Pirate Adventures of the Outer Banks

This is a MUST if you have small kids. An extremely well done pirate adventure on the high seas!
Parents get to sit back and relax and in the shade!
You start with costumes and painting on tattoos, then a short walk to the pirate boot to hunt sunken treasure.

Great time; very good with kids. Kids are had a great time. We took 2 girls 8 & 9. They were probably on the upper end of the age group. I would recommend this to anyone with kids younger than 8 or 9. A little hard to find the place.

This experience was worth every penny! My boys (ages 5 and 6) loved it. Captain Chum and his first mate Savvy kept the kids involved in pirate activities from the moment we arrived until he 1.5 hour adventure was over. From blasting a «real» pirate with water cannons, to searching for treasure, this activity was both exciting and appropriate for kids. Highly recommend!

One word… AMAZING! Our boys (3 & 5) LOVED it! They had so much fun, and the staff was super. They really had all the kids having a blast, and keep them entertained. Parents can kick back on the ship and enjoy. Captain Chum was funny, and the banter between him and Wave (the lady who worked with the kids) was super. The kids loved it.

Wow! Our daughter (5) had a wonderful time. The cruise is about 1.5 hours around the bay, and includes a fight using water canons with another pirate, a search for a map, and a three lock box full of pirate treasure. It’s a nice sized group, we had about 15 kids and their parents, and each of the kids gets a pirate name, a face painted tattoo, and instructions on how to talk like a pirate even before boarding the boat. Checkin is another half hour of costumes and face painting with a great staff, so overall it is an easy 2 hours of entertainment. There is great music on the ship that the grown ups will appreciate, a mix of classic rock and nautical folk songs.
The crew was constantly in character though very tongue in cheek. The face painting in some cases was pretty involved, including a skeletal hand for one child and a special request mermaid «tattoo» for my daughter.

Went to the Adventure would definitely recommend it for at least 3 & up maybe even 4 & up. I went with my 2 yr old and she was into it at first but quickly lost interest once onboard.
That being said it’s a lot of fun and I would absolutely go again! The staff makes it fun and make sure to tip them at the end. The earn it. :)

Second time going and my 5 year old had a great time. Geared toward younger kids who love a great pirate adventure.

My 5 and 7 yr old LOVED this outing today. The experience was well organized and facilitated from beginning to end.
Treasure hunt… Fought off an evil pirate with working water cannons… rode around on a ship all while being entertained by a great crew with a lively soundtrack…
Highly recommended for young preschool and elementary kiddos!

Excellent adventure for our 4 and 6 yr old. The hosts were awesome and my kids will not forget this. Highly recommend this trip for little ones!

If you think your kids have even the slightest interest in this Pirate Adventure — DO IT! My husband and I took our 6 year old niece and nephew, and they had a BLAST! If you have a lot of people going along, it can get pricey, but for us, it was worth every penny and the hour long drive down from the northern end of the island.
The kids start off with a pirate tattoo — our little mateys decided on «PIRATES!» knuckle tattoos and a seashell — and getting dressed up in pirate garb. There are accessories too for purchase, but we told our niece and nephew that we could do ice cream after if they forego the swords. Thank God, they chose wisely.
At that point, adult chaperones, just sit back, relax, and take some picture, because the crew takes care of everything. They sneak the kids through town onto the boat and take them through an adventure complete with finding a treasure map, firing water cannons at Stinky Pete the pirate, and sharing the booty. In reality, you’re driving around in circles, and the ship’s captain will have a few fun asides for the adults, but the kids really buy into it, and the crew is top notch. They really get into it, which I believe is saying something for these guys putting on multiple shows a day, many times a week.

