Any good shops in the Outer Banks?

Willz · Sep 26, 2012

I am travelling down from VA to Ocracoke Island tomorrow and will be returning on Sunday. Are there any good LFS along the way? They would need to be open on Sunday since that is when I'm heading back. I'll be driving 158 until I get back into VA and then 64 back thru Richmond and Charlottesville, then 81 from Staunton to Roanoke. Anyone that lives in that range feel free to chime in if your shop is worth a look see

Thanks!!!

3Twinklets · Sep 26, 2012

:roll:

64Ivy · Sep 26, 2012

I can only speak for Hwys 158, 258, and 12 down to the Cape and Ocracoke ferry docks. No.

dlterry85 · Sep 26, 2012

there are several in the hampton roads area.
there is atlantic sea farms in va beach
fish safari in va beach
reef chief in suffolk
reef dynamics in hampton

further north;
atlantis aquarium in richmond
fish world in richmond
richmond aquarium in richmond

the ones located in richmond are a little higher priced than the ones in hampton roads.

Willz · Sep 26, 2012

Thanks a lot! I had been to a couple of the places in Richmond and they were pretty pricey. I'm plotting directions for the Hampton and Suffolk places. I appreciate your meaningful reply

dlterry85 said:
there are several in the hampton roads area.
there is atlantic sea farms in va beach
fish safari in va beach
reef chief in suffolk
reef dynamics in hampton

further north;
atlantis aquarium in richmond
fish world in richmond
richmond aquarium in richmond

the ones located in richmond are a little higher priced than the ones in hampton roads.

KLR · Sep 26, 2012

Not that I know of on that route. Pet Gallery is in the Outer Banks but they are not a saltwater only store. FishFishFish in Plymouth, NC is the best store I can think of that is semi-close to the Outer Banks. It is roughly 1 hour and a half inland from Nags Head when driving in standard traffic. The problem is that FishFishFish is opened on all days except Sunday.

I frequently go to FishFishFish, The Outer Banks, and eastern NC is my home region, hahaha.

Willz · Sep 26, 2012

Good to know, thanks

64Ivy said:
I can only speak for Hwys 158, 258, and 12 down to the Cape and Ocracoke ferry docks. No.

Willz · Sep 26, 2012

KLR said:
Not that I know of on that route. Pet Gallery is in the Outer Banks but they are not a saltwater only store. FishFishFish in Plymouth, NC is the best store I can think of that is semi-close to the Outer Banks. It is roughly 1 hour and a half inland from Nags Head when driving in standard traffic. The problem is that FishFishFish is opened on all days except Sunday.

I frequently go to FishFishFish, The Outer Banks, and eastern NC is my home region, hahaha.

Oh, well. Closed on Sunday. Can't blame them there. Thanks for letting me know, though!

KLR · Sep 26, 2012

Willz said:
Oh, well. Closed on Sunday. Can't blame them there. Thanks for letting me know, though!

Yea. No problem! If all else fails schedule a trip to the North Carolina Aquarium in Manteo to get your saltwater aquarium dosage for your vacation time!

If you decide to take the ferry from Ocracoke back to Hatteras Village one evening I would suggest one of the following places for dinner: in Hatteras Village-Breakwater(AMAZING view at sunset and really nice food, on the higher end side of dining), in Buxton-Rusty's Surf and Turf (A fairly new restaurant that is quite popular, primarily Caribbean style food), and if you go further north to Avon-Ketch 55 (Another restaurant that is fairly popular, primarily known as a seafood grill).

Also, if you have never done this before, I suggest going to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse at night. It is open to the public and very amazing to see in person. The sky should be clear considering the time of the year, which will make the stargazing phenomenal at the lighthouse site as well. I did this for the first time this year and I have been going to the Outer Banks for years, haha. Here is a picture I took of it.

