Ocean City, MD or Virginia Beach, VA?

[2Pirates2Princesses]

Right now we are trying to decide between Ocean City, MD and Virginia Beach, VA for a trip in June or July. Which beach has a better atmosphere for families with young children? I know that all the "resort" beaches have their party goers and such so I know to expect a degree of that no matter where we decide to go. Ocean City, MD would be a little closer for us to get to and it seems like there is more to do, but the lodging rates are very high. Virginia Beach, VA would be a little further of a drive for us but it seems like there are more affordable lodging options. We don't plan on doing a full week long beach trip so we are looking at places with clean, reasonably priced hotel suites that have a kitchen/kitchenette and can accommodate a family of six. We have already visited the Jersey shore for a family reunion (Atlantic City & Ocean City, NJ); and we have ruled out the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Myrtle Beach SC, and Hilton Head Island SC because it would be too far of a drive for us, especially since we don't want to spend a full week at the beach. Thanks in advance for any feedback and replies.

 

[2girlsR2good]

It's been a few years since I was in Ocean City, but I remember it being not so family friendly and more party oriented. What about Bethany Beach or Rehobeth (spelling?).

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

It's been a few years since I was in Ocean City, but I remember it being not so family friendly and more party oriented. What about Bethany Beach or Rehobeth (spelling?).

We weren't considering the Delaware beaches just because it seems like most of the lodging options are oriented towards people staying for a full week (condo/house rentals) and we are planning a shorter beach trip for this summer. So we are looking into Ocean City and Virginia Beach. I've heard about the party atmosphere at Ocean City, MD but it still seems like a popular choice for families. I haven't heard much about Virginia Beach, so I am hoping to get some feedback on here.

 

[Charitycase20]

Right now we are trying to decide between Ocean City, MD and Virginia Beach, VA for a trip in June or July. Which beach has a better atmosphere for families with young children? I know that all the "resort" beaches have their party goers and such so I know to expect a degree of that no matter where we decide to go. Ocean City, MD would be a little closer for us to get to and it seems like there is more to do, but the lodging rates are very high. Virginia Beach, VA would be a little further of a drive for us but it seems like there are more affordable lodging options. We don't plan on doing a full week long beach trip so we are looking at places with clean, reasonably priced hotel suites that have a kitchen/kitchenette and can accommodate a family of six. We have already visited the Jersey shore for a family reunion (Atlantic City & Ocean City, NJ); and we have ruled out the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Myrtle Beach SC, and Hilton Head Island SC because it would be too far of a drive for us, especially since we don't want to spend a full week at the beach. Thanks in advance for any feedback and replies.

If you do OC in June, you'll hit the massive influx of 'Junebugs" the seniors from all over that come for weeks at a time. July is going to be crazy busy, people everywhere. But there are ways to get around it. Instead of staying in OC, look into Berlin or Ocean Pines...they are both close to Assateague instead of the OC beaches, less crowding.
You are right, OC has more "adult" entertainment than VA Beach but there is more to do for families closer to the hotels than in VA Beach. You'll need to do some driving over there probably to find activities for the whole family. Its really a coin toss, depending on where you're coming from staying in OC will definitely save you $24 on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel toll! I'm considered a "local", I live roughly 30 minutes from OC, we never, NEVER go to OC from memorial day to labor day!

 

[2disneyboys]

I live in Norfolk, Va. and its about 20 mins from my driveway to Atlantic Avenue (the street that runs parelle to the Boardwalk @ the Oceanfront in Virginia Beach) and yes, there are tons of family type things to do at the ocean front as well as in the surrounding area... if you are searching for activities, include Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake in your search... you can drive from one end of one city through the 2nd city to the other end of the 3rd city in less than 1 hour.. so you are not limited to just 1 of the choices.. you can even include Portsmouth (has a new Children's Museum) and Hampton area as well. it's about an hour and 1/2 drive from the ocean front (virginia beach) to the Williamsburg Area if you are interesting in including some of that in your trip as well. its funny, we live here, and I always tell DH that I can't imagine why people would consider this a "vacation" spot, but when you really consider the area and the entertainment options, there really is a TON to do in this area. And since you have a car, you would not be limited to just the main strip at the ocean front.

