Ocean City MD, Atlantic City, Rehoboth?

[Starbrite]

Just got back from a wonderful week at the Outer Banks with 20+ family members. Needless to say, I need a vacation from my vacation!! So we're thinking of taking a nice quick weekend away next month, as a couple, no kids, no family, just us.


Here's what I want....where should I go & stay?

Decent beach
Hotel with easy beach access - preferably walking distance
Not a dry beach - I'm not a lush, but I like a nice cold drink sometimes
Nightlife - Maybe a few close bars or clubs?
Budget Friendly
Thinking Fri-Sunday or Monday stay

I don't mind crowds, kids running around, even the loud partiers - we're perfectly capable of blocking that all out and enjoying our time together.

 

[atwmommy]

Ocmd

 

[mmdisneylover]

Just got back from a wonderful week at the Outer Banks with 20+ family members. Needless to say, I need a vacation from my vacation!! So we're thinking of taking a nice quick weekend away next month, as a couple, no kids, no family, just us.

Here's what I want....where should I go & stay?

Decent beach
Hotel with easy beach access - preferably walking distance
Not a dry beach - I'm not a lush, but I like a nice cold drink sometimes
Nightlife - Maybe a few close bars or clubs?
Budget Friendly
Thinking Fri-Sunday or Monday stay

I don't mind crowds, kids running around, even the loud partiers - we're perfectly capable of blocking that all out and enjoying our time together.

Define fly over all three I would do Ocean City Md we just got voted 5th cleanest beach in the nation not sure who took survey but seen it on the news. I live in Md. So I love OC but there is tons of things to do there. One restaurant I would recommend would be Harpoon Hanna's if you like awesome food and they also have a tiki bar for those who like to party while eating. They serve warm homemade bread before dinner and during. Seafood and steaks are on the menu just about everything a normal good restaurant would have. Beach is awesome not to rough and we have a boardwalk for entertainment. Love OC.

 

[mikehn]

There isnt any beach that will be budget friendly until late august at the earliest. Other than that, ocean city is good, dewey beach, DE and Rehoboth, DE are good also.

 

[FiggieFan]

As a frequent day visitor to AC, I would not stay overnight. We go for the day for gambling and to walk the boards and we have seen some shows at night. It is neither very clean or safe. The stores on the boardwalk need some serious attention and seem to sell the same junk.

We would do Cape May which is great if you haven't tried that. There are some nice shops on Washington St, a trolley tour, old victorians (if you like that kind of thing), you can go over by the lighthouse and there are some nature walks and a concrete bunker from WWII, and there is sunset beach which is the southern most tip of NJ - it has a sinking concrete ship and is all pebbles "cape may diamonds". There are also some antique stores and great places to eat.

 

[njgrl622]

Ocean City, MD -

Beautiful beach, friendly people....and you HAVE to go to Secrets for a night out!!!

 

[Malibustyle23]

Being from Md, having those choices and being an adults trip I would also pick Ocean City, MD.

Just an fyi taken from the city website though: "In Ocean City, we take laws related to alcohol consumption very seriously. Drinking alcoholic beverages in public is prohibited. This includes on any street, avenue, alleyway, sidewalk, beach, parking lot and vehicle in any of these areas. Possessing an open container of any alcoholic beverage in public is not allowed."

 

[bdcp]

OC MD. DH and I honeymooned there 32 years ago plus we took lots of family vacations while our boys were growing up. We all still love it, but it's been a few years since we've done a family vacation there. DH and I go every 2-3 years now because we cruise. Our anniversary is tomorrow and we're going to NYC for a few days instead of OC.

OC isn't dry, but as another poster said, the beach is. But, let me tell you, after going to 35+ years, I see people on the beach every day with beer in cans inside koozies so the labels can't be seen. I also have seen plenty of people with drinks in insulated cups w/straws. The only times I've seen the police enforcing the drinking policy was when age was in question and people were being rowdy. If you sit quietly on the beach reading a book, having a drink, I doubt you would have an issue. We don't usually drink on the beach, but we sit on our balcony in the evenings having one. We also stay up on condo row, away from the boardwalk. WE do go to the boardwalk some evenings, but condo row is a much nicer beach area.

