Zillies

We had a fantastic week in Ocracoke and absolutely loved our stay at Zillies. This cottage is certainly the quintessential couples retreat with every feature perfect for two. We especially loved the bikes and of course the outside shower. It was wonderful having the bikes as they were our primary mode of transportation. Our top 5 things to do while visiting Ocracoke were:
1) Taking the ferry ($20 pp) out to Portsmouth Island. The weather was perfect and the retired couple who volunteer with the NPS were fantastic tour guides for this "Ghost" Island. The beaches were superb and great shelling too.
2) Springers Point - So idyllic & romantic. Go at sunset and bring bug spray.
3) Kayaking Silver Lake & Teach's Hole. Unfortunatley we didn't have a roof rack so we had to rent.
4) Biking around Ocracoke and exploring all the neat shops and seeing the old homes. We used the walking guide book - great way to learn about the history of the island families.
5) Eating at Cafe Atlantic for dinner and a romantic dessert at Back Porch - They have Ocracoke's famous Fig Cake!

All in all we enjoyed our stay immensley. We can't wait to come back & stay at Zillies!
p.s. The wine tasting next door was loads of fun too! Prepare to stumble home though - luckily it's not a far walk.
Thanks Jeff & Wendy!

Zillies,
We had an absolutely amazing time at this fantastic cottage! The house and all the amenities were perfect. We especially loved the bikes and outdoor shower. Too bad we didn't bring anything to mount the kayaks on, it would have been a blast! We ate at and recommend the Atlantic Cafe, Dajio, along with the Back Porch Inn. Dave and Roy at Zillies Pantry were unbelievably nice and we made many purchases there for our picnics on the beach. When rain came, we enjoyed the gas grill and the immense DVD collection.
We can't wait to return!

Here are a few of our favorite things to share:
-Springers Point - check this out for sure. I've been to the island three times before without taking a peek. It was so nice to have the time this trip.
-The museum on the south end... full of neat information and history of Ocracoke.
-Best breakfast - Pony Island Motel restaurant.
-Best crab cake sandwich - Hands down! Take the ferry to Hatteras and head to Sonny's Restaurant. It's on 12 on the right. No fillers and full of meat! Lunch is only served til 2.
-Jolly Rogers - great shrimp burrito!
-Jason's - suprisingly great pizza. Ocracoke Pizza was closed.
-Jockey's Ridge - Nags Head - was super fun to fly a kite there.
Everyone is right... the outdoor shower is such a treat. We love the house and all the little extras. Please note that Ocracoke has bins to recycle plastic, glass, cans all over the place. We probably took a bag a day but it's so convenient. Hope everyone enjoys Zillies on Ocracoke as much as we did.

We had a wonderful week of relaxation! We love Zillies. Although it was a blustery adventure we enjoyed every day outside - walking, biking and exploring. Springers Point was amazing - our first introduction to Live Oak trees. It was magical. All our beach explorations were exciting. The village of Ocracoke was the best. We enjoyed meals at the Back Porch and Dajio's - both were excellent. The highlight was the trip to Portsmouth Island - an amazingly beautiful day. We are so pleased to have experienced this part of the Outer Banks.