Anonymous
Post 08/22/2025 14:53     Subject: Better beach trips driving from dmv
Why not find an air bnb in Ocean Pines or Berlin— 20 minutes from Assateague which is an incredible beach and same to the minigolf etc Ocean City. Plenty of ice cream and food and it’s under 3 hours if you avoid busy times.

And the Cote d’Azur beaches suck btw.
Anonymous
Post 08/22/2025 14:05     Subject: Re:Better beach trips driving from dmv
Anonymous wrote:How did you not find great food in Ocean City, Maryland?

Also, in Ocean City, you can go paddle boarding, kayaking, rent a wave runner, boating, putt putt, bike riding, etc… the boardwalk is something you do once.


We used to have a favorite ethnic restaurant in OCMD! Used to meaning it's still there- mediterranean food. But sadly we haven't made it up to the beach now that our kids are grown.
Anonymous
Post 08/22/2025 14:04     Subject: Better beach trips driving from dmv
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:None of the DelMarVa beach places are all that great. We love the Côte de Azur for this reason. Calm seas, fair winds, plenty of sun and spectacular food and drink.


Thank you this, this is so droll... from Virginia Beach to the South of France, natural progression!


The south of France is so overdone. It’s basically on par with Iceland, Portugal, and Costa Rica: overrun with American tourists.

The best beaches are in off the beaten path destinations in Africa, but only real travelers can find them. Hint: you need to get past the pirates and Jumanji barriers, but it’s worth it. My kids only enjoy vacations when there’s an element of danger involved. That’s what makes them stand out from the crowd when it comes to college applications.
Anonymous
Post 08/22/2025 14:03     Subject: Better beach trips driving from dmv
Stone Harbor

Isle of Palms or Kiawah- near Charleston, so more like 8 hours but worth it
Anonymous
Post 08/22/2025 14:01     Subject: Re:Better beach trips driving from dmv
How did you not find great food in Ocean City, Maryland?

Also, in Ocean City, you can go paddle boarding, kayaking, rent a wave runner, boating, putt putt, bike riding, etc… the boardwalk is something you do once.
Anonymous
Post 08/22/2025 13:56     Subject: Better beach trips driving from dmv
Go to hilton head.
Anonymous
Post 08/22/2025 13:56     Subject: Better beach trips driving from dmv
Anonymous wrote:None of the DelMarVa beach places are all that great. We love the Côte de Azur for this reason. Calm seas, fair winds, plenty of sun and spectacular food and drink.


Thank you this, this is so droll... from Virginia Beach to the South of France, natural progression!
Anonymous
Post 08/22/2025 13:53     Subject: Better beach trips driving from dmv
Anonymous wrote:Op here. We added Williamsburg Busch garden, water county USA, Virginia aquarium to Virginia beach trip to make it more fun. We are not real beach family. To us, any beach trips with 1-2 days max on beach is enough, and we like to do add on & go explore somewhere (no national park, no history tours and no hiking) like aquarium/theme park/interactive museums/cruise/boat tours etc. We are not a big fan of beach food.


Noted the first time on your constipation comment. Weirdo.
Anonymous
Post 08/22/2025 13:51     Subject: Better beach trips driving from dmv
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I think it depends what you’re looking for.
We love Rehoboth. It’s less than 3 hours drive. We usually eat out once a day and at home/or picnic twice a day.
Our bar is low for food though. We go to seafood places but the kids also like pizza, tenders etc, which we allow, it’s their vacation too. We don’t get fast food on vacation.


Sigh. Here we go again. It's rarely less than 3 hours from anywhere in the DMV worth living, especially not in the summer unless you leave and return at odd hours. And it's not that great of a beach either. And the food is just ok -- and overpriced.

We went this week. Left Monday morning at 930 and got there at 1150.
Left last night at 7pm and got back at 925.
We don’t drive there on Fridays or Sundays during prime times.
Anonymous
Post 08/22/2025 13:33     Subject: Better beach trips driving from dmv
Rehoboth has tons of good restaurants and attractions but it is crowded.

I love the small beach town feel of Bethany Beach.

It's all very expensive though.
Anonymous
Post 08/22/2025 07:20     Subject: Better beach trips driving from dmv
Anonymous wrote:Virginia beach boardwalk is boring and the sand are coarse with chipped tiny seashell. My kids get cut on their feet playing along the beach shores. It was like 5 hours drive for us from dmv. Ocean city boardwalk is more fun but the food is blah. It was like 4 hours drive for us from dmv. We eat out every meal , and we all have constipation problems. My 2 ES picky eaters think McDonald and papa john taste better than those pizza or American burger places. They drink to much sodas and ice cream etc. We miss bakery shop and some simple homestyle taste food. We have a car, and I don't understand why we could not find good food.

Where do you all go for beach trips from dmv? What do you all eat breakfast/lunch/dinner if you check in hotel and no cooking?
We drive further- to the North Carolina coast. Oak Island near Southport. Rent a house so you don’t have to have every meal in a restaurant. Nice beaches, a few good restaurants and there are several day trips you can take (Fort Fisher Ferry to Aquarium, Myrtle Beach for putt putt, Wilmington)

If you must stay in hotel, find one with a breakfast or at least a fridge and a microwave. Then eat there (a fridge means you can store milk and yogurt and a microwave lets you heat things up). Eat lunch at a restaurant and buy ready made salads and sandwich fixings for picnic dinners.
Anonymous
Post 08/22/2025 05:57     Subject: Better beach trips driving from dmv
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I think it depends what you’re looking for.
We love Rehoboth. It’s less than 3 hours drive. We usually eat out once a day and at home/or picnic twice a day.
Our bar is low for food though. We go to seafood places but the kids also like pizza, tenders etc, which we allow, it’s their vacation too. We don’t get fast food on vacation.


Sigh. Here we go again. It's rarely less than 3 hours from anywhere in the DMV worth living, especially not in the summer unless you leave and return at odd hours. And it's not that great of a beach either. And the food is just ok -- and overpriced.

So leave at an odd time. Outside of an accident we have always made to Bethany in 2.5-3 hours with one stop. We leave after dinner, around 7:30
Anonymous
Post 08/22/2025 00:12     Subject: Better beach trips driving from dmv
There are some good restaurants at the DE/MD beaches but it partly depends on how much money you want to spend. And most are not anywhere near the boardwalk.

One thing I love about being there is the produce markets. If you stay at a place with a kitchen you can buy fresh veggies and sometimes cheese/meat (or just get that ant grocery store) and make a great summer meal. You’re going to encounter a lot of fried food at the lower priced restaurants because that’s what is cheap to make and what a lot of people like on vacation. The beach is not the place to find great ethnic food. You are too far from a city for that.
Anonymous
Post 08/21/2025 12:38     Subject: Better beach trips driving from dmv
DiFebo’s Market in Bethany has reliably good food: an excellent bakery and meals to go. Plus homemade ice cream.

Blue Coast and Matt’s are decent restaurants. Crabcakes at the Crabcake Factory are good. Grab and Go Taco in Fenwick is good.

Grotto’s hasn’t been good since they rapidly expanded. Back in the day (80s?) the pizza was actually pretty good.

You’ll find better food in SC (Charleston) or Cape Cod. But even those places have crummy places with frozen fried food.
Anonymous
Post 08/21/2025 12:32     Subject: Better beach trips driving from dmv
Agree go to SC or just go to Florida. I think I would rather just fly to Florida than go to MD and DE beaches.