 

[sharon_wv]

Being from Md, having those choices and being an adults trip I would also pick Ocean City, MD.

Just an fyi taken from the city website though: "In Ocean City, we take laws related to alcohol consumption very seriously. Drinking alcoholic beverages in public is prohibited. This includes on any street, avenue, alleyway, sidewalk, beach, parking lot and vehicle in any of these areas. Possessing an open container of any alcoholic beverage in public is not allowed."

There are exceptions to this rule. If you stay at Castle in the Sand (37th street) or the Clarion (100th street) you can drink on the beach. They even have servers who deliver those drinks to you. We just stayed at the clarion last week.

I second harpoon Hannah's. with no kids, you have to hit Seacrets too! We also enjoy BJs on the Water, especially around sunset. Beautiful.

Yes, I'm an OCMD fan too. LOL

 

[sambisc]

We go to Rehoboth Beach every year and absolutely love it. The beach is clean and the people are friendly. It's a perfect place for a couples weekend...it's great walking around town in the evening after a day at the beach. Food ranges from counter service fries to gourmet restaurants...and there's so many restaurants to choose from. There's also several hotels in town either right on the boardwalk or within easy walking distance to the beach. Enjoy your weekend!

 

[Eureka]

We go to Rehoboth Beach every year and absolutely love it. The beach is clean and the people are friendly. It's a perfect place for a couples weekend...it's great walking around town in the evening after a day at the beach. Food ranges from counter service fries to gourmet restaurants...and there's so many restaurants to choose from. There's also several hotels in town either right on the boardwalk or within easy walking distance to the beach. Enjoy your weekend!

We do too (go every year and love it). Now we rent a house with friends for a week but the first time went it was just DH and I. We splurged and stayed at the Boardwalk Plaza hotel for two nights. Plenty of supermarkets near the outlets so we buy stuff for most of our meals, though we usually go out for dinner 2-3 times and my 10 yr old DS and I always have a breakfast date for crepes one morning. Just as easy to pack up lunch for the beach and then run and get some fries if you want to supplement.

 

[eh24fan]

Ocean City! Because we go to Rehoboth and it took forever and a day to get there last night. LOL We live about 35 minutes away and traffic was a nightmare.

Seriously though, if you are looking for a more "city" atmosphere then go for OC. If you are looking for a small town indundated with lots of people, but still small town feel, go for Rehoboth. For beach time, head north or south on the boardwalk, the center section is always the most crowded!

 

[pens4821]

As a frequent day visitor to AC, I would not stay overnight. We go for the day for gambling and to walk the boards and we have seen some shows at night. It is neither very clean or safe. The stores on the boardwalk need some serious attention and seem to sell the same junk.

I couldn't disagree with this more. We go to AC 3/4 times a year and spend 3 nights at a time. We love the boardwalk, night or day. We've NEVER felt unsafe (wouldn't walk off the boardwalk at night), and feel that the beach/boards are well kept. They run machines over the board evening/morning that clean it up.

However, it's expensive on the weekends, and that would make me double think it. The shows and such are usually only Fri/Sat, but those nights are also 3 to 4 times the price as a sun-thurs night.

We love AC. During the day we walk the boards and relax, and at night we gamble and go to the bars.

 

[hoosiergirl7]

I used to live in MD years ago and we loved both Rehoboth Beach and Ocean City. I don't think you can go wrong with either. They each have their own special charm and if you stay at one, you can always drive to the other for a meal or a walk on the beach. I don't think it ever took us more than 20-25 minutes to drive between the two. Granted that was over 10 years ago too. Might have changed since then. I'd love to go back.