At first glance it seems a bit over priced. Paying $ 12 for infants and $ 20 for anyone who can stand on their own two feet seemed a bit much. However, by the time we made it from the staging area to the boat, it was already worth the $.
Your journey begins by meeting in the shelter and the crew use face paint to «tattoo» the kids. Each child can look through a box for their pirate garb. There are several overpriced items at the check in area and chances are that you will buy something you don’t need.
The kids learn pirate language and the crew is great at getting even the least interested kids involved. The whole trip is an adventure. Even getting to the boat is an activity designed to get the kids imaginations flowing.
Once on the boat, rules are established for the adults, and the whole point of the trip from a parents perspective is to give the kids the chance to live a pirate adventure while wearing them out.
For more details on the specifics, read some other reviews. Ultimately, this adventure was the most fun we had in OBX. My 6yo and 3yo won’t stop pretending to be pirates. And for full disclosure, we needed up with an overpriced pirate hat and two plastic swords. This Halloween they have decided that they are both pirates.
Definitely the best experience we had as a family in OBX!

I went with 5 other families and their kids – a total of 27 of us in all. We had an absolute blast. Like good kids movies there were winks to the grown-​ups in the audience but it was mainly a show for the kids. There was so much for the kids to do, from cheering to hunting for things on the ship to firing water cannons to playing limbo. The crew leader (nicknamed «Gale») had something written on her name badge to the effect of «in training.» If she can do what she did with our kids as a trainee, I can’t imagine how much better it would be with someone who wasn’t a «trainee.» She had all 20-​odd children completely engaged and following her every instruction. And these are 20-​odd kids I know fairly well and I know some are strong-​willed and «too cool for school». But she had them doing push-​ups, pretending to be asleep, and doing whatever she asked. My boys talked about that trip for days afterwards. When we first signed up, I winced a little at the price. But the level of effort, showmanship, and fun that goes into this trip is worth it. I expected them to go out into the water, spray some water around, and come back. It was a really great interactive story with the kids getting the central role.

How fun!!! 6 kids, ages 4 – 9, boys and girls, all loved it! So did the parents and the grandparents. Fun, fun, fun!

What really happens: You walk to the dock from the outpost and then ride in circles around the waterway picking up items floating in the water. The staff pulls up a box with plastic trinkets. The kids each get a handful.
What your kids will think happens: You sneak through town avoiding danger at every turn and then hunt (and even defeat!) rival pirates. You find and haul a sunken (floating?) treasure chest full of pirate booty. The entire crew shares in the plunder.
The young staff makes all the difference. They actively engage the kids and act like they are having as much fun as the passengers. These young people work hard to make sure your kids have fun. Without them, the trip would not be worth the money. With them, the adventure is worth far more.
Three things: go to the bathroom before you leave, bring water on the boat, and bring cash for tips (The staff won’t ask, but they will earn it).

We did the 11:00 cruise over the July 4 week, and it was a blast! We had two 6-​year-​olds and two 3-​year-​olds, and they all had fun. The crew managed to keep everyone having fun the entire time. Highly recommended for families with kids who want a pirate adventure!

This is so much fun! Our group of 6 (4 adults, a 5 y-​o, and a 2 y-​o) all had a great time. The staff keeps the kids, and the adults entertained.

My sister shepherded 5 kids (ages 5 – 10) and 7 adults (including auntie Me) onto this voyage during family vacation and I thought it was the best kid activity ever! Face painting, dressup, boating around a bay fending off scalawags and dredging up treasure; the kids had a blast and I did too. Adults, I recommend you pack a bottle of water and your camera. Thank you Chum, Calypso and Pirates Adventures!

We did the pirate tour with our 5 year old last week and had a blast!!! The staff is amazing, the details are many and the… fun doesn’t stop! I loved how they asked for my son’s name and age when making reservations and upon arrival, greeted him as «Jackpot Joshua.» They even had a name badge waiting! Neptune and Chum were our host and captain and they were beyond wonderful. My son was a bit shy and Neptune fully engaged him. He is still talking about the water cannons, treasure and grog juice;)! I can’t say enough about this adventure and would do it again next year!