There is something about this particular location - despite the cute lighthouse entry - that is off-putting and dingy compared to some of the other locations along Atlantic. They have a large selection of items and have all the same types of things - but staff aren't very helpful and the roof was leaking in several spots which was somewhat nasty with dirty towels on the floor to collect the water/rain/dirt. It'll hit the spot if you're in need and staying nearby - but the ones nearer to 9-12th streets are nicer in my opinion. read more

The selection was great and they had lots of bigger sizes! The store is dog friendly as long as the owner is well behaved. The employees were very friendly and so helpful! read more

A typical souvenir shop with beach and swim items BUT the most delicious taffy ever! Soft and fresh and the most amazing assortment of unique flavors! A bit expensive, but what isn't anymore?!?! The counter woman was also very sweet and friendly! read more

Tourist things. Ok, I was a tourist for a day - sort of. I used to live in Va. beach back in the day and having recently returned, I went shopping for things that in NY are priced stupidly. Sunsations are located up and down the Va. Beach strip and sell the hodge podge of tourist items - t-shirts, magnets, shot glasses, beach towels etc. In dire need of flip flops that were better than the usual Old Navy offerings, I popped in and chose a sweet pair from the large offerings. Being a tourist for a day can be fun- so since I was there already, grabbed some other crap - t-shirts and cheap sunglasses and got out of dodge. Prices were decent to be honest- mostly because there are a load of these types of shops in the area. Help was ok- didn't really need help and none was offered - so it was a wash. I'd go again. read more

Sunsations - Stylin in my new flip flops - Accessories Near Me - Virginia Beach, Virginia

Hermit crabs are intelligent, complex animals who can thrive for 30 years in their natural habitat, the tropical seashore. But, ripped from everything natural to them, they are sold on Sunsations' shelves with little more than some gravel and a plastic palm tree--and usually perish in mere months. It's time for Sunsations to stop treating these delicate animals as souvenirs. read more

Great tourist shop for beach toys, towels, magnets, shirts and beach gear. Super close location to the beach too but my heart breaks when is see those poor hermit crabs they sell. Animals sold as tourist souvenirs just doesn't sit right. There was a little girl in the store who was crying because she felt bad for the crabs. I was looking into its a fact that hermit crabs don't breed in captivity so all the ones you see were taken from the wild. In captivity they live under a year and in the wild they live over 30 years. It's unnecessary for Sunsations to sell hermit crabs. If they stop selling them (and oh-dear I wish they would), I'd be glad to update review to 5 stars. read more

Cheaply made clothing and cheap souvenirs. Obviously the main issue with beach outlet stores is the inhumane sale of hermit crabs, but even if you can look past that, Sunsations is not a good place to stop. The fake lighthouse outside smells of urine and is littered with trashed beer cans; it is not exactly the environment for a child. The souvenirs are so cheaply made that they are not worth even the very low prices. There are cheap products on the boardwalk everywhere, so save your money and find a nicer, locally owned store. read more

I'm not impressed with Sunsations anywhere on the East Coast because of their insistent vile treatment of hermit crabs, and the way they are stolen from the wild and treated like a toy for children to play with! I know of three families in my street that came home from the beach with hermit crabs that lasted all of three months before they died in their shells. I have done my very best to educate parents on the cruelty they are being part of and supporting and involving their children with. But it is only after they have had the experience of dying and dead hermit crabs that they realize it is a truly awful idea for the crabs and humans to do this. So, Sunsations for goodness sake do the right thing or we will be out in force picketing your shops to wake you up to your disgusting cruelty for dollars! I will never shop at any of your stores again until you stop torturing and selling hermit crabs. That is true for any store that does this, for unfortunately you are not the only fools doing this. read more

I really enjoyed the selection this store had to offer. They have a ton of shirts and other various touristy nicknacks. They did have a sign saying pets were welcome and had a water bowl placed out as well. It took a while to get the attention of a staff member to assist us with getting a t-shirt down from a high shelf. When we got her attention she quickly droped what she was doing and was very friendly! The shirts range from 10-$20 but They do have a large selection of sale items. It is a very touristy shop but I would recommend this store if you wanted to bring something home with you. read more

What a shame this business won't listen to your customer's. Because of this I am no longer a customer as of today and many will follow. WAKE UP. read more

Hermit crabs don't breed in captivity so this store takes them from the wild where they perish in a few months. In the wild these complex creatures can live over 30 years! This store needs to grow a conscience and support natural sealife instead of destroying it. read more

They sell living creatures as "souvenirs." The only thing that is going to happen to the hermit crabs (that are harvested from the wild) is a miserable death. If you are there in person, please discourage them from continuing this practice. read more

They might have wonderful cheap souvenirs, but hermit crabs should not be included among them. What a shame.