I've never been to Ocean City Md, but my inlaws have a few times & they said it was nice, but much more of a party atmosphere. I think which ever you pick is going to be crowded during the summer.. Virginia Beach is always crowded from early June - Late Aug.

 

[dragonfly08]

We've taken our kids (now ages 5 and 8, so they were on the younger side at the time) to both VA Beach and Ocean City, MD. Of the two, Ocean City was by far the better option for the girls. VA Beach was a bit cleaner and had the nicer beach, but there was less for the kids to do. They loved the rides and games on the OC boardwalk and had a blast there. One thing VA Beach had was the proximity to the Children's Museum...we did that one day when it rained and the girls had an amazing time.

 

[vallamen]

We love Va Beach. My dh and I have been taking our 2 young boys for the last few years. It is very family friendly and the beaches are clean. We go to the beach in the mornings, and then would do something fun after lunch. The aquarium is nice and a mile from the beach. They also just a got a pirate cruise. My boys loved both! There is also minor league baseball nearby, a zoo, mini golf, big playgrounds, go-karts. One of our favorite things during our last trip was at the state park. They teach you how to go crabbing from the shore. The class was free and the bait and hooks were only a couple bucks. We brought in like 20 crabs (and released them - all catch and release with the ranger). The kids thought it was hysterical and actually all the adults in the group had fun too.

Also, Busch Gardens and Williamsburg are not that far if you feel like a non-beach day.

 

[chekhovgirl]

We love Va Beach. My dh and I have been taking our 2 young boys for the last few years. It is very family friendly and the beaches are clean. We go to the beach in the mornings, and then would do something fun after lunch. The aquarium is nice and a mile from the beach. They also just a got a pirate cruise. My boys loved both! There is also minor league baseball nearby, a zoo, mini golf, big playgrounds, go-karts. One of our favorite things during our last trip was at the state park. They teach you how to go crabbing from the shore. The class was free and the bait and hooks were only a couple bucks. We brought in like 20 crabs (and released them - all catch and release with the ranger). The kids thought it was hysterical and actually all the adults in the group had fun too.

Also, Busch Gardens and Williamsburg are not that far if you feel like a non-beach day.

Lived in VA for a long time but never actually went to the beach to swim, etc. until the summer before last when we brought our (at the time) 1 and 3 year olds. We had a nice time, would do it again. It is also nice to have Busch Gardens nearby, they have a new Sesame Street area now. My kids don't really care for SS, but I'd like to go!

 

[Princess_Meghan <3]

I've been going to Ocean City with my mom's family (aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins) for as long as I can remember. There's a lot to do there for us as a family, and we always have a great time! We love going to play mini-golf, and going to the boardwalk. We usually take a day to go to Assateague and visit the museum to learn about the island, then drive over the bridge to see the ponies. We've also gone to see the light house, and been to the water park.

The 'kids' in the family range from 6-19, but we've all been going there since we were born. Ocean City does have a party atmosphere, but that's never kept it from being a great place for our family to vacation and have wonderful family time.

 

[iheartdisney]

I lived in VA Beach for 5 years, but it has been a few years!

There was one hotel at the oceanfront that had an indoor lazy river type pool, and an indoor/outdoor pool that was pretty cool. (i know... a beach vacation spot, and I am telling you about the pools!) My kids loved the Aquarium and the Norfolk Zoo. They used to do a guided tour of the Oceana base, i don't know if they still do or not.
Also at the oceanfront there were some cheesy haunted house type ride...
but the thing I miss most about VA Beach: Cinema Cafe- there are a few locations around the Hampton Roads area. It is a combination movie theater/ restaurant. My husband still misses ordering a pitcher of beer at the movies!
http://cinema-cafe.com/

 

[2gr8DisneyKids]

We live in QC now, but lived in DC for 10+ years and have done both beaches many times. My vote would be for OC, MD. For one thing it is MUCH closer and you will not have to drive down 95 to get to vacation. And I agree with the OP about more things for the kids to do at OC, MD. I would just look at a place further up the beach at the end or just above the boardwalk. We never had any issues with noise or partiers up there.

