Getting Around

By Car

Unless you plan to spend the bulk of your vacation in a city where walking is the best way to get around, the most cost-effective way to travel in North Carolina is by car.

Foreign driver's licenses are usually recognized in the U.S., but you should get an international one if your home license is not in English.

North Carolina has a seat-belt law that requires all front-seat passengers to wear seat belts. The state also has a child-restraint law that requires children 3 years old and younger to be secured in a child safety seat. Children 3 to 16 years old must ride in a safety seat or use a car seat belt.

North Carolina's 76,000 miles of toll-free, well-maintained highways and some state roads have rest areas with picnic tables and outdoor cooking facilities. Write Travel and Tourism NC, Department of Commerce, 430 N. Salisbury St., Raleigh, NC 27611, for the "Official North Carolina Highway Map and Guide to Points of Interest," which is one of the easiest maps to use; it's also filled with tourist information.

Before leaving home, it's a good idea to join the American Automobile Association (AAA), 6600 AAA Dr., Charlotte, NC 28212 (tel. 800/477-4222 or 704/569-3600; fax 704/444-4247; www.aaacarolinas.com). For a very small fee, AAA provides a wide variety of services, including trip planning, accommodations and restaurant directories, and a 24-hour toll-free telephone number set up exclusively to deal with members' road emergencies (tel. 800/AAA-HELP; www.aaacarolinas.com).

Leading car-rental firms are represented in North Carolina's major cities and airports. For reservations and rate information, contact the following: Avis (tel. 800/331-1212; www.avis.com), Budget (tel. 800/472-3325; www.budget.com), Hertz (tel. 800/654-3131; www.hertz.com), and Thrifty Car Rental (tel. 800/367-2277; www.thrifty.com).

By Plane

US Airways (tel. 800/428-4322; www.usairways.com) and Delta (tel. 800/221-1212; www.delta.com) have several in-state connecting flights between cities such as Raleigh, Charlotte, Asheville, Wilmington, New Bern, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Jacksonville, and Fayetteville.

Overseas visitors can take advantage of the APEX (Advance Purchase Excursion) reductions offered by all major U.S. and European carriers. In addition, some large airlines offer transatlantic or transpacific passengers special discount tickets under the name Visit USA, which allows mostly one-way travel from one U.S. destination to another at very low prices. Unavailable in the U.S., these discount tickets must be purchased abroad in conjunction with your international fare. This system is the easiest, fastest, and cheapest way to see the country.

By Train

International visitors can buy a USA Rail Pass, good for 5, 15, or 30 days of unlimited travel on Amtrak (tel. 800/USA-RAIL; www.amtrak.com). The pass is available through many overseas travel agents. See Amtrak's website for the cost of travel within the western, eastern, or northwestern United States. With a foreign passport, you can also buy passes direct from some Amtrak locations, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Miami, Boston, and Washington, D.C. Reservations are generally required and should be made as early as possible. Regional rail passes are also available.

Bu Bus

Bus travel is often the most economical form of public transit for short hops between U.S. cities, but it can also be slow and uncomfortable -- certainly not an option for everyone (particularly when Amtrak, which is far more luxurious, offers similar rates). Greyhound (tel. 800/231-2222; www.greyhound.com) is the sole nationwide bus line. International visitors can obtain information about the North American Discovery Pass. The pass can be obtained from foreign travel agents or through (www.discoverypass.com) for unlimited travel and stopovers in the U.S. and Canada.

By Ferry

North Carolina has a system of auto ferries that ply the coastal sounds and rivers; most are toll-free, but the longer trips charge a fee. Crossings can be made between Currituck and Knotts Island, Currituck and Corolla, Hatteras and Ocracoke, Ocracoke and Swan Quarter, Cedar Island and Ocracoke, Bayview and Aurora, Cherry Branch and Minnesott, and Southport and Fort Fisher. To get an up-to-date, printed ferry schedule, contact the North Carolina Department of Transportation Ferry Division at tel. 800/BY-FERRY or download one at www.ncferry.org.