The historic farmhouse on Swan Quarter's main street is a B&B with three guest rooms, each with a bathroom. The rooms are simply furnished with antiques and a do-it-yourself breakfast is included. The Tunnells operate the family farm across the road from the B&B. It's minutes away to the 28-car capacity ferry to Ocracoke Island, and birders find the farmhouse convenient for day trips to Lake Mattamuskeet, Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge and Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge.
Carawan's Motel first opened its doors in 1949 and retains much of its original character. Rooms include private baths and outside entrances, and come equipped with satellite televisions, wireless Internet and an outdoor sink for cleaning fish. Choose to rent one of a number of cabins on the property, including one on the shores of a private, stocked pond. The cabins include fully equipped kitchens. Carawan's is on Highway 94 and is about a 10-minute drive to the ferry to Ocracoke.
A hunting and fishing lodge, Wildflower Lodge is a modern Cape Cod-style building decorated with antiques, waterfowl paintings and hunting memorabilia. It offers five bedrooms and three full baths, and temperature-controlled kennels if you bring along your hunting dog. Southern-style dinners begin with an oyster roast around an outdoor fire pit. The lodge offers guided hunting for waterfowl or inshore saltwater fishing trips.
The island offers a wide variety of hotels, motels, B&Bs and inns. Some of the island's lodging choices are the Pirates Quay Hotel, Pony Island Motel, Crews Inn B&B, Blackbeard's Lodge, Beach House B&B, Anchorage Inn, Captain's Landing and Thurston House Inn. It is a 2.5-hour ferry ride from Swan Quarter to Ocracoke, sailings are twice-a-day and reservations are required. Take in about 250 historic homes and buildings in the village of Ocracoke, browse at one-of-a-kind shops or art galleries and enjoy local seafood for lunch or dinner.