There is a new Hilton there with a fantastic pool and we stayed at the Dunes Manor Hotel before and it was nice as well. The Holiday Inn on the boardwalk is great too, but more in the action.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

Thank you everyone for your replies. It seems like there are a lot of pros for both options. We are on the fence on what to do, but are leaning more towards VA beach because we don't plan on spending a great deal of time on the beach or boardwalk and think the aquarium and children's museum would be nice, kid friendly recreational options to throw in the mix. We were considering spending a day at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, but we may just wait until our kids get older and are more into coasters/thrill rides. I know they have the Sesame Street characters/area there, but we've been to Sesame Place a couple times so that part of Busch Gardens isn't much of a draw for us. Any recommendations on where to stay in the VA beach area? I've been told Norfolk has reasonably priced hotel suites, which we would need due to our family's size. Thanks again everyone.

 

[POOHsie]

When your kids are the right age, take them to Williamsburg and Jamestown. I think there is ticket that covers both places. Lots for the kids to see and do, and they will learn about the US's early settlers, too. Well worth it.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

When your kids are the right age, take them to Williamsburg and Jamestown. I think there is ticket that covers both places. Lots for the kids to see and do, and they will learn about the US's early settlers, too. Well worth it.

Definitely. This is why I am leaning towards waiting until they are all a little older (when our two youngest are at least in elementary school) to visit Busch Gardens in VA so that we can make it more of a "Williamsburg" trip and visit Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown in addition to Busch Gardens and Water Country USA. So in the meantime, the VA beach area will do. I really like the looks of the new children's museum in Portsmouth, and the Virginia Aquarium also seems very nice. There are a lot of nicely priced hotels (Marriott and Hilton brand) with suites in the VA beach, Norfolk, and Hampton area so at this point VA beach is winning us over even though OC MD would be somewhat of a shorter drive for us.

 

[Zeiders6]

We went to OC for many years and decided to try VA last summer. LOVED IT. Dont think we will ever go back to OC. If you do go to VA there is a small childrens petting zoo not far from downtown that our kids loved. I think the beaches are cleaner, and there is always FREE shows on the boardwal in the evenings. One was a magic show, there was a small (very small) "circus" and I think the other was a puppet show. Along with some bands playing at different stages as well.

 

[Steffierae]

We love VA beach for our family with two young kids. We usually do shorter trips (like 4th of July and Easter Weekend) but we love going and staying on the beach, and have even stayed further inland as well. Some great pluses, there is a nice aquarium near VA beach and be sure to check out Mount Trashmore for the playgrounds and open space for your kids to play... just for some variety!

 

[moobear67]

Definitely. This is why I am leaning towards waiting until they are all a little older (when our two youngest are at least in elementary school) to visit Busch Gardens in VA so that we can make it more of a "Williamsburg" trip and visit Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown in addition to Busch Gardens and Water Country USA. So in the meantime, the VA beach area will do. I really like the looks of the new children's museum in Portsmouth, and the Virginia Aquarium also seems very nice. There are a lot of nicely priced hotels (Marriott and Hilton brand) with suites in the VA beach, Norfolk, and Hampton area so at this point VA beach is winning us over even though OC MD would be somewhat of a shorter drive for us.

I would definitely do VA beach over OC MD. It's much more family-friendly, and much more peaceful IMO! As for Williamsburg/BG, we did a combined VA Beach/BG/Williamsburg trip when the kids were little (5, 4, and 3) and we had a BLAST! There is a ticket you can purchase (in the spring and summer...you may not be able to find it for sale for a few more months) called Williamsburg Bounce pass that lets you bounce between Colonial Williamsburg, Busch Gardens, and Water Country USA for 7 consecutive days for one very reasonable price. Also, kids 5 and under are FREE with paying adult (2 kids per adult. What makes this an even better deal is that if you do Busch Gardens tickets separately, 2 and under are free, so you would have to pay for the 3-5 year olds. Not with the Bounce Pass! Also, you get free parking at Busch Gardens/Water Country. It's an incredibly good deal!!! We only used the pass for 4 days, but really got our money's worth. We went in July. We would go the Water Country first thing the morning when it wasn't crowded yet (they have a lot for kids to do there), then leave to get lunch/rest at the hotel. Later, we would go to Colonial Williamsburg or Busch Gardens (or both),which were less crowded in the evenings. Breaking up the day like that worked very well with the kids (and us!). We then spent 3 relaxing days at VA beach. It was one of our best vacations ever, and one the kids (now 15, 14, 13) STILL talk about today!