Souvenir shopping on vacation can be the most expensive part of your vacation, but when you go to the beach the seashells you find on the beach can be the souvenirs you love most and they won’t cost you a penny. Adding a beachy edge to your at home décor, these delicate pieces have long been the souvenir of choice for unknown numbers of guests who have made their way to the Outer Banks and our Cape Hatteras home. Today, we at Lighthouse View have created this guide to the best places to go shelling in Cape Hatteras during your vacation, perhaps giving your budget a chance to breathe a little.
Coquina Beach in Nags Head
You shouldn’t be surprised that Coquina Beach is a great beach for shell seekers. Named for the plethora of Coquina clams that can be found here, in the summer months you may catch sight of swarms of live coquinas burrowing in the sand, and of course, you can find handfuls of their shells during your wanderings along the beach.
South Beach in Buxton
While Coquina Beach is known mainly for its Coquina shells, South Beach offers a large selection of shells of all kinds, including helmet conchs, whelks, and Scotch bonnets. Scotch bonnets are actually quite rare everywhere else in the world but are plentiful here on Cape Hatteras and other areas of the Outer Banks and helmet conchs, are the large shells that people often claim they can hear the ocean in when they hold them up to their ears, making either shell a fantastic and impressive souvenir. South Beach is also a great beach for finding sand dollars, especially after a storm.
Frisco Beach on Hatteras Island
Frisco Beach is a fantastic beach for shell seekers, due in part to the shallow ocean floor that helps shells get carried to the shore without breaking, and seashell seekers can hope to find augers, olives, and whelks. The best time to hunt for any seashells is after storms and during low tide.
The Beach Outside Your Lighthouse View Retreat
You’re already saving money on the purchase of souvenirs, why not save a little gas money as well simply by searching for shells on the beach you have been playing on your entire vacation? Offering a chance to find all the shells listed above (including sand dollars), you may also find periwinkles, moon snails, and scallops of various sizes. This is the shell hunt that makes our guests happiest because they don’t have to venture far from the comforts of their Lighthouse View retreats. Reserve your favorite today and let the hunt for seashells commence!
