A set of wheels for an island you can only reach by boat
Beach Ride Rentals sits on Irvin Garrish Highway, the road that carries nearly all vehicle traffic into and through Ocracoke village. It's a fitting spot for a car rental business, since a lot of visitors reach the island without a vehicle of their own — arriving on the free passenger ferry from Hatteras, or the longer toll runs from Cedar Island and Swan Quarter, and then wanting a set of wheels once they're here. That matters more on Ocracoke than most places, since the developed part of the island is just the village around Silver Lake Harbor; everything else — the pony pen, the maritime forest at Springer's Point, and the numbered beach access ramps running up NC-12 — sits north of town on National Park Service land.
The rental counter keeps long, consistent hours, open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day of the week, which covers an early start for the beach and a late return from dinner in the village. Call ahead to check on current vehicle availability.
29 reviews
3 months ago
We had an amazing Ocracoke vacation, and it had a lot to do with renting a Jeep Wrangler from Kelton! Originally we were planning to fly into W95 (Ocracoke Airstrip). Our plans changed due to weather, but we still had an absolute blast with our kiddos taking the offroad beach access trails right out to the water. With a 3 yo and 6 yo, they loved opening up the top and riding around the village. Excited for our return trip, and will rent again when we're back!
3 years ago
Awesome experience! Kelton was great! Very friendly, great customer service and knowledgeable about driving on the beach. Spent 20 min talking us through, and on our way we went! Went out to the point and spent some time, shelling, driving and just taking in all the scenery! Amazing experience…. Recommend highly!
a year ago
Great service. We got some good advice about catching the ferry a couple of hours before the rental time and it took most of that time. Kelton took us out to go over the do’s and don’ts of beach driving and we had a very pleasant experience. Do this if you plan to go to Ocracoke and want to see the beautiful shoreline.
a year ago
We had such a great time with our Jeep rental! From the knowledge shared to the service we had the best time (Kelton even helped rig us up a cooler for the day!) I can’t recommend them enough!
2 years ago
Awesome experience getting to drive on the beach was well worth it. Reasonable prices. Kelton was very helpful of all the accesses. Couldn't be happier.