Customer service is horrible and merchandise is overpriced. I wanted a tshirt which I found on a sale table. It was part of a stack of 4 other of the same tshirts. Clerk and manager would not honor the sale price. Not my fault it was misplaced. If there was only 1 I would understand. Not in a stack of others. Not good for business. I ended up being better off going a couple stores down and buying a similar t-shirt for less. read more

Great tourist shop for beach toys, towels, magnets, shirts and beach gear. Super close location to the beach too but my heart breaks when is see those poor hermit crabs they sell. Animals sold as tourist souvenirs just doesn't sit right. There was a little girl in the store who was crying because she felt bad for the crabs. I was looking into its a fact that hermit crabs don't breed in captivity so all the ones you see were taken from the wild. In captivity they live under a year and in the wild they live over 30 years. It's unnecessary for Sunsations to sell hermit crabs. If they stop selling them (and I really wish they would!!), I'd be glad to update review to 5 stars." read more

Good for what it is. A cheap, tourist souvenir store. You can find anything you'd imagine with a Virginia Beach logo of some sort on it. Desk items, dishware, clothing, hats etc. You can also find jewelry, cheap cosmetics (mostly lipgloss sets found by my niece who is 4) and toys. Sodas and snacks, swimwear, beach goods for those of you who (like me) May have forgotten to pack the sunscreen, sunglasses or flip flops in your hurry to leave home. Very affordable for those of us who tend to just grab armfuls of items without really looking at prices too hard. You won't have the register shock you may have at some of the other shops down the way. I'm guilty of stopping in each time i visit read more

Sunsations sells hermit crabs as pets. I believe that no store should ever sell hermit crabs. These creatures can live to be 30 years old in their natural habitat. When they are removed from their habitat and are kept as "pets," they do not survive long. Please do not support this inhumane industry by being a customer of Sunsations. Thank you!! Chris A. read more

Sunsations is a great store in every way... except they sell hermit crabs as souvenirs. I cannot, will not, support ANY Sunsations that sells these sensitive, complex living creatures. I had one when I was a child and thought it was really cool. It had different size shells to grow into and a comfortable little box. But it died in about a week. And they can live 30 years in the wild! Please, Sunsations, stop taking the hermies from their natural environment and just sell non-living things as souvenirs. You'll feel better about yourself and I can shop there again for all my beach needs. I'll thank you in advance for doing the right thing. Mary read more

Shame on Sunsations for selling live hermit crabs as souvenirs. Hermit crabs are intelligent, complex animals who can live up to 30 years in their natural habitat, the tropical seashore. But, these creatures, once ripped from everything natural to them, are sold on Sunsations' shelves with little more than some gravel and a plastic palm tree--and usually perish in mere months. It's time for Sunsations to stop treating these delicate animals as souvenirs. read more

This seemed to be an interesting store with lots of fun stuff--until I saw the unfortunate hermit crabs. This "toy" was obviously produced in China where life isn't valued. This is the same country that produced keychains with live baby turtles and live goldfish in sealed plastic bubbles. I left the store quickly and won't be coming back. Any store owner who sells living creatures with no regard for their suffering and slow death won't profit from my business. read more

A nice place and some good choices. I found what i went in for and it was good value. However when i noticed the Live crabs for sale ( i believe these were Hermit crabs ) i just could not go to the checkout and pay. I actually deliberated for several minutes as the item i wanted was nice quality and i didn't have much time to look elsewhere. My principles did hold fast though and i put it back and told the shop floor member of staff on my way out why i had done this. She didn't say much but i had a feeling i wasn't the first. I then read on line other peoples complaints and feel pleased i stuck to my guns. Sorry and i did manage to buy the item round the corner at another store but we've got to stand up against bad practices. Gary R read more

I went to Sunsations today to buy souvenirs. The lady and young man that worked there were both very nice and helpful. The prices on just about all items were VERY reasonable and I would recommend this store for beach items and cheap t-shirts. read more

I don't like this store bc they keep a huge live hermit crab display with no food or water. These crabs r not meant to be kept as pets.

