Ocean City,MD for 12 or OBX?

[debbiemomto4]

Planning a vacation for my family and my sil's family.
We are 12 altogether - 8 children but 6 are 17 and older. We rented a house in OBX one year for 16 of us - that was great fun! Looking for something similar but cheaper but then I am looking for a beach closer to NY too.
I checked out hotels in OC,MD but they are running 349 a night. For that price we are thinking a house again but slightly lost and overwhelmed.
Suggestions please...

 

[Lifeangel1]

We rent condos or houses every year at ocean City, md. Try www.cbvacations.com. This is the realty company we use. The website lets you browse available rentals. Good luck!!

 

[kirstenb1]

We rent from Siebert Realty in Sandbridge, Virginia Beach. OBX traffic is wicked, and you avoid it this way.

 

[stitchlovestink]

Planning a vacation for my family and my sil's family.
We are 12 altogether - 8 children but 6 are 17 and older. We rented a house in OBX one year for 16 of us - that was great fun! Looking for something similar but cheaper but then I am looking for a beach closer to NY too.
I checked out hotels in OC,MD but they are running 349 a night. For that price we are thinking a house again but slightly lost and overwhelmed.
Suggestions please...

Personally, I (and my family) would much rather spend a week at Disney than spend at week at Ocean City, MD. OC, MD is extremely overpriced. Don't get me wrong, we do enjoy going for a long weekend, but that's enough for us. Everything there during the summer is SO wicked expensive. It makes Disney look like a bargain. We found we could truly do Disney cheaper for a week and have a better more entertaining time than to spend a week in OC during the prime summer months of July/August. Unless you are big beach people and we are not (a couple of days is enough for us) and you want to eat at your condo more than not, OC is going to be expensive. The restaurants are outrageous. There are some phenomenal ones but they are crazy expensive for a family of 4. And the entertainment costs are crazy! Go Karting, water park tickets, mini golf, jet ski rentals, amusement park/pier rides, etc... all of the stuff is really expensive and we spent several hundred dollars and it didn't take that much time to do those things. At least with WDW park tickets, we could stay in the parks for hours and hours.....LOL!!

I hope you enjoy, but I would be prepared to shell out some serious $$ unless you are happy just sitting on the beach and/or being in the water (and depending on when you go there can be TONS of jellyfish in the water). That isn't very entertaining for our family. We get bored with that very quickly after about day 2. Hope you have a great vacation. Happy planning!!!

 

[BBandDisney]

Previous Poster- Do you work for the Ocean City Visitors Center?

 

[Zim]

Have you looked at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware?

I grew up going to Ocean City, MD, and I've been to OBX too. I think OC is a far cry from Outer Banks as far as having that beach strip, overcrowded feel to it. And depending where you end up, a house for example, you might feel pretty removed from everything if you like that crowded, bustling beach feel.

We go to Rehoboth Beach every year and stay with some friends so I can't begin to tell you rates versus OC, MD. I just like how they've got it laid out. The beach runs along a boardwalk area and then along a beach house area. There aren't a million hotels crowding the beachfront property (yet)... so it feels more quaint. The shopping area is well done, running from a boardwalk to an inland strip with some really cool shops. And no, I'm not on the Rehoboth Beach tourist board

It's such a nice area, it might run higher cost-wise to rent a house, but the houses do go pretty far inland from the beach, but unlike Ocean City where there is a bay on the other side and a busy dual highway and store strip in between, it's essentially all residential and an easy, relaxing walk if you don't get beachfront.

Just another spot to consider, might even be closer to you!

 

[Zhoen]

Also check out Fenwick Island, DE, it's attached to Ocean City, MD, but a separate city, past the end of the OC bus line. Fenwick is a great option because it has that small-town Norman Rockwell feel, but you're literally right down the road from all the action.

