Ocean City is fun for kids but DH considers it a strip mall hell hole. You might check out a vacation rental in Chincoteague, Va. You can get a whole house, condo or townhouse unit with a waterview for the price of a hotel room in Rehoboth or Ocean City. The town is small and kid friendly with enough restaurants and ice cream places, there is a place you can do pony rides or even pony "camp" (the Pony Centre) and a great playground at Memorial Park. Good fishing and if you don't catch anything you can buy seafood at Gary Howard's.
Everybody drives to the beach because it is on the next island out, it's a national seashore so more nature less high rises. You park and set up your umbrella/base camp. If they "run" either they'll run out of room at the south end of Assateague Island or north they are heading into roadless wilderness beach so no wprries about crowds! I see some local kids surfing there often.
That said you'll probably want to pop back up the road to check out the waterpark at Frontier Town ( a nearby campground) or up to Route 50 for a daytrip to Ocean City's amusement parks or west OC's go-karting.
Also, bring bug spray.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In all seriousness, what does "over crowded" mean? What are you afraid of - not enough beach space, too many people in the hotel pool, etc? If you can be more specific, it would probably help in determining a good beach location.

Beach towns close to the DC area are popular as vacation destinations so there will always be people there. The last week of August is the cheapest week and there are still plenty of people around.

Hi. Thanks for your prompt response.

As you can imagine, kids dont stay quiet at one place, they like to run, and I like to be able to see them - so it is more a security concern that having a beach for ourselves.

In that case, try staying at the north end of Ocean City. More condos, less hotels, but less popular.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In all seriousness, what does "over crowded" mean? What are you afraid of - not enough beach space, too many people in the hotel pool, etc? If you can be more specific, it would probably help in determining a good beach location.

Beach towns close to the DC area are popular as vacation destinations so there will always be people there. The last week of August is the cheapest week and there are still plenty of people around.

Hi. Thanks for your prompt response.

As you can imagine, kids dont stay quiet at one place, they like to run, and I like to be able to see them - so it is more a security concern that having a beach for ourselves.

Outer Banks

Anonymous wrote:Bethany Beach is very quiet and kid friendly. Surprised it wasn't mentioned already.

Thank you. I will check it out. Cyb

Anonymous wrote:In all seriousness, what does "over crowded" mean? What are you afraid of - not enough beach space, too many people in the hotel pool, etc? If you can be more specific, it would probably help in determining a good beach location.

Beach towns close to the DC area are popular as vacation destinations so there will always be people there. The last week of August is the cheapest week and there are still plenty of people around.

Hi. Thanks for your prompt response.

As you can imagine, kids dont stay quiet at one place, they like to run, and I like to be able to see them - so it is more a security concern that having a beach for ourselves.

Bethany Beach is very quiet and kid friendly. Surprised it wasn't mentioned already.

Anonymous wrote:VRBO is a Vacation Rentals by Owner. It is basically people who own but want to rent directly rather than through an agent. The benefit is that they might be willing to be more flexible with check-in/check-out days and times. My family owns in OC but when we used to rent for the week or two, rentals were usually Saturday to Saturday and check in was at 3 and out was at 12 and first you have to stop at the real estate office and get the key. That puts you in traffic with every other family renting in OC or the Delaware beaches! I have used VRBO for other places and each owner is different. I can't recommend any agent. I suggest googling OC Maryland condo rentals and I bet some will come up. Some agents might also rent places in Delaware. There are tons of hotels as well. There is a Hilton that opened about 8 years ago and I think every room has a kitchen or Kitchenette.

Thank you very much!

We booked a great house at the Outer Banks pretty last minute. There are tons of houses and it's super easy to rent one (which has not been my experience with DE beaches).

I think if you are going to be staying for 7 days that a house would be much more fun and comfortable than a hotel.

