The Tranquil House Inn sits right on Queen Elizabeth Avenue, the street that traces Shallowbag Bay through downtown Manteo. That puts it about as central as lodging gets on Roanoke Island: the marina, the shops and restaurants of the historic waterfront district, and the harborfront walkway are all a short stroll away, a different rhythm entirely from the barrier-island beach towns across the Washington Baum Bridge.
Getting oriented on Roanoke Island
The island's cluster of historic sites on the north end — Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, Elizabethan Gardens, Roanoke Island Festival Park, and the Waterside Theatre, where The Lost Colony outdoor drama has run each summer for decades — are a short drive from downtown. A waterfront stay in Manteo makes it easy to spend a few days working through that history, including the still-unresolved disappearance of the 1580s Roanoke Colony, without needing to backtrack through the beach towns each day.
- Walking distance to downtown Manteo's waterfront shops, restaurants, and Shallowbag Bay
- Short drive to Fort Raleigh NHS, Elizabethan Gardens, and Roanoke Island Festival Park
- On Roanoke Island proper, separate in character from the Nags Head/Kill Devil Hills beach strip