Rehoboth - what’s the appeal?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My takeaway from this thread is nobody is familiar with north ocean city where the beach is wide and uncrowded. Everyone seems to think OC is trashy…but it isn’t. And the OC and Rehoboth boardwalks essentially have the same crowds and issues these days.

I’m nearly 50 and I’ve been going to the MD and DE beaches several times a year since birth thanks to friends and family with houses/condos. Each town has its own appeal and hidden gems.

I’m sad about the hyper-construction and crowds. The towns don’t have the necessary infrastructure. And the costs are out of control. We would never pay for a rental…there are far better destinations for our vacation money. Thank goodness we know people with beach houses ;0)

I agree with this. Everyone on here always says to go to the state park beaches and while I agree that they are less crowded than Bethany or Rehoboth, they're still way more crowded than a lot of the beaches in OC. Yes, the beach area at the end of the OC boardwalk is insane but once you get to the beach areas past where the boardwalk starts, it's not super crowded and the beaches are much wider than the DE beaches. We have a place on 28th street so we usually go there because we can walk but north of 28th, it's much less crowded.

And yes, I can see where OC can be considered trashy. But I was on the Bethany "boardwalk" this past weekend and if I had to see one more shaggy-haired Bethesda lacrosse bro in Vineyard Vines....ugh!

NP. Yeah, but the thing about Bethany and Rehoboth is that the lax bro is there with his family. OC trends toward trashy because it’s a bunch of 20-somethings and senior-weekers getting wasted. The chill boring-ness of Bethany is why I like it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nostalgia.

Exactly!

[Anonymous]

The five blocks of Dewey Beach between Silver Lake and where Route 1 runs into Dewey Beach are seriously underrated. Quiet beaches that are much more spacious and far less crowded than in Rehoboth, and you are far enough away from all the restaurants and bars that it is quiet and relaxing (but close enough you can walk if that is your thing).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My takeaway from this thread is nobody is familiar with north ocean city where the beach is wide and uncrowded. Everyone seems to think OC is trashy…but it isn’t. And the OC and Rehoboth boardwalks essentially have the same crowds and issues these days.

I’m nearly 50 and I’ve been going to the MD and DE beaches several times a year since birth thanks to friends and family with houses/condos. Each town has its own appeal and hidden gems.

I’m sad about the hyper-construction and crowds. The towns don’t have the necessary infrastructure. And the costs are out of control. We would never pay for a rental…there are far better destinations for our vacation money. Thank goodness we know people with beach houses ;0)

I agree with this. Everyone on here always says to go to the state park beaches and while I agree that they are less crowded than Bethany or Rehoboth, they're still way more crowded than a lot of the beaches in OC. Yes, the beach area at the end of the OC boardwalk is insane but once you get to the beach areas past where the boardwalk starts, it's not super crowded and the beaches are much wider than the DE beaches. We have a place on 28th street so we usually go there because we can walk but north of 28th, it's much less crowded.

And yes, I can see where OC can be considered trashy. But I was on the Bethany "boardwalk" this past weekend and if I had to see one more shaggy-haired Bethesda lacrosse bro in Vineyard Vines....ugh!

NP. Yeah, but the thing about Bethany and Rehoboth is that the lax bro is there with his family. OC trends toward trashy because it’s a bunch of 20-somethings and senior-weekers getting wasted. The chill boring-ness of Bethany is why I like it.

1-2 weeks a year its majority high school kids. Everyone knows that you avoid those weeks and the ocean is too cold then anyway. Otherwise, OC is majority families. Unless you hang out in bars and then, yeah, 20-somethings.

[Anonymous]

I'm in Rehoboth now - we're staying in an older house we've rent several times that's <10 min walk to either the main drag or the beach. We walk a little farther south toward Dewey and go to the beach there because, yes, the beach has become insanely crowded (especially on weekends) compared to years ago.

One issue we've noticed this year - and this is may be the case everywhere - the restaurants are short on staff and they've raised prices an exorbitant amount. So the dining experience, which was one advantage I felt Rehoboth had over other places, isn't as enjoyable.

But it's a lot closer than any other beach, and I love being near the ocean.

[Anonymous]

Uncrowded beaches near metro areas are usually private residents only. So hard as a tourist to drive to a non crowded beach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My takeaway from this thread is nobody is familiar with north ocean city where the beach is wide and uncrowded. Everyone seems to think OC is trashy…but it isn’t. And the OC and Rehoboth boardwalks essentially have the same crowds and issues these days.

I’m nearly 50 and I’ve been going to the MD and DE beaches several times a year since birth thanks to friends and family with houses/condos. Each town has its own appeal and hidden gems.

