The summer routine seems to be the same each year: beach, eat, drink, sleep and repeat. Sometimes there’s bowling thrown in if there’s a rain day. This year we suggest checking out the gorgeous lighthouses that dot the eastern seaboard. In our country’s early years, these majestic structures guided ships home, alerted them to jagged coasts and served as beacons in the storm. Today, they are a great travel stop while sunning from North Carolina to Maine.

In fact, BusRates.com can help you plan your group travel trip so you can get your lighthouse fix in between your sand and surf excursions. Let’s take a look at a North Carolina group trip. The Tar Heel State boasts eight lighthouses that could be of interest to travelers of all ages. Taking a look at our hotel directory, it appears that there are two hotels center coast perfect for larger groups: Hilton Garden Inn Kitty Hawk and Ramada Plaza Nagshead Beach. Staying in Nagshead puts your crew just an hour and a half from Cape Hatteras with an added bonus of seeing the Bodie Lighthouse on the way.

Both lighthouses offer your travelers of all ages an opportunity to see the national seashore and explore history. However, you may want to scan your group for what they can physically manage. This will help you tailor the trip, say for a senior group, who would probably enjoy more of a photo trip.

For the younger crowd, go on ahead and plan on making the hike up the stairs, but be prepared for a workout. Cape Hatteras has 257 steps which is the equivalent of climbing up a 12-story building. Oh, and it’s not air-conditioned. We promise the view is well worth it!