A Visit to Manteo, NC is Like Coming Home
It’s easy to relax into a visit to the Town of Manteo, North Carolina, a welcoming community where everything is easygoing from the moment you drop the hook or tie up at one of the local marinas.
Manteo wraps around Shallowbag Bay on the eastern side of Roanoke Island. The island lies between the beaches of North Carolina's Outer Banks and the sparsely populated low-lying mainland to the west.
In the town’s early days, every store lining the waterfront had two doors – one dockside for those coming by boat and the other streetside for those coming from the courthouse or one of the inns on Water Street.
Visitors to town today still conduct business, and are offered immersion into the island's history, including the representative 16th-century ship Elizabeth II at Roanoke Island Festival Park, the George Washington Creef Boathouse and Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse. The town also welcomes singers, dancers and actors back to Waterside Theatre each summer, where they perform the nation's oldest outdoor symphonic drama, The Lost Colony, now in its 86th year.
Where to Dock
Manteo’s Waterfront is lined with locally and nationally renowned restaurants, watersports, gift, and antique shops, bookstores, and other businesses with doors wide open.
A boardwalk connects the town boat ramp and marina, waterfront gazebo, playground and picnic areas with the all the attractions of the harbor. The waterfront is usually packed with sailboats, skiffs and yachts of both visiting mariners in season and year-round locals, as well as several local tour companies that will get you on the water for a cruise.
Downtown
Downtown Manteo is a destination of small streets leading to the harbor that are filled with gorgeous gardens, manicured lawns and charming B&Bs. On “First Fridays” all the stores put on an event staying open late with bands and street performers and food.
The Pioneer Theater, a fixture in the town for decades, is currently being refurbished but is expected to reopen this summer. The theater is open year-round and features a budget-friendly feature in a charming vintage setting.
Sail the Bay or Search for Dolphin
You may have arrived here on your own boat but that won’t stop you from enjoying a day aboard one of these great sailing tours. Here are three that we highly recommend, all departing from Manteo Waterfront Marina:
Outerbanks Cruises – Includes family friendly trips with Captain Johnny. This operation also has Dolphin Watch and Risky Business Shrimping and Crabbing charters. Fun for all ages.
Down East Rover – Offers trips around Roanoke Sound and beyond on a replica topsail schooner.
Sail the Outer Banks – Enjoy a private sail charter, up to 6 guests, sailing on the Roanoke and Albemarle Sounds on a 41 ft. Gulfstar.
Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse
Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse is an enchanting example of an "in-shore" lighthouse, a cottage-style screw pile light that was reconstructed and set on the Manteo waterfront. Its 4th order Fresnel lens guides boats into Shallowbag Bay
Maritime Museum
The Roanoke Island Maritime Museum located in the George Washington Creef boathouse is a working boat shop. Local and regional maritime heritage is presented through displays of watercraft, exhibits, restoration projects and traditional skills workshops. Featured at the museum is the North Carolina shad boat Ella View built in 1883.
No matter the weather or time of year, there's always something to do in Manteo and many happy reasons to return.
We will see you there this season…