Maryland - never visited, is it worth the trip?

[EllenFrasier]

So, what is there to do in Maryland? We've been through Maryland on the way to VA, NC and FL but never stayed. Are there a lot of things to do there? We like the beach and aquariums, amusement parks, things like that. Is Ocean City nice? Is it a free beach like VA beach? How about motels and hotels - any good recommendations for near or on the beach? How far is the aquarium from the beach area?
I welcome any tips on visiting Maryland - thanks.

 

[monkeybug]

So, what is there to do in Maryland? We've been through Maryland on the way to VA, NC and FL but never stayed. Are there a lot of things to do there? We like the beach and aquariums, amusement parks, things like that. Is Ocean City nice? Is it a free beach like VA beach? How about motels and hotels - any good recommendations for near or on the beach? How far is the aquarium from the beach area?
I welcome any tips on visiting Maryland - thanks.

I live in Maryland.
The Eastern shore is nice, the Annapolis area is nice, Western Maryland near West Virginia is pretty, DC obviously is close, and the inner harbor in Baltimore is neat.
I'm not a fan of Ocean City, I think it's tacky, but I don't like Virgina beach either so I may not be the best to ask about that.

 

[Nik's Mom]

We visited Inner Harbor a couple of weeks ago and had fun. The aquarium is great!

 

[monkeybug]

So, what is there to do in Maryland? We've been through Maryland on the way to VA, NC and FL but never stayed. Are there a lot of things to do there? We like the beach and aquariums, amusement parks, things like that. Is Ocean City nice? Is it a free beach like VA beach? How about motels and hotels - any good recommendations for near or on the beach? How far is the aquarium from the beach area?
I welcome any tips on visiting Maryland - thanks.

The Aquarium in Baltimore is awesome! I've been to quite a few, including Monterey bay aquarium, and was still impressed with the aquarium in Baltimore.
It is pretty far from the beach though.
You could stay in Annapolis, hit up the inner harbor of Baltimore (about 30 minutes away, and where the aquarium is), visit downtown Annapolis and take one of the boat cruises to St. Micheals. If you have kids there is a fun pirate boat (it takes the kids out into the bay where they have to find treasure and shoot bad guys with water canons) at the city dock.

 

[castleview]

I'm not an Ocean City fan but Assateague Island is wonderful. Wild horses everywhere!

We're looking at Annapolis for a three day weekend and I could use any info. DD10 is on this "I want to be a navy pilot" kick and was wondering if you could tour the academy.

 

[wvjules]

I'm not an Ocean City fan but Assateague Island is wonderful. Wild horses everywhere!

We're looking at Annapolis for a three day weekend and I could use any info. DD10 is on this "I want to be a navy pilot" kick and was wondering if you could tour the academy.

I've always wanted to go see the round-up. I didn't realize you could just go to the island to see them. Hmmm, I'll have to look into that.

 

[wenmc]

Our family spent three days in Ocean City last year. My girls loved the boardwalk and beach, ages, 16 and 12. But be prepared to spend a lot of money for food, gifts, games and rides. But the ocean is free! and the beach is really nice/well-kept.

 

[EllenFrasier]

Our family spent three days in Ocean City last year. My girls loved the boardwalk and beach, ages, 16 and 12. But be prepared to spend a lot of money for food, gifts, games and rides. But the ocean is free! and the beach is really nice/well-kept.

Did you like the motel/hotel you stayed at? Would you recommend it? I'd like to stay on the beachfront, or within easy walking distance to the beach.

 

[wdwmom2]

Did you like the motel/hotel you stayed at? Would you recommend it? I'd like to stay on the beachfront, or within easy walking distance to the beach.

Jumping in here!!!!

Depends on your price range. If you want to stay REALLY nice, and cost is of no concern, the Holiday Inn and Suites on 17th St is outstanding!!! We loved it there.

We are staying at Paradise Plaza on 9th St this year. My friend has stayed here before and liked it. It is what I would say is mid-priced.

Last year we stayed at the Sahara on 19th. Inexpensive compared to alot of them. Nothing fancy, but clean. And they have a nice diner on site.

 

[SunnyP4Disney]

I live 5 minutes from Ocean City and I would recommend the Courtyard by Marriot (it think it's at 15th street and the boardwalk), it's right on the ocean, has an indoor pool, it's very new and has a nice boutique hotel feel to it. Your kids would also love Jolly Rogers waterpark. We have passes to it and go all the time.

 

[Abbie]

I'm not an Ocean City fan but Assateague Island is wonderful. Wild horses everywhere!

We're looking at Annapolis for a three day weekend and I could use any info. DD10 is on this "I want to be a navy pilot" kick and was wondering if you could tour the academy.

Assateague is nice but the only time we've seen horses there have been very, very early in the morning. During the day, the mosquitos and biting flies are rampant so I would never set up camp to swim there. There are no hotels on Assateague Island but it is worth a trip over there and it's only about 10 minutes from Ocean City.

Annapolis does give tours of the academy and it is very impressive!

OP, Ocean City is a great beach place, albeit a little "tacky" like another poster said. It runs up from the inlet to about 140th St. so there are tons of hotel options! The Boardwalk is fun for kids, lots of rides and games and good food, and people watching!

The aquarium is in Baltimore, well worth the trip, but it is about 3 hours from the beach. The Science Center is also right there and definitely worth the price of admission.

