Anonymous
Post 04/21/2022 10:40     Subject: Beaches - I’m sort of lost
Anonymous wrote:OP, I'm from this area and grew up going to the Delaware beaches (Bethany, Rehoboth, etc.) and the Outer Banks as a teen. They're fine, but the waves are strong and you have to watch little kids carefully. Delaware beaches have more you can walk to, OBX is a lot of driving to various things.

We've been going to Cape Charles for the last three years, and love it for our kids. It's far enough south that the salinity levels are as high as the ocean; it's not brackish bay water. There are waves, but very gentle ones. Because of the tidal variation, you can have the experience of waves at one part of the day, and then tidal pools and different beach topography when the tide goes out. Our kids love it, and we find it very easy to spend all day at the beach (if we want to). The town itself is small and easily walkable. Most importantly, it's not crowded.

Where you go really depends on what you want. We want to truly relax on a beach vacation, which for us means not worrying about rough water or crowds or having to drive everywhere. We're fine with limited restaurant and entertainment options. Our kids were 7, 5, and 3 the first time we went, and will be 10, 8, and 6 this summer--they still love and look forward to it!


I recommended the OBX but wanted to say that the OBX water can be rough. I feel like it is a toss up and I never know. We have been before where there were red flags every day so we couldn't get in the water (we always rent a house with a pool just in case). I also went once and the water was as still as lake water, it was amazing. But most of the time it is somewhere in between. There are riptides so my kids wear life jackets (they are 6 and 10 and decent swimmers, but they like to go out pass the wave break, so life jackets it is.
Anonymous
Post 04/21/2022 09:39     Subject: Beaches - I’m sort of lost
We started doing beach vacations during the pandemic with our 2 little ones. I asked my coworkers how it works. Everyone has their favorite rental company and books early (Twiddy is very popular for OBX). I have never planned that far ahead so I haven't been able to book with those. I agree with the above poster to look in August, as it's not as popular. We've gone to Bethany Beach and the Outer Banks (Nags Head) and booked on AirBnb or VRBO for mid to late August. I prefer the Outer Banks just because the beach was less crowded. In Bethany, we ended up in a townhouse where we had to drive to the beach. In Nags Head, we've rented a house a block from the beach. The house had a beach cart so we loaded things up and walked over.
Anonymous
Post 04/21/2022 09:23     Subject: Beaches - I’m sort of lost
Try middle to end of August OP. Like the week of August 15 or later, availability tends to open up more then. We often go that week when we book later and other weeks are taken.
Anonymous
Post 04/21/2022 09:22     Subject: Beaches - I’m sort of lost
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:PP here. Agree on the Caribbean. Nothing compares to those beaches.


Ugh. We just got back and I don't think we are ever going to look at the DE beaches the same.


Yes, they are nice but being able to drive to our beach destination is important. We also like to take our dog!
Anonymous
Post 04/21/2022 09:20     Subject: Beaches - I’m sort of lost
Anonymous wrote:PP here. Agree on the Caribbean. Nothing compares to those beaches.


Ugh. We just got back and I don't think we are ever going to look at the DE beaches the same.
Anonymous
Post 04/21/2022 09:07     Subject: Beaches - I’m sort of lost
Are you rich? Then look at Long Beach Island in NJ.

Are you middle class? Look at OBX
Anonymous
Post 04/21/2022 09:05     Subject: Beaches - I’m sort of lost
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:PP here. Agree on the Caribbean. Nothing compares to those beaches.


That is hurricane/swelter season


June/July is generally ok, I would probably avoid in august/September. One upside to the Caribbean this time of year is that you can probably still find something at this point. I really like Cape Charles with young kids but agree with PPs that it will be challenging to find something for this summer. I think HHI is a good suggestion too but not sure how early things book up there.
Anonymous
Post 04/21/2022 09:04     Subject: Beaches - I’m sort of lost
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I would cross Cape Charles and St Michaels off your list. Basically there are beaches all along the coast of North Carolina, Virginia. Maryland and Delaware. So you could add relatively close by places like Ocean City, Rehoboth, Bethany. Or further away places like Chesapeake Beach, VA, Emerald Isle NC, etc.

