1. Hatteras Watersports
City: Salvo, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (252) 987-2306
Address: NC 12
Description: Hatteras Watersports rents WaveRunner personal watercraft. The store is on the sound side, across from the Salvo Volunteer Fire Department.
2. Fishin’ Hole
City: Salvo, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (252) 987-2351
Address: NC 12
Description: Operating on the Outer Banks since 1976, The Fishin’ Hole is a full-service tackle shop that sells live bait, tackle, beach supplies, groceries, and T-shirts. Rod and reel repairs for Daiwa, Penn, and other brands are available here. It’s an official weigh station for the North Carolina Beach Buggy Association. The shop is open from the end of Mar through mid-December.
3. Cape Escape
City: Salvo, NC
Category: Relocation
Telephone: (252) 987-2336, (800) 996-2336
Address: NC 12
Description: Cape Escape, across from the local post office, handles sales in Rodanthe, Waves, and Salvo.
4. The Blue Whale
City: Salvo, NC
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (252) 987-2335
Address: NC 12
Description: The Blue Whale offers a mix of the usual beach items (T-shirts, groceries, beach supplies) and the unusual (gourmet coffees and hot sauces). The Blue Whale imports beer and wine and specializes in jams, jellies, and salad dressings. Crafts created by Jeanette and Laura are sold here.
5. Fishin’ Hole
City: Salvo, NC
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (252) 987-2351
Address: NC 12
Description: The Fishin’ Hole is best known as a general tackle shop, but the shop, open Apr through mid-Dec, also sells beach supplies and groceries.
6. Pea Island Art Gallery
City: Salvo, NC
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (252) 987-2879
Address: NC 12
Description: Housed in a beautiful building suggesting an old lifesaving station, Pea Island Art Gallery represents local and regional artists. Stop in for a browse and know that a portion of any purchase will benefit Pea Island Wildlife Refuge or Chicamacomico Life Saving Station.
7. Salvo Post Office
City: Salvo, NC
Category: Tours & Attractions
Address: NC 12
Description: If you’re heading south on NC 12 through Hatteras Island, slow down as you leave Salvo to spot a tiny whitewashed building with blue and red trim on the right side of the road. That’s the old Salvo Post Office, which was the country’s smallest post office until an arsonist burned about half of it down in 1992. It sat atop low rails in the postmaster’s front yard. Over the years villagers moved it to the front yard of each new postmaster’s house. The wooden structure had beautiful gilt post boxes surrounding the small glass service window, but it didn’t have a bathroom, air-conditioning, or a wheelchair-accessible ramp. Although community volunteers rallied and rebuilt their little post office quickly, the federal government refused to reopen the outpost, which was originally erected in 1901. Today Salvo residents drive to Rodanthe to pick up their mail, and this tiny charmer sits empty by the road.