I love my state! There is a ton to do and something for everyone! Hope you have a good trip.

 

[wenmc]

We stayed at the Comfort Inn and it is very close to the beach, part of it beach side. It was your typical Comfort Inn, nothing too fancy. Lots of sand in the hallways, etc.. I guess to be expected being by the beach. And the breakfasts were always crowded. We had a room with two double beds and a pull out sofa. With balcony.

 

[monkeybug]

I'm not an Ocean City fan but Assateague Island is wonderful. Wild horses everywhere!

We're looking at Annapolis for a three day weekend and I could use any info. DD10 is on this "I want to be a navy pilot" kick and was wondering if you could tour the academy.

You can absolutely tour the Academy! You can't drive onto the actual yard unless you have a DOD sticker and a military ID, but you can easily walk from downtown (there is parking at the visitor center, but I don't know how long they let you park there).
They offer something called the Navy Way bootcamp for kids, it's really cute!
http://www.usna.edu/NAFPRODV/VC/
Just scroll to the bottom of the page until you get to the 2010 Navy way bootcamp part (not the educational tour one).

 

[Christine]

My friend has been staying at O.C. Breakers: www.ocbreakers.com.

It was brand new a few years ago. On the beach, in the action, etc. She thought it was nice and clean and met her standards.

I personally don't find OC "tacky." I think it's more "honky tonk". It's your typical touristy beach town with the boardwalk, the "strip" that people cruise on, gift shops, bars, mini-golf, restaurants, and crowds. Kids find that wonderfully fun.

 

[castleview]

You can absolutely tour the Academy! You can't drive onto the actual yard unless you have a DOD sticker and a military ID, but you can easily walk from downtown (there is parking at the visitor center, but I don't know how long they let you park there).
They offer something called the Navy Way bootcamp for kids, it's really cute!
http://www.usna.edu/NAFPRODV/VC/
Just scroll to the bottom of the page until you get to the 2010 Navy way bootcamp part (not the educational tour one).

Thanks so much! We're looking at going sometime within the next 18 months. DD surprised me with the navy pilot thing. Knowing nothing about the military, I asked her why Navy; why not Air Force. She looked at me incredulously and said "Because I want to land on an aircraft carrier- hello?"

 

[wdwmom0f3]

We are here in Baltimore, Maryland right now & will be here for a few weeks. This is the first time we have ever been up this way and I have to say that there is a lot to see & do that is close by.

We have been to the Harbor and it was really nice. I fell in love with it. There were several nice shops & places to eat. I LOVE boats so I enjoyed watching them too. Some were just beautiful. We are going back to see the Aquarium next week so we are looking forward to that. We have also been to Gettysburg in PA and it was neat. There is also Hershey Park in PA, which is not far away from here at all.

We are going to Harpers Ferry this weekend and I have been told it's beautiful. Next week we will be going into DC to see all of the things there. We also have a White House tour set up so that should be something fun to see. Overall. I LOVE this area so far. There are nice malls and the people are so very friendly. I have not met one rude person yet.

So I would say, come on to Maryland!! It's beautiful here.

 

[overlyspoiled4sure]

I was lucky enough to get to visit Maryland a few years ago thanks to a friend who had an airline ticket she had to "use or lose". So off I went!!

It's a beautiful state; I was there during the fall, October. Beautiful fall colors & oh my, so many hills & I thought the roads were very narrow!! A very hilly state & I'd sometimes close my eyes while she was driving us here & there & everywhere! I live in WI & we have hills too, but not to the extent the area around Baltimore has.

The Baltimore harbor is beautiful & even though I'm not sure she was a fan of riding trains, we took the light rail there. I had an absolutely awesome time. We also headed to NYC to AGPlace. Unfortunately, by the time we got there the store was closed.

She always told me she lived in the middle of corn fields & now I believe her. She has to drive a minimum of a half hour to get anywhere, be it groceries, the local fast food joint or whatever. Much as I enjoyed my visit, I think I'll stay here in WI where I'm minutes from most everything I need (except her, of course).

 

[acejka]

I live in Maryland.
The Eastern shore is nice, the Annapolis area is nice, Western Maryland near West Virginia is pretty, DC obviously is close, and the inner harbor in Baltimore is neat.
I'm not a fan of Ocean City, I think it's tacky, but I don't like Virgina beach either so I may not be the best to ask about that.

Pretty much this, except I never lived there. I lived in No. VA.

 

[Christine]

She always told me she lived in the middle of corn fields & now I believe her. She has to drive a minimum of a half hour to get anywhere, be it groceries, the local fast food joint or whatever. Much as I enjoyed my visit, I think I'll stay here in WI where I'm minutes from most everything I need (except her, of course).

The areas of Maryland around DC and Baltimore are anything but cornfields. Very suburban, very urban, very congested.

 

[LaraK]

I live near Annapolis. I must admit that I enjoy my state. You have a little bit of everything here. To the west are mountains and woods. DC and Baltimore are big cities and have great museums and sites. Annapolis is all about sailing and the Academy (we also have beaches here...just on the Bay, not the ocean). Cross over the Bay Bridge and you're in the rural Eastern Shore, full of bog marshes and chicken farms with Ocean City to the far east. South of us are Calvert Cliffs with fossils and great scenery. In St. Mary's County you can see some of the oldest settlements in the country.

Maryland has something for everyone...depends on what you like.