The Docks at Downtown Hampton - Hampton, VA
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Most Recent Visit: August 23-24, 2025
This town-run marina is right downtown on the Hampton River. You access the river by a winding channel that runs along the I-64 bridge and tunnel that goes under the James River to Norfolk. As you enter the protected harbor, you will pass the Safe Harbor Bluewater Marina on your port where you can get fuel if necessary. You will also pass the Hampton Yacht Club and some commercial fishing businesses. |
The marina is adjacent to the downtown area and includes a number of slips with short finger piers, and few T-head slips in front of the marina office. Securing the boat was a little challenging due to the short finger piers, however the dockhand was very helpful and patient as we got ourselves set in the slip.
Reservations were made using the Dockwa app and the marina was very quick to respond to the reservation request. Extending our stay by a day was no problem either. This is not an advertisement for the Dockwa+ membership, however we almost completely covered the cost of the membership due to a 25% discount offered by the marina to Dockwa+ members.
Hampton University is very prominent in the area and the main campus is directly across the river from the marina. There are a number of bar and grill type restaurants within walking distance of the marina and a few shops as well. The Virginia Air & Space Science Center is next door. We spent a few hours touring the exhibits and watching the IMAX movie. An historic carousel sits between the marina and the Science Center. One side of the marina has been closed for renovation and will hopefully provide additional modern dockage. Available dock space is free to the local boaters that wish to tie and spend a couple of hours in town. There were quite a few boaters taking advantage of this during our stay. The Hampton Queen, a large tour/party boat goes out periodically from the adjacent docks, but it was not a problem at all.
The bathrooms and shower were clean and well-maintained. Pump-out is available at the T-head dock in front of the marina office. Wifi worked well and we had a strong ATT cell signal. Over-the-air television was robust due to the proximity to downtown Norfolk. We had no concerns about security during our stay, but we did not venture out beyond the marina area at night.
Reservations were made using the Dockwa app and the marina was very quick to respond to the reservation request. Extending our stay by a day was no problem either. This is not an advertisement for the Dockwa+ membership, however we almost completely covered the cost of the membership due to a 25% discount offered by the marina to Dockwa+ members.
Hampton University is very prominent in the area and the main campus is directly across the river from the marina. There are a number of bar and grill type restaurants within walking distance of the marina and a few shops as well. The Virginia Air & Space Science Center is next door. We spent a few hours touring the exhibits and watching the IMAX movie. An historic carousel sits between the marina and the Science Center. One side of the marina has been closed for renovation and will hopefully provide additional modern dockage. Available dock space is free to the local boaters that wish to tie and spend a couple of hours in town. There were quite a few boaters taking advantage of this during our stay. The Hampton Queen, a large tour/party boat goes out periodically from the adjacent docks, but it was not a problem at all.
The bathrooms and shower were clean and well-maintained. Pump-out is available at the T-head dock in front of the marina office. Wifi worked well and we had a strong ATT cell signal. Over-the-air television was robust due to the proximity to downtown Norfolk. We had no concerns about security during our stay, but we did not venture out beyond the marina area at night.
The marina was not very busy during our visit, however the dockmaster indicated that they are completely booked during the fall and spring migrations when people move their boats south for the winter and then back north for the summer.
I'm sure we will return to this historic area at some point in the future, perhaps during one of our migration trips.
I'm sure we will return to this historic area at some point in the future, perhaps during one of our migration trips.