It depends a little on what you want-- house vs condo vs hotel and what sort of town you want-- really busy beach town, or quiet not much to do besides beach or maybe something in between.


Townhouse, condo with a community pool, hotel with a pool or beach access all sound good (bonus that I don’t have to cook at a hotel!) Would be nice to be able to walk or short drive to get dinner, or ice cream. May I ask why no Cape Charles? I searched the forum and people said it was good for young kids but maybe not?


Marriott right on the beach in Bethany has studio type rooms. We had a great time as a family of 4, two boys 4 and 10, there in 2019.
Anonymous
Post 04/21/2022 09:01     Subject: Beaches - I’m sort of lost
Anonymous wrote:Where are you from? What is your idea of a good beach? Have you looked at these places on a map? A couple of them are not "the beach". The outer banks is almost 200 miles of beach whereas Lewes is a small town.

Um…Lewes is more than just a “small town”….it has a huge beach!
Anonymous
Post 04/21/2022 08:57     Subject: Beaches - I’m sort of lost
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I would cross Cape Charles and St Michaels off your list. Basically there are beaches all along the coast of North Carolina, Virginia. Maryland and Delaware. So you could add relatively close by places like Ocean City, Rehoboth, Bethany. Or further away places like Chesapeake Beach, VA, Emerald Isle NC, etc.

It depends a little on what you want-- house vs condo vs hotel and what sort of town you want-- really busy beach town, or quiet not much to do besides beach or maybe something in between.


Townhouse, condo with a community pool, hotel with a pool or beach access all sound good (bonus that I don’t have to cook at a hotel!) Would be nice to be able to walk or short drive to get dinner, or ice cream. May I ask why no Cape Charles? I searched the forum and people said it was good for young kids but maybe not?

Cape Charles and St. Michael’s are on the bay, so not a real beach IMO.


OP says she has young kids though- I vastly prefer calm beaches like cape Charles and Lewes for my little ones over the ocean beaches in DE/MD. The rip tides there are no joke.
Anonymous
Post 04/21/2022 08:55     Subject: Beaches - I’m sort of lost
I liked Bethany Beach. It bills itself as a quiet beach town, and lives up to the hype. Very relaxing place, easy to get around it. A 15-minute drive to Rehoboth Beach or Ocean City, MD. I didn't want to stop in Ocean City. It has too much of a sketch vibe around the edges for my taste. Reminds me of Santa Cruz, CA in the 1970s.Just not my thing. Even our teens said let's keep driving when we offered to stop in OC, and I hadn't said a word about what I thought. Depends on your taste, I guess. They liked Bethany Beach, though.

Kill Devil Hills in NC is very nice too, but a longer drive. You can't go wrong with anywhere on the Outer Banks, really.
Anonymous
Post 04/21/2022 08:44     Subject: Beaches - I’m sort of lost
Anonymous wrote:PP here. Agree on the Caribbean. Nothing compares to those beaches.


That is hurricane/swelter season
Anonymous
Post 04/21/2022 08:39     Subject: Re:Beaches - I’m sort of lost
We use this site for Jersey Shore rentals because it has the consolidated listings from a bunch of local rental agencies. Ocean City, NJ is great for kids.

http://weeklyrentals.com/
Anonymous
Post 04/21/2022 08:33     Subject: Beaches - I’m sort of lost
Anonymous wrote:Cape May and other New Jersey beach towns are drivable too.


+1. This is what we do since driving to NC is too far for me to drive solo (single parent). I like Cape May because it has both bay and ocean beaches plus other stuff to do (zoo, little town area with ice cream shops, etc.) My kids (5 & 8) like taking the ferry there one way.
Anonymous
Post 04/21/2022 08:18     Subject: Beaches - I’m sort of lost
PP here. Agree on the Caribbean. Nothing compares to those beaches.