I grew up in Delaware, and drag my family there in the summer. We stay in north Dewey- near the southern aspect of Rehoboth. Good location because you can walk to most of the things that you need. Our tweens really like the water park “jungle Jim’s” and we take short trips to Lewis, Rehoboth (Funland) and Bethany (boardwalk) to break up the days.

The kids love it. I see plenty of teens there with friends, and when I was little I used to run into friends at the beach in the summer. Huge local scene, and also lots of private school kids from Baltimore area. In fact, we live in NYC now, and my spouse rolls his eyes when I talk to people on the beach because there’s inevitably one degree of separation between me and whomever I’m talking to - like I went to high school with their sibling or they know my parents.

Anonymous wrote:

Teens do NOT want to be in Bethany.

Hard disagree. Plenty of teens have their parents drive them to Bethany even if that’s not where they are staying. It’s especially popular among private school crowd. Do you even have teens?

+1 - especially at Fourth of July (parent of 17 and 15 year old)

Teens do NOT want to be in Bethany.

Hard disagree. Plenty of teens have their parents drive them to Bethany even if that’s not where they are staying. It’s especially popular among private school crowd. Do you even have teens?

Anonymous wrote:


Bethany has a boardwalk.


No it has a block.

Bethany is gross. OP do Rehoboth

Bethany, especially the north communities, is full of multi-million dollar homes on private beaches. Rehoboth has nothing similar except one stretch near the state park. Bethany has several very good restaurants (Patsys, 14 Global, Blue Coast, Zoca plus takeout from Pomodoro, Lilly’s or Topsail Steamer, to name just a few), a bunch of shops and burger/pizza places kid love, and they can easily walk to most of it.

Sea Colony is in Bethany

Anonymous wrote:New poster here. I know the OP has older children, but where would you go if you have young children? Our kids will be 2 and 4 next summer. I have fond memories of going to Bethany as a child in the ‘90s, but sounds like it’s not the same vibe anymore?

Sea Colony in Rehoboth. Rent a place in one of the condo towers on the ocean. We have really young kids and it’s awesome - can easily pop up to the room for a potty break, lunch, or put one kid down for a nap. Easy 15 min walk with stroller to the Rehoboth boardwalk and shop. Sea Colony has play grounds, splash pads, lots of kiddie pools, and family activities.

Go to Cape May County NJ instead. It’s not much further and the beaches and towns are much better.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you want to vacation? a week in the summer?

I agree Rehoboth is probably the best bet given what you've described.

Personally, I like the northern parts of ocean City. We used to stay around 120th street.

But my very favorite place to stay is Chincoteague - small town, beautiful sunrises and sunsets on the water, you do have to drive to the beach but it's a beautiful wild beach (though there's a lot going on with the beaches and moving the parking lots). It's further, but I love it best.

But where can you stay in CHincoteague?

With the biting flies.

+1. And the beach is not close to town. You have to drive or bike into the state park. Chincoteague is a nice place but not the same vibe as other Eastern Shore towns and I don’t think it’s as fun for teens.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New poster here. I know the OP has older children, but where would you go if you have young children? Our kids will be 2 and 4 next summer. I have fond memories of going to Bethany as a child in the ‘90s, but sounds like it’s not the same vibe anymore?

+1, would love recs too. Really don’t want to do the drive up to New England or down to the Carolinas.

Rehoboth or Lewes is great for young children. Funland is perfect for a fun night and Lewes is great because the beaches are on the bay side so no waves to worry about and easy to play in sand, walk into the water, etc. Lots of ice cream, mini golf, and outdoor spaces to enjoy. The downtown Lewes area has a playground at the canal, and there is a great big playground in Rehoboth as well. When my kids were young, we rented in Rehoboth but drove into Lewes and would spend most days in Lewes and then nights in Rehoboth. Bethany is pretty boring for young kids--- beach (crowded, not a lot of sand left anymore), a few ice cream shops and a few mini golf spots. Ok for a day or two but would get pretty bored if craving more than just sitting on a beach.

Anonymous wrote:New poster here. I know the OP has older children, but where would you go if you have young children? Our kids will be 2 and 4 next summer. I have fond memories of going to Bethany as a child in the ‘90s, but sounds like it’s not the same vibe anymore?

+1, would love recs too. Really don’t want to do the drive up to New England or down to the Carolinas.

Anonymous wrote:New poster here. I know the OP has older children, but where would you go if you have young children? Our kids will be 2 and 4 next summer. I have fond memories of going to Bethany as a child in the ‘90s, but sounds like it’s not the same vibe anymore?

My parents have had a home there since the 80s. It has changed a lot over the years due to development, and it's not the sleepy beach town it used to be. It's still very family friendly and the restaurants are still mostly bad, but it's more crowded and the development goes pretty far back out on rt 26.

New poster here. I know the OP has older children, but where would you go if you have young children? Our kids will be 2 and 4 next summer. I have fond memories of going to Bethany as a child in the ‘90s, but sounds like it’s not the same vibe anymore?

Anonymous wrote:The beaches are far superior anywhere in OC up to Fenwick (compared to the DE beaches.)

Fenwick is DE.