Alternately, if you don't hate the idea of camping, Chincoteague and Assateague are nearby, too, and so gorgeous. With a group your size you'd probably want a "group" campsite, and they are probably all booked by now, but it wouldn't hurt to look. Watch out for the wild horses, though, they know you have food and they are not shy about trying to get it from you (in the bad sense.) Beautiful, though.

 

[talulabelle]

a place to fit that many is going to be hard to come by in OC unless you are back by the bay. You would probably need to split into 2 different condos if you were near the ocean. OC is a whole different vacation than OBX. It is more bustling, the teens would probably like it though. OC is also crazy expensive. For that many, you can find a house in OBX way cheaper. There are some large houses close to the beach in Fenwick Island Del. and Bethaney Beach Del. (just north of OC MD) Fenwick runs a little cheaper. You would be able to get a house to fit you all, but it will not be the same amount of space you would have in OBX for the money. (THInk townhouse for the same price as a HUGE house in OBX)

 

[Leader of the Club]

Check out Chincoteague Island, VA. Its about an hour from OC. Very nice, family friendly beach town.

I rented a 3 bedroom house there this summer for $500 a week.

 

[stitchlovestink]

Previous Poster- Do you work for the Ocean City Visitors Center?

No, LOL!! Actually, if you reread my post, I am trying to talk them out of Ocean City. I think for a group of their size they are going to spend a boatload of $$$. I live in MD a few hours away from OC and grew up going to OC every year going there for a week in the summer. I am just trying to give the OP a realistic perspective of what to expect. Another poster had another great point that teens can be highly entertained in Ocean City (but at a premium cost!!)
And if you end up renting a house on the bayside it can be a hike to drag all of your stuff and possibly little ones across the 6 lane highway (yes HIGHWAY) to the ocean. Yes, there are traffic lights and crosswalks but it's a pain. and trying to drive is equally a pain because the chances of trying to find a parking space on the other side is even slimmer because they are all taken by the people staying on the ocean side.
To each his/her own how they choose to vacation and spend their vacation $$. But I just want OP to know the additional incidential costs of staying in Ocean city. Unless they plan on just spending their time on the beach and eating in, it's going to be expensive. Some of the restaurants charge you for soda refills! Want to talk about a rude awakening when you get your bill. Who would have ever thought. I don't think I've ever been to a restaurant anywhere else where they charge for refills...
We did continue the tradition of taking our girls to OC each summer for a vacation until they were old enough to tell us they were tired of it, but we had advantages. I had a friend who owned a condo and charged us a very nominal fee to use it. We also knew the few hidden gems of Ocean City some of which are gone now. And we ate in some too. Plus the condo we stayed at had a pool and we did not have our own pool at that time. DH also had a friend that had a jet ski that we borrowed one time and the condo had boat slips. So we took the jet ski down with us one trip to ride in the bay. The girls and DH had a blast doing that! So we were able to do cheapy OC vacations ourselves but because of some luck and connections!
I was just trying to share with the OP what I would want others to share with me so I could make an informed decision.

 

[KarenAylwood]

We rent from Siebert Realty in Sandbridge, Virginia Beach. OBX traffic is wicked, and you avoid it this way.

Ditto this suggestion. Sandbridge is really low key and reminds me of the quieter areas of OBX. It's also close to the Va Beach boardwalk so you can visit everything there too if you're interested (plus the Va Aquarium).

I went to OC for a bachelorette party in June a few years ago. It was insanely expensive and crowded. I also wouldn't really compare it to the feel of OBX. If you want the hustle and bustle, go with OC, if you want a more relaxed setting do OBX or Va Beach. I think there are also some more options on the Jersey Shore.

 

[maciec]

Lol I live and work here in Ocean City and I wouldn't vacation here. We sat and priced out a vacation here and compared it to Disney and found it would be cheaper to go to Disney!

 

[mjkacmom]

I think there are also some more options on the Jersey Shore.

Jersey Shore and budget should never be in the same sentence - lol. We paid $4200 for a 2 bedroom condo in Wildwood Crest last summer for a week (albiet a nice place). I think the farther south you go, the cheaper it gets.