Last year we spent some time on Albemarle Sound by coming down the ICW from Norfolk, VA. We stayed on the north side of the sound. On the sound itself we stayed at Coinjock, Elizabeth City, Hertford, Edenton, and Ablemarle Plantation.
Coinjock is basically a stopping point. There is not much there but two marinas and a restaurant. It is a nice enough place, but is mostly for overnight stops when transiting the ICW. When we were there, the place was full. They managed to squeeze us in pretty much under two larger yachts. Be the time we got up the next morning all but one or two boats were already gone.
Elizabeth City is the biggest town we visited.
Hertford is a very small old town. To get to the public dock you need to get them to open the bridge.
Edenton is a still a small town but is very nice. It was our favorite stop of the trip.
Ablemarle Plantation is a planned community, but it has a nice marina and other facilities. It is a decent stop.
Most of these places are on the Ablemarle Loop. You can get free docking for up to 48 hours at a number of places. Most places also have free bathrooms and showers. See
https://www.albemarleloop.com/
On thing to keep in mind is fuel stops. Not all marinas sell fuel, and you need to plan for this. You may have to go out of your way a bit to get fuel. We did not have any problems getting gas, but it is something to be aware off.
The Ablemarle Sound was pretty easy cruising while we were there. However, it is shallow and good east or west winds can generate good size waves. We had decent weather (mid Oct.), but when we departed back to Norfolk, the winds were expected to increase and it was suggested that we would not want to get caught on the sound in our size boat. On the north side of the sound about in the middle is a pretty large prohibited area. To get around it you have to get out in the middle of the sound. If it is rough, there can be no hugging the lee coast in that area.
We don't fish so I can't provide any info on that.