Rehoboth Beach, DE. 2-3 hour drive. Go to North Shores Beach--it's the state park beach just at the north end of town.

https://www.seapines.com/
Sea Pines is great. The beaches are not crowded, gentle slop, wide(150 yards at low tide) and have puddles for the kids to play in. The resort has bike paths, pony rides, hay rides, pirate boat trip, nature boats, lighthouse, playgrounds, fishing, crabbing, tennis, golf and much more. It's a 9-10 hour drive if you leave at 5 am and it is worth it for a weeks stay. Ours kids sleep in the car at that time. The resort is mostly families and most people rent a house. you can get a house close to the beach with a pool for not too much money.
Try places like, just make sure you stay at sea pines and ask for an earlier check in time.
http://www.beach-property.com/vacation-specials.htm
http://www.wyndhamvacationrentals.com/vacation-rentals/south-carolina/hilton-head/hilton-head-island/visit/sea-pines.htm

In all seriousness, what does "over crowded" mean? What are you afraid of - not enough beach space, too many people in the hotel pool, etc? If you can be more specific, it would probably help in determining a good beach location.

Beach towns close to the DC area are popular as vacation destinations so there will always be people there. The last week of August is the cheapest week and there are still plenty of people around.

VRBO is a Vacation Rentals by Owner. It is basically people who own but want to rent directly rather than through an agent. The benefit is that they might be willing to be more flexible with check-in/check-out days and times. My family owns in OC but when we used to rent for the week or two, rentals were usually Saturday to Saturday and check in was at 3 and out was at 12 and first you have to stop at the real estate office and get the key. That puts you in traffic with every other family renting in OC or the Delaware beaches! I have used VRBO for other places and each owner is different. I can't recommend any agent. I suggest googling OC Maryland condo rentals and I bet some will come up. Some agents might also rent places in Delaware. There are tons of hotels as well. There is a Hilton that opened about 8 years ago and I think every room has a kitchen or Kitchenette.

Anonymous wrote:I think you should re-consider Ocean City. It can be crowded on the weekends but during the week, it is much less crowded. I was there last week and there were tons of Hotel Vacancy signs during the week. You can rent a condo and I think that you can probably find a bargain now if you go through an agent or even on VRBO. There are very good kid-friendly restaurants (FishTails, Dead Freddies) an amusement/water park (Jolly Roger), lots of mini-golf, Trimpers rides at the boardwalk, and Assateaque island is a short drive and you can see the wild ponies. I can't say whether the beaches are the same in NC or SC.

Thank you very much. You gave me wonderful examples. I am sure that my kids would appreciate wild poinies and Jolly Roger.

Sorry, what is VRBO? Any agent to recommend?

Thanks again and have a wonderful rest of the summer

Cybelle

I think you should re-consider Ocean City. It can be crowded on the weekends but during the week, it is much less crowded. I was there last week and there were tons of Hotel Vacancy signs during the week. You can rent a condo and I think that you can probably find a bargain now if you go through an agent or even on VRBO. There are very good kid-friendly restaurants (FishTails, Dead Freddies) an amusement/water park (Jolly Roger), lots of mini-golf, Trimpers rides at the boardwalk, and Assateaque island is a short drive and you can see the wild ponies. I can't say whether the beaches are the same in NC or SC.

Hello Everyone,

I would like to take my 4 year old twins, and 6 year old, to the beach mid August. Since we just recently relocated to the area I am looking for recommendations for the kids friendly beach/hotels/resorts one can drive to from DC. Ideally, a beach that offers some kind of kids entertainement/or playground, and has some areas to cover from the son. Of course with hotels that are clean! BTW, do you go to hotels or rent a room/condo? We will be staying 7 days but with this last moment planning, I guess hotels are the only option.
I heard about Virginia Beach and Ocean City but I am afraid that these beaches may be overcrowded. I am thinking about North/South Carolina but then, tell me, is it worth driving that much if beaches are pretty-much- the same?

Any advice you have will be highly appreciated. THANKYOU!

Cybelle