Hermit crabs are not toys. They are living beings and should be treated as such. Do not shop here until they stop selling them like toys! Sickening read more

Apart from the yelling across the store from employee to employee, this "store" had quite the selection. I'm really glad I didn't struggle to find one item of clothing without "Virginia Beach" on it. The reason why the West Coast is better than the East is because when people come to the beach, it's safe to say they want to enjoy their self and along with that, spend money. However the 10+ stores block after block all containing literally the same exact shit is a place I'll never spend my money. I'm sure companies like Hurley, UA/Nike, Lulu, etc would love to create business out here so why exactly there is no big name stores/outlets here is beyond me. read more

No animal ought to ever be viewed as an object to be captured, kept from its natural environment, used for the purpose of making money, and definitely not a souvenir. Hermit crabs, in particular, do not do well in captive situations being out of their own habitat. Do the right (humane) thing, and release them to where you took them from, and allow them to be the harmless, complex creatures they were created to be. You'll be doing the right thing. Thanks! read more

Would you please not sell live hermit crabs they are living breathing feeling little crabs what should not be sold like a toy this is not teaching people eny awareness of how you are meant to treat animals please please reconsider surly you wouldn't want to be cruel and teach others to do so also please STOP NOW read more

Please stop using living creatures like hermit crabs for profit. I imagine most people who buy these get tired of them within days or weeks, and the poor things suffer and die. I am tired of businesses being irresponsible towards our environment. A big company like Sunsations should set an example for change. I saw them trying to defend themselves against activist posts on their Facebook page. How about listening to consumers and considering something new? read more

Souvenirs are nice gifts but I definitely won't be shopping here until they stop selling LIVE hermit crabs! Completely cruel and barbaric to take these creatures out of their natural habitat. They are not souvenirs! read more

It would be a great store but unfortunately they continue to exploit hermit crabs for profit. It's a shame because they know they shouldn't sell hermit crabs, they could really up their reviews, but I guess they just don't care. Not a great store. read more

If you have ever been to the Oceanfront, you surely noticed theubiquity that is Sunsations. These massive and repetitive tourist shops line the beach, pulling in anyone who is looking for anything that says Virginia Beach. If you are looking for a generic souvenir stamped with the name of our lovely city, this is the place to go. From t-shirts, to lighters, to post cards, beach towels and more--Sunsations has it all. As a local, I cringe at the space these places take up and lament the true local flavor and retail that could be in it's place, which I think even tourists would appreciate more. But they do have some pretty funny t-shirts. read more

Lots of cheap junk if you need more stuff, and then they sell live sea animals taken from the wild, enslaved to make a buck. Makes your heart sink. Couldn't get out of there fast enough. If I could give this place less than '1 star' I would. read more

If you have a specific request for an iron-on shirt, DO NOT GO HERE. They have hundreds of iron-on options but the manager refuses patrons to look at them. We knew EXACTLY what we wanted, and they had the items in stock, but they refused to add one of their AMERICAN FLAG iron-ons (which they were charging us extra) to a $35 sweatshirt we were purchasing from them. Don't waste your time or money here. Go to the one on 19th St. They let you look through all items and were respectful of military service members. (The only reason they get one star is for the sake of one employee who apologized to us for the other's rudeness as we exited the store.) read more

Wild hermit crabs are delicate animals, not cheap souvenirs! Considering the change.org petition has close to 53,000 signatures, it's disappointing you aren't listening to the public, but instead continue to sell hermit crabs as trinkets. These crabs don't breed in captivity, so they were taken from the wild, where they normally live for 30 years. But in captivity, they live only about a year at best. Please stop selling them and I will update my rating. read more

Great shop for tourist for beach toys, towels, shirts and beach gear. Close to the beach but they sell hermit crabs taken from the wild. In captivity they live under a year and in the wild they live over 30 years. It's animal cruelty to sell these hermit crabs. read more

Please stick to selling the usual "souvenir" garb - tshirts, tank tops, and swimgear. Animals are not THINGS to sell! These creatures belong in the wild, not in a store tank where children come up and bang on the glass. Let them live in the wild, where they belong! read more

Sunsations is really fun and exciting. I've bought a shirt 2 years ago and its in perfect condition, while other stores sell these thin shit shirts. So I went again yesterday, and I bought a whole bunch of stuff and the cashier was so stupid, she literally didn't know what she was doing she kept counting the shirts, she was awful. Also, the workers or whatever they do just stand there talking instead of actually working which is annoying also. read more

These guys are some of the worst people I have ever met they profiled me and thought that I was "high" but my eyes where red because of pool water. But I tried to return something about 30 minutes after I bought the item but instead the manager insisted that she did not want to give me my money back. When you see this store don't go in walk away and never get close to it again. read more

It seems like a great store but it needs to stop selling Hermit crabs as tourist gifts. These animals are smart creatures who thrive in the wild but not in captivity. Not everything is about exploitation for human enjoyment. read more

Everyone who works at any sunsations behaves like they absolutely hate their job which then affects their customer service. They also don't honor the coupons so beware. They tell you they use the coupons but when you realize they didn't and confront about it they give you a problem. They have decent merchandise but the staffing is horrible. read more