These three destinations have airline routes that will have you back home by night:

Just 14 ILM domestic flights can get you to more than 360 destinations. Some of the flight schedules allow for a one-day trip. While some of these trips might be a time squeeze, for the adventurous or hopeless romantics it could be the golden ticket. Because of airline traffic variables, definitely hold plans loosely and plan instead to go with the flow.

**Please note: airline schedules are always changing. Please check with the airlines that service ILM for schedules. The flight times suggested below are from schedules in Spring 2024.

New York, New York

YES. Technically you can fly to The Big Apple early from Wilmington, do some sightseeing and return to The Port City by midnight. While you will need to move at lightning speed, it could be the perfect spontaneous outing. Want to propose on the Empire State Building and not have to pay for the hotel room? You could swing it. Usually, flights to New York depart from ILM every day around 7 AM. You’ll arrive at Laguardia by 9 AM. Account for at least one hour of transportation from the airport to your destination in Manhattan. Currently, American Airlines’ schedule has an 8:30 pm return flight to ILM. Given you have to be back at Laguardia around 6:30 PM and it may take an hour to get there, in total you could potentially have from 9:30 AM to 5 PM to explore NYC. 

What to do in 8 hours in New York? Start your morning with bagels and a stroll through Central Park. From there, squeeze in one or more of the famous sites like Rockefeller Plaza, the Empire State Building, or the 9/11 Memorial. 

Charlotte, NC

American Airlines currently has flights as early as 5 am and returning as late as 11 pm. While these flight schedules change, the AA routes to and from Wilmington offer between four and five flights a day. 

Should you hop on the earliest flight, you could be exploring downtown Charlotte by 8 AM. Since you will need to be back at CLT around 8:30 PM, this could potentially allow for at least 10 hours of fun. 

Check out these suggestions for one day in Charlotte. 

Atlanta, GA

There are between four and five Delta flights from ILM and ATL each day. If you can score the earliest flight (currently 6 am) and head home by the last flight (currently 9 pm) that would make for a fine day in Atlanta. But what to do? Check out these suggestions for 5-10 hours in Atlanta.

Explore our blog to read more about all the fun adventures to be had living in Wilmington, NC.