Beach Equipment Rentals on the OBX: Bikes, Kayaks, Chairs, Umbrellas & More!

At long last—a week, or even better, two weeks on the OBX! There’s Mom and Dad, 13-year-old Peggy, and 9-year-old Chuck, making packing for their Outer Banks vacation a 24-hour exercise in precision planning and engineering expertise.

There is one suitcase packed for each family member. And, an extra one with anything that couldn’t quite fit in the other four. Then there are the bikes, Chuck’s skimboard, and Peggy’s boogie board. Maybe a surfboard or two thrown in, some beach chairs, and the worst space killer…the cooler. All of this beach equipment is important to pack for a vacation to the OBX, but it could all be found at a beach equipment rentals shop too!

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about packing for vacation is the surprising load management skills Mom and Dad exhibit as it all gets packed, strapped down, and made ready for the highway. Especially with all the beach equipment you will want to bring to fully enjoy all that the OBX has to offer!

If you find yourself with no space left for Chuck and Peggy after all the beach equipment is loaded in/on the car, don’t panic! Thankfully, there is an alternative: pack the suitcases, get the kids in the car, and take advantage of the beach equipment rentals available across the OBX!

From bikes to golf carts, kayaks to surfboards, beach umbrellas, beach chairs, and more! Other than the clothes on their backs, everything that a family of four is planning on bringing to the Outer Banks can be rented at beach equipment rentals shops throughout the OBX.

Actually, some of our partners offer even more than just the usual beach equipment rentals you’d need like umbrellas, chairs, and coolers (all available daily or by the week). Local OBX companies that we work with, like Ocean Atlantic Rentals (OAR) and Farmdog Surf School, offer beach equipment rentals perfect for your OBX vacation and all of the beach activities you could dream of like bikes, stand-up paddleboards, kayaks, and more!

A few OBX beach equipment rentals companies that we suggest to our guests are OAR and Farmdog (as noted above), as well as BeachMasters. These companies offer a wide selection of beach equipment rentals perfect for your OBX vacation and you can even have your rentals delivered to your door or set up at the beach! From cabanas to grills to coolers to SUPs to bikes and MORE, beach equipment rentals are the easiest and most convenient way to enjoy your OBX beach vacation!

If you are considering a Cabana or Umbrella package, this will include everything needed for the beach—umbrellas or a beach tent, chairs, and other items are all part of your package. But what makes the service stand out is the rental companies will set it up in the morning for you and break it down every night. Be sure to check each beach equipment rental company’s website for their unique offerings and schedules.

Please note that for families who are bringing their own umbrellas and beach chairs, and everything that goes with it, all of it must be off the beach every night. That’s a lot of work for a vacationing family, but it’s important for two reasons.

It’s dangerous leaving the equipment on the beach overnight. If the wind picks up and there is no one to bring the umbrella in or fetch the chairs off the beach, people can get hurt if they blow around.

Because of that, every town, and the counties, have ordinances on the books prohibiting leaving beach equipment past sunset. Generally, equipment left on the beach at night is considered litter and disposed of accordingly.

What the cabana beach equipment rentals service does is take care of the worry of leaving anything on the beach at night, and makes sure that everything is ready for the family when the morning comes.

Beach equipment, of course, is not the only thing our Carolina Designs partners rent.

Beach equipment rentals shops such as Duck Village Outfitters (DVO) and Farmdog offer some of the best water-sport instruction on the Outer Banks! Naturally, they rent surfboards, SUPs, kayaks, and just about anything else needed for some fun times on the waters of the OBX. But on top of that, you can learn from the pros while you get your feet wet (pun intended) by trying out a new sport!

Spending time on the water is just one of many things that is special about the Outer Banks. There are well over 60 miles of interconnecting bike trails from Corolla to South Nags Head for you to enjoy. Making bike rides particularly nice, there are very few hills on the routes, creating a perfect opportunity for a family outing without needing to put in too much physical effort.

Our DVO, OAR, and Farmdog beach equipment rental partners rent bikes for the whole family (mostly beach cruisers). However, for someone who may want to take on a little more challenging ride, there are some geared bikes available for rent as well. They still have the saddle seat and upright handlebars of a beach cruiser, but they will make the ride easier on a longer ride along the OBX with a few hills.

Our OBX beach equipment rentals partners specialize in what they do, whether it’s the deluxe cabana service from BeachMasters or the combination of water sport lessons with equipment rentals that DVO and Farmdog offer. Keep in mind that Ocean Atlantic Rentals specializes in beach equipment rentals but do not offer lessons. They offer visitors to the OBX rentals for surfboards, SUPs, kayaks, and bikes as well as golf carts, gas grills, beach towels, and more! Whoever you choose to source your beach equipment rentals on the OBX through, rest assured, you will have all you need for a perfect OBX beach experience.

So next year, when Mom and Dad and 14-year-old Peggy and 10-year-old Chuck are packing for the Outer Banks, they can simply pack their clothes and plan to have their beach equipment rentals waiting for them when they arrive on the beautiful beaches of the OBX!