DiscoCat Studios

DiscoCat Studios is a studio-style vacation rental on Irvin Garrish Highway, the road that carries NC-12 through the heart of Ocracoke village. That puts the property within an easy walk of Silver Lake Harbor, the harbor around which the village grew, along with the restaurants, shops, and charter docks that ring it.

Ocracoke itself is reachable only by water or air — the free NC ferry from Hatteras village runs about an hour, while the toll ferries from Cedar Island and Swan Quarter on the mainland each take roughly two and a quarter hours. Once you're here, most of what draws people to the island is a short drive or bike ride away: Ocracoke Lighthouse (the second-oldest operating lighthouse in the country, not open for climbing), the maritime forest at Springer's Point, and the village's British Cemetery. Further up-island, NC-12 continues past the pony pen and the numbered beach-access ramps that lead onto the undeveloped stretch of Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

• Walkable to Silver Lake Harbor and Ocracoke village's restaurants and shops
• Near Ocracoke Lighthouse and Springer's Point
• A short drive from the National Seashore's beach-access ramps and the pony pen

Because Ocracoke has no bridge or road connection to the mainland, hurricane season (June through November, with the highest risk August through October) can bring evacuation orders and ferry suspensions on shorter notice than almost anywhere else on the Outer Banks — worth keeping in mind when booking a stay here.