FAQs

We highly recommend purchasing Vacation Travel Insurance to cover your vacation investment. 

If you did not purchase Travel Insurance or if you must cancel for a reason not covered under the Travel Insurance policy, our cancellation policy is as follows: 

14. CANCELLATION POLICY-- Confirmed reservations require a Cancellation Fee equal to 10% of the rent amount and Administrative Fee to be charged on any cancelled reservation. If a reservation is cancelled, no refunds can be made until the property has been re-rented and confirmed. If the property is not re-rented, Tenant's entire rent amount (including unpaid balances) must be forfeited. In addition, no refunds of any kind other than the aforementioned cancellation refund can be made without authorization from the property Owner.  If property is re-rented at a discounted rate, Tenant will only be refunded the discounted rate amount less any applicable fees.  All cancellations MUST be received in writing. Tenants who purchased Travel Insurance must make claims with the insurance company directly. Travel Insurance is non-refundable.

FAMILY GROUPS ONLY--It is the policy of Atlantic Realty to rent only to family groups due to the obligations to our Owners. Minimum age to rent is 25. We rent properties without regard to race, religion, color, sex, national origin, handicap, or familial status of any party. A family group is defined as parents, grandparents, children and extended family members vacationing in one home. A non-family group is defined as unmarried young adults, high school students, college students or any group type situation. Exceptions to this policy would be for event taking place in event homes with a signed Event Addendum.  Properties are patrolled on a regular basis. No chaperoned or unchaperoned groups, fraternities, school or civic groups allowed. ABSOLUTELY NO HOUSE PARTIES ALLOWED. IDs must be furnished if requested. Violation of the above may be grounds for expedited eviction.  Obtaining property under false pretenses will result in a forfeiture of all rent as liquidated damages.

The Outer Banks has a unique way to describe the locations of the vacation rental homes in regards to the 2 main roads in the area. View our Vacation Home Locations Page for detailed descriptions of each location. 

Yes. Many of our homes accept partial week rentals. There is a 2 night minimum and no rental is less than $375 per stay.  Properties that allow partial week rentals notate it in their description and partial week rentals are accepted within 14 days of arrival during the summer season (Memorial Day through Labor Day), but can be reserved earlier in the Off Season. Partial Week rentals now can be made online for participating homes.  Partial week rentals may carry additional fees for Pets, Linens, Pool and Hot Tub Service.   Check out our Vacation Your Way Homes which allow partial week stays year round.  Arrive any day you like and stay as long as you like!  

Once a reservation is made either online or over the phone, you will receive an email from us confirming receipt of your reservation and important information about your vacation including our online Tenant Access system, where you can review your vacation dates and charges anytime as well as make payment for your stay. Just login using your email and Tenant ID Number to review your reservation, add optional services, and sign your Electronic Vacation Rental Agreement right online! 

We accept tentative advanced reservations on most properties. These tentative reservations require a $50 holding fee (plus tax) which is non-refundable and non-applicable to the reservation. Reservations are accepted on a first-come,  first-serve basis.  

Several of our larger event homes accept pre-reservations up to 2 years in advance.  These event homes require a 10% deposit of the rental amount to hold the reservation.  However, the 10% deposit does apply to the reservation.

With the Flexible Payment Plan, you can book your family's Outer Banks vacation home with as little as 25% down and make monthly payments up until 45 days before arrival! Flexible Payment Plans are available on participating Atlantic Realty properties and are a great way to budget for the family's vacation.  Payments are interest free and there is no additional fee to make payments by credit card. (Reservations must be 50% paid by April 15th and some restrictions apply).

Yes! If the property is available you may either add on additional days to your vacation or change the turnover day. For example a Sunday to Sunday reservation may elect to rent Friday to Friday or Wednesday to Wednesday. These changes may only be made within a week of your arrival and is based on availability.  We also have several homes in our Vacation Your Way Program that offer flexible arrival and departure days as well as flexible length of stays year round! 

The majority of our Outer Banks Vacation Homes offer Keyless Entry convenience, so there are no keys to pick up and no need to check in at the office.   Keyless Entry homes offer Express Check-In where guests can go right to the property to start their vacation when they arrive!    Guests will receive an electronic check in package approximately 5 days before arrival by email with the property address as well as the keyless entry code valid for their entire stay.  Please remember, that check in begins after 4pm on arrival days and Keyless Entry codes will not work before that time.  

For homes that do not offer keyless entry, check in will be at our Kitty Hawk Office located at 4729 N. Croatan Hwy in Kitty Hawk, NC  27949.  There, guests will receive their check in package and keys to the property.  

Check In begins at 4pm on your scheduled date of arrival. Keyless Entry codes will not begin to work until that time.  

A limited number of Early Check Ins (1pm) are available for a fee of $200 (plus tax). 

Check out is promptly at 10am.  Our housekeeping and inspection staff have a very short window of time to clean and prepare the homes for the next guests. 

A limited number of Late Check Outs (12pm) are available for a cost of $175(plus tax). 

The Atlantic Realty housekeepers and inspectors provide a light cleaning after every guest including sanitizing the kitchens and baths, vacuuming, mopping, and dusting.  We ask that all guests remove their food, belongings, and trash when they check out as well as wash and store any dishes.  For guests who want to just "get up and go" we offer an End of the Week Cleaning service for a nominal fee.

For security reasons, we do not advertise street adresses and phone numbers on our website.  Please Contact Us directly for this information to get details on your reservation such as the address and directions right to your rental home. 

