Agree with pp that Rehoboth is getting trashy now.

If you have small kids, your best bet is Lewis Beach. Sheltered bay and calm, shallow water.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ocean City = trashy
Dewey = where college kids go and get drunk
Rehoboth = cute and where the gays go. Good restaurants but busier boardwalk and can get very crowded.
Bethany = quieter but very family oriented. Smaller boardwalk.

Nailed it. This.

I would add that Rehoboth is also family oriented (straight and gay) go. It is not a queer mecca by any means.

--Lesbian mom

The only one I've been to in the last 10 years in Rehoboth and the boardwalk/beach is filled with trashy people as well. I think I'm going to explore Cape Henlopen the next time we go to the beach.

Have any of you been to Dewey since college? It's the best actual beach of this bunch--never crowded, no boardwalk so no awful daytrippers and no garbage. The garbage in Reho is almost on a level with OC this summer! Family movie night on the beach on Monday and family bonfires on Wednesdays. Walk down the beach from Rehoboth sometime and see how much less crowded it is. Rent a house between the rt 1 split and Silver Lake, walk into Rehoboth and Dewey. Rehoboth restaurants and shopping much better but Dewey wins wrt the actual beach.

Fenwick is also small and quiet. Fewer restaurants than Bethany but closer to OC.

Anonymous wrote:Ocean City streets 0-30= trashy and crowded

Ocean City streets 30-Fenwick = Best for for families with kids 0-18. Lots of family friendly actives and restaurants. Lots to do ... boating, fishing, claming, etc

Dewey = Best for young adults to get wasted.

Rehoboth = Okay for families, boring so good if you are looking for slow beach vacation.

Bethany = Rich families go there so if you are in that SES you will most likely run into friends. If you kids are in HS they will hook up with friends and get wasted (drinking/smoke pot/acid) on the beach. 4th of July is like Woodstock for rich kids.

This is good. Ocean City is so much larger than the other three (like those three combined) so just writing it off by saying it's trashy is a little ridiculous. It's definitely not where the rich people go, but it had plenty to offer anyone. Go North if you want it a bit less crowded. But yeah, there are plenty of weekend and day trippers there which means The Poors are around.

Yeah, Rehoboth is far from a gay Mecca. I see mostly families.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ocean City = trashy
Dewey = where college kids go and get drunk
Rehoboth = cute and where the gays go. Good restaurants but busier boardwalk and can get very crowded.
Bethany = quieter but very family oriented. Smaller boardwalk.

Nailed it. This.

I would add that Rehoboth is also family oriented (straight and gay) go. It is not a queer mecca by any means.

--Lesbian mom

this

Ocean City streets 0-30= trashy and crowded

Ocean City streets 30-Fenwick = Best for for families with kids 0-18. Lots of family friendly actives and restaurants. Lots to do ... boating, fishing, claming, etc

Dewey = Best for young adults to get wasted.

Rehoboth = Okay for families, boring so good if you are looking for slow beach vacation.

Bethany = Rich families go there so if you are in that SES you will most likely run into friends. If you kids are in HS they will hook up with friends and get wasted (drinking/smoke pot/acid) on the beach. 4th of July is like Woodstock for rich kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ocean City = trashy
Dewey = where college kids go and get drunk
Rehoboth = cute and where the gays go. Good restaurants but busier boardwalk and can get very crowded.
Bethany = quieter but very family oriented. Smaller boardwalk.

Nailed it. This.

I would add that Rehoboth is also family oriented (straight and gay) go. It is not a queer mecca by any means.

--Lesbian mom

Anonymous wrote:Ocean City = trashy
Dewey = where college kids go and get drunk
Rehoboth = cute and where the gays go. Good restaurants but busier boardwalk and can get very crowded.
Bethany = quieter but very family oriented. Smaller boardwalk.

Nailed it. This.

Anonymous wrote:Ocean City = trashy
Dewey = where college kids go and get drunk
Rehoboth = cute and where the gays go. Good restaurants but busier boardwalk and can get very crowded.
Bethany = quieter but very family oriented. Smaller boardwalk.

This is fairly accurate. Rehoboth and Ocean City are the only two towns that have rides and arcades. Bethany has a two block strip of shops, but not too many restaurants and only 1 waterfront restaurant, and you can't even see the ocean from most seats. They have one frozen yogurt place. It's mostly people from montgomery County who know each other from the parochial schools around there. I know many families who have been going there for generations. I would feel totally comfortable letting my kids roam around down there.

Rehoboth is more year round living. They do have a decent boardwalk with typical "beach" stores and Funland with rides for little kids. Great restaurants.

Ocean City is huge, maybe 10 miles long but only a few blocks wide. Not great restaurants, but a few, tons of mini golf, greasy food type places and beach gear shops. Not too many people from this area go there. It's a lot of Ohio and PA. It's definitely more middle class. You can get oceanfront condos pretty easily (though they aren't cheap) since it's such a big area. Bethany has sea colony for ocean front, but they look like prison buildings and aren't really walkable. Rehoboth only has a few oceanfront buildings. Don't go to Dewey unless you are just out of college and single. Think "jersey Shore".

Oc .. Widest beach, best waves for surfing, cleanest water and best boating and fishing, best bikini contests, largest and prettiest bay with best bay front venues and sunset views.

Bethany .. Thin very crowded beach, waves break right on the steeply dropping off shore, no bay just sprawling development that descends onto the tiny beach, Benny hill one piece Mecca.

Dewey.. Thin beach minimal bay view. College alcohol vomit in the street every morning.

Rehobeth ... Small extremely crowded beach, no bay views, sprawling development for miles. Boardwalk covers almost all of the beach, combo Benny Hill one piece Mecca / dudes kissing on the beach Mecca.

Ocean City = trashy
Dewey = where college kids go and get drunk
Rehoboth = cute and where the gays go. Good restaurants but busier boardwalk and can get very crowded.
Bethany = quieter but very family oriented. Smaller boardwalk.

Young people hang out in Dewey. I've been told I'm too old

Can someone characterize the differences? To me they are just names. Thanks in advance!