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse at Night by Kelby Roberson Photography, on Flickr

If you have vacationed here many times before, sorry for my rambling on about stuff that is probably old news to you,hahaha.

dlterry85 · Sep 26, 2012

all of the places i listed have websites. look for the hours as i'm not positive if they are open or not.
i highly recommend ASF,Reef Dynamics and Reef Chief.

there is one in NC, but i personally have not been there so i do not know;
Carolina Coral Farms | Facebook

here is our local club if interested;
Articles - Hampton Roads Reef Club Home - Home

sportzfish · Sep 26, 2012

There is Animal Jungle in VA Beach that has quite a large selection of saltwater and freshwater, reptiles, and birds.

dlterry85 · Sep 26, 2012

sportzfish said:
There is Animal Jungle in VA Beach that has quite a large selection of saltwater and freshwater, reptiles, and birds.

i would skip this place... has a very bad reputation within our club. lots of ick, poor service etc.

Willz · Sep 26, 2012

KLR said:
Yea. No problem! If all else fails schedule a trip to the North Carolina Aquarium in Manteo to get your saltwater aquarium dosage for your vacation time!

If you decide to take the ferry from Ocracoke back to Hatteras Village one evening I would suggest one of the following places for dinner: in Hatteras Village-Breakwater(AMAZING view at sunset and really nice food, on the higher end side of dining), in Buxton-Rusty's Surf and Turf (A fairly new restaurant that is quite popular, primarily Caribbean style food), and if you go further north to Avon-Ketch 55 (Another restaurant that is fairly popular, primarily known as a seafood grill).

Also, if you have never done this before, I suggest going to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse at night. It is open to the public and very amazing to see in person. The sky should be clear considering the time of the year, which will make the stargazing phenomenal at the lighthouse site as well. I did this for the first time this year and I have been going to the Outer Banks for years, haha. Here is a picture I took of it.

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse at Night by Kelby Roberson Photography, on Flickr

If you have vacationed here many times before, sorry for my rambling on about stuff that is probably old news to you,hahaha.

I appreciate your rambling! We went earlier this year and fell in love with Ocracoke Island and the whole Outer Banks experience. We did see the Hatteras Lighthouse during the day, but a night trip might be in order after we hit up one of the restaurants you mentioned

This is why I always ask for the inside scoop. Thanks a million!!!

Willz · Sep 26, 2012

dlterry85 said:
all of the places i listed have websites. look for the hours as i'm not positive if they are open or not.
i highly recommend ASF,Reef Dynamics and Reef Chief.

there is one in NC, but i personally have not been there so i do not know;
Carolina Coral Farms | Facebook

here is our local club if interested;
Articles - Hampton Roads Reef Club Home - Home

Thanks, I have checked out their websites and all are open on Sunday. I have added them as added destinations and look forward to making some stops on the way home. Bringing a small cooler and looking forward to sampling the "local wares".

Big thanks for all the tips everyone!!!! This is why I love this site!!!

KLR · Sep 26, 2012

Willz said:
I appreciate your rambling! We went earlier this year and fell in love with Ocracoke Island and the whole Outer Banks experience. We did see the Hatteras Lighthouse during the day, but a night trip might be in order after we hit up one of the restaurants you mentioned This is why I always ask for the inside scoop. Thanks a million!!!

Cool! The Outer Banks as a whole is unique when compared to other beaches, but Ocracoke is even more unique in its self. You are welcome! Enjoy your trip!

KLR · Sep 28, 2012

Look at what I just found out! Full Moon Tour Offered at Cape Hatteras Lighthouse on September 29 - Cape Hatteras National Seashore This would be perfect for touring the lighthouse and stargazing, because you would have a guide and a phenomenal view. This tour lets you actually walk up the lighthouse at night which is a huge opportunity to do something that is not done often. You could stay after the tour is over if you wanted to spend more time on site too.

Willz · Sep 30, 2012

Thanks to everyone's tips on what to do and see while we were down there. We had a blast and just got back a little bit ago. I stopped at Reef Chief and the name of the shop is truly on point. It was awesome. I got a nice frag of birdsnest for $5, he also fragged a nice purple and orange zoa, and I bought 6 polyps of PPE. I also stopped at Fish Safari and am kicking myself because I didn't get one of their Darth Maul frags. They also had a really sweet orange paly frag. Should have pulled the trigger. We didn't wind up getting off of Ocracoke the entire time we were down there. The night of the Hatteras Lighthouse night tour turned out really rainy, so we holed up in our hotel room and picked up Thai instead. All in all an awesome trip despite the weather yesterday.