I’m sad about the hyper-construction and crowds. The towns don’t have the necessary infrastructure. And the costs are out of control. We would never pay for a rental…there are far better destinations for our vacation money. Thank goodness we know people with beach houses ;0)

I agree with this. Everyone on here always says to go to the state park beaches and while I agree that they are less crowded than Bethany or Rehoboth, they're still way more crowded than a lot of the beaches in OC. Yes, the beach area at the end of the OC boardwalk is insane but once you get to the beach areas past where the boardwalk starts, it's not super crowded and the beaches are much wider than the DE beaches. We have a place on 28th street so we usually go there because we can walk but north of 28th, it's much less crowded.

And yes, I can see where OC can be considered trashy. But I was on the Bethany "boardwalk" this past weekend and if I had to see one more shaggy-haired Bethesda lacrosse bro in Vineyard Vines....ugh!

NP. Yeah, but the thing about Bethany and Rehoboth is that the lax bro is there with his family. OC trends toward trashy because it’s a bunch of 20-somethings and senior-weekers getting wasted. The chill boring-ness of Bethany is why I like it.

1-2 weeks a year its majority high school kids. Everyone knows that you avoid those weeks and the ocean is too cold then anyway. Otherwise, OC is majority families. Unless you hang out in bars and then, yeah, 20-somethings.

Not hanging out in bars, but our hotel was filled with younger people when we went there in July. I had expected mostly families. There were families there too, but…not the same population as in Bethany or Rehoboth.

[Anonymous]

Got me. My in-laws have been going to Bethany and Dewey for generations and I've been spending a week there with them for the last 20 years. It's the same shops and activities over and over and over again. Even all of our elementary aged kids are getting tired of it. Why not spend the same amount and get a beachfront house in the Caribbean? Oh right, it's tradition and nostalgia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Got me. My in-laws have been going to Bethany and Dewey for generations and I've been spending a week there with them for the last 20 years. It's the same shops and activities over and over and over again. Even all of our elementary aged kids are getting tired of it. Why not spend the same amount and get a beachfront house in the Caribbean? Oh right, it's tradition and nostalgia.

Also you don’t have to pay for airfare.

[Anonymous]

There is a simple solution. My beach town only allows rentals 30 days or greater. Only owners or rental leases greater than 30 days can get a beach pass. If house rented owner can’t access beach. Beach IDs are picture IDs.

There is no public beach access. There is also no public parking at beach and beach is a no standing zone.

There is your solution. No one has balls to do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a simple solution. My beach town only allows rentals 30 days or greater. Only owners or rental leases greater than 30 days can get a beach pass. If house rented owner can’t access beach. Beach IDs are picture IDs.

There is no public beach access. There is also no public parking at beach and beach is a no standing zone.

There is your solution. No one has balls to do it.

Solution to what? Keeping everybody but the billionaires off the beach?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a simple solution. My beach town only allows rentals 30 days or greater. Only owners or rental leases greater than 30 days can get a beach pass. If house rented owner can’t access beach. Beach IDs are picture IDs.

There is no public beach access. There is also no public parking at beach and beach is a no standing zone.

There is your solution. No one has balls to do it.

Solution to what? Keeping everybody but the billionaires off the beach?

Exactly! Those towns generate a tremendous amount of revenue for MD and DE in the summer. No way they want to discourage vacationers by closing off the #1 reason they visit those towns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ll never get it either, OP. All I want from a beach vacation is to be as close to as uncrowded a beach as possible. A crowded beach is as appealing to me as a cruise ship. I hate it. I don’t care about the town at all. I’m happy staying in eating chips, salsa and shrimp the whole time if I have a deck overlooking the water.

Sure me too but kids are not. A lot of it is for families with kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a simple solution. My beach town only allows rentals 30 days or greater. Only owners or rental leases greater than 30 days can get a beach pass. If house rented owner can’t access beach. Beach IDs are picture IDs.

There is no public beach access. There is also no public parking at beach and beach is a no standing zone.

There is your solution. No one has balls to do it.

Solution to what? Keeping everybody but the billionaires off the beach?

Where is this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just got back from a long weekend at Rehoboth. Found a last minute place just a couple of blocks off of Rehoboth Ave on AirBnB. We arrived on late afternoon on Saturday, and the crowds were beyond crazy. We’ve been going on and off for over 25 years, and Ive never seen it like that. Thankfully it dropped off dramatically on Sunday. But even the trip home on a Tuesday afternoon on Rte 1 was filled with traffic.

As for the beach, we’ve always gone to the beach at Gordon’s Pond. It’s so much nicer.

My spouse has tossed out the idea of maybe retiring there. Financially it makes sense. And I know it’s much calmer in the off-season. But after this weekend, I just can’t see it. Who wants to sit on Rockville Pike, even at the beach?

Last weekend at the beach had insane traffic!!! I am a remote worker that is at the beach for the season and I was ready to head back to the DC suburbs.