For arrivals after 5PM on properties that require keys, there is a key drop box beside the front door of the rental office. Envelopes with keys, directions, and emergency numbers will be left out for all guests who have signed their leases and paid in full. Guests who have not paid in full or signed their lease prior to arrival must call the office to make arrangements before keys will be left out.  

Guests in homes with keyless entry can access the property anytime after 4pm by going straight to the house. 

Yes. Please notify the check in office of that person's name and that they have permission to check in on your behalf.  Please remember that this designated person must be at least 25 years old in order for the keys to be released to them. 

Sorry, but No.   If you need a pet-friendly home, we have many from which to choose.  It is the decision of the home owner to permit pets to vacation in the home.  This may be for a variety of reasons but most importantly the health and medical needs of the Owners’ or subsequent guest's family.  As allergies can be serious medical conditions, pets cannot be brought into non-pet homes.

We have over 40 Pet Friendly Homes where dogs are permitted, including Emotional Support and Therapy Dogs.  No cats or other animals are permitted in any of our homes. 

Only Service Dogs that are specifically trained to perform tasks are permitted in non pet-friendly homes in compliance with ADA guidelines.  

Once the deposit has been made, the reservation is confirmed. Any change or transfer would be considered a cancellation.  Please refer to our cancellation policy in the Vacation Rental Agreement.

The Vacation Rental Act requires that we make Vacation Travel Insurance protection available to all guests.  To ensure compliance and give every guest ample time to make an informed decision about Travel Insurance, we automatically include this optional coverage on every reservation. Guests may choose to keep or decline this coverage when signing their Vacation Rental Agreement. 

We highly recommend Travel Insurance for your vacation investment.  Travel insurance covers an array of situations that can affect vacation plans including natural disasters, medical situations, illness, injury, job loss, etc.  For more information on the comprehensive travel insurance policy that we offer visit http://www.trippreserver.com/. 

Guests are able to add Travel Insurance coverage until the time their final balance is due.  Certain restrictions do apply, visit http://www.trippreserver.com/ for policy details. 

All Outer Banks vacation home rentals are subject to a State Sales and County Occupancy Tax. As of 2019, the NC State Sales tax rate is 6.75%. Dare and Currituck County Occupancy Tax is 6%. Taxes are subject to change at any time without notice. Any additional balance on the vacation rental amount because of a tax increase will be the responsibility of the guest.

Balances are due 45 days before check-in. We take payment by Visa, Mastercard, and Discover for NO ADDITIONAL FEE. Keyless Entry codes will not be released and after hours check-ins will not be permitted for Guests who are not paid in full.

Linens are not provided in most homes.  Guests may choose to bring linens or rent them.  Please View our Linen Rental Page for pricing and ordering instructions. Linen and Towel Package Rates are advertised on each individual property description page and included with your reservation.  The full Linen Package for each property includes sheets for all beds, towels set for the number the home sleeps, bath mats, kitchen towels and arrvial bed making service.  Please note: due to safety regulations, top bunks are not made before arrival. 

Guests who purchase the Full Linen Package or who rent a home where linens are provided will find the linens left in a canvas bag inside the front door of the home.  Due to COVID-19 protocols, bed making service is currently suspended.  Upon checkout, please be sure to remove linens only (not mattress pads or comforters) and place used linens in the blue or white bags provided for pickup by housekeeping.

Atlantic Realty has partnered with H2OBX Waterpark to offer our guests the biggest discount on waterpark tickets anywhere!  Visit our H2OBX Waterpark page to purchase tickets in advance. 

Take advantage of the new Vacation Pass -- visit H2OBX as many times as you want during your weekly OBX stay for one low price!  

Beach Lifeguards are generally on duty Memorial Day to Labor Day from 9am to 6pm.   Lifeguards are employed by the towns/municipalities, therefore, depending on the beach location (Corolla, Kitty Hawk, Nags Head, and etc.),  lifeguarded beaches may differ in coverage dates and hours. 

Leash laws differ depending on the town/municipality.  For specific leash laws you will need to review the ordinances of the individual towns.

No, all packages must be shipped to the check-in office as mail is not accepted at rental homes.

Most Towns and Areas offer some public beach accesses with parking.  There is no cost to park or access the beach. 

Visit our Beaches Page for Parking and Lifeguard Information for each Town. 

Please visit our What to Bring page for complete details.  

Driving on the Beach in the 4x4 area of Corolla is allowed.  However, parking on the beach now requires a permit.  Driving on the beach is permitted in the Off Season (October 1 - April 30) only in Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head and a permit is required.  Driving is NOT permitted on the beaches in Kitty Hawk, Southern Shores or Duck.  Hatteras and Ocracoke Island allows limited beach driving by permit only. Please refer to the Beach Driving Tips Page for the latest in permit costs and requirements and beach driving information. 

Bonfires are NOT ALLOWED in the towns of Corolla, Duck, Southern Shores, Kitty Hawk, and Kill Devil Hills.  They are, however, permitted in the Town of Nags Head provided that a bonfire permit is obtained from the office of the Fire Marshall.  Fires are not permitted to be within 50 feet of any combustible material including beach grass and sea oats and must be built in a pit no larger than 3 feet wide and 1 foot deep.  All fires must be attended to by a competant adult at all times.  Cape Hatteras National Seashore allows bonfires below the high tide provided they are attended to by an adult and extinguished entirely before leaving.

A beach nourishment project pumps sand from the ocean floor up onto the beach in order to widen it and lessen the impact of wave action and storm surge.  The project is done in phases and some areas of the beach and beach accesses may be roped off and closed in the immediate work zone.  However, the rest of the beaches are open to the public.  For more updated information on Beach Nourishment including a work schedule and area closure list, please visit our Beach Nourishment Page.