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, many of the stores 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, marina, waterfront gazebo, playground, and picnic areas, providing easy access to all the attractions within the harbor. George Washington Creef Memorial Park is located in front of the Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse and is adjacent to the Roanoke Island Maritime Museum. The grassy lawn offers open areas of green space with a canopy of trees providing some shade. It is a naturally beautiful setting along the waterfront boardwalk.

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”, many of the local businesses put on an event staying open late with live music and food.

The Pioneer Theater, a fixture in the town for decades, was recently refurbished. The theater provides entertainment in a charming, vintage setting all year long with movies, live music, and performing arts.

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 lense 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…