By bus
Bus service to and from Wilmington is via Carolina Trailways, a subsidiary of Greyhound (http://www.greyhound.com/). Buses connect Wilmington to Charleston, Goldsboro, Myrtle Beach, Raleigh and Savannah. The station is located at 201 Harnett Street in downtown Wilmington. Service is infrequent, with only four arrivals and departures per day, and the station is open for limited hours: 9AM-1PM, and 4PM-6PM.
By car
From the south via I-95 N, or from the direction of Charlotte, you should take US 74 E exit 14 in North Carolina from I-95. It will take you about an 1.5 to 2 hours to get to Wilmington from the junction of I-95 and US 74. If taking this route, you should be sure to stock up on snacks and drinks, use the restroom, and fill up your gasoline tank before merging onto US 74 E, because stops are few and far between until arriving in Wilmington. US 74 running concurrent with US 17 and US 76 at this point crosses the Cape Fear River Bridge into Wilmington just south of the Historic District.
From the north via I-95 S, or from the direction of Raleigh, take I-40 E. Again, it will take approximately 1.5 to 2 hours to get to Wilmington from the junction of I-95 and I-40. You should be aware that stops between I-95 and Wilmington are also infrequent, although there is a rest area near Warsaw, at the exit for NC 24.