system fun and engaging, with laser light shows in the Sky Theater, a “Hurricane Simulator” where you can feel like you’re in an actual hurricane, and more.
Plus, entry to the Ingram Planetarium is free, so there’s nothing to lose by stopping by on one of your vacation days where you’re exploring the town.
Now you have plenty to do on your vacation to Holden Beach. We hope you have a great time whether you choose to relax, adventure, play, explore, learn – or a little bit of everything!
