World's 20 Best Surf Towns (Wrightsville Beach is on the list)

A great surf town is the nearly magical sum of consistent waves, inviting accommodations, friendly locals, fun nightlife, delicious food, and plenty of activities should the ocean go flat. The following is a list of the world's best surf towns, picked not necessarily because they are home to the best waves, but because the sum of their parts makes them inviting for locals and visitors alike. Plus, for each town, locals tell us where to eat, stay, and play.—Tetsuhiko Endo

Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina

Photograph by Logan Mock-Bunting, Aurora

Best For: The whole family can enjoy Wrightsville’s trademark mix of sleepy southern beach town and growing metropolis. Think catfish with caviar or barbecue with Beaujolais.
Wrightsville Beach is a small town tucked away between the salt marshes, sandy barrier islands, and old wooden piers of the American southeast. “It’s a great surf town for two main reasons—attitude and access,” says Mike Barden, a native and owner of the seminal East Coast surf shop Surf City Surf Shop, which has been in business since 1978. “We have a pretty laid-back, understanding attitude. You don’t ever really get vibed here. You can just show up and surf, which is something that you can’t always do in big surf towns, such as Huntington Beach, or even some towns on the East Coast.”
When
August to October. Late summer is hurricane season and offers warm weather with consistently above-average surf.
Learn
WB Surf Camp offers lessons and camps for kids, teens, adults, families, and women-only groups.
Eat/Drink
You can’t go to the southeast without trying flounder and oysters. Barden recommends King Neptune Restaurant’s grilled flounder sandwich.
Stay
Vacation rentals overlooking the beach are the way to go.
Play
The southeast is a hotbed of stand-up paddleboarding (SUP), and Wrightsville has one of the most popular loops in the region—the four-mile, flat-water Harbor Island Outer Loop. SUP rentals are available at Surf City. For a more sedentary time, charter a fishing boat from Philip Thompson at AUI Charters, or take the kids out with Stuart Caulder at Gold Leader Fishing.
Local Tip
The best swells, nor’easters, often come with strong winds and currents. Wait for them to pass then snag an early morning cleanup session the day after, when conditions are usually the best.