What East Coast Beach for a Family Vacation?

[Jonell35]

My family loves Myrtle Beach. We usually rent a beach house at Ocean Lakes Campground. Easy access to everything but if you wanted, there’s tons to do right on property. We usually go in August and I don’t find it to be too crowded but may be use to by now.

 

[chocolateavocado]

Thanks everyone for all the recommendations!
After looking into all of these options, I think we're going to wait until next year to do a beach vacation. Out of everything I saw, I really liked Hilton Head the best so far. It's a pretty far drive for us- probably about 13 hours so I think it's probably best to wait til next summer so we have more time to plan.

But.... I did find another option for a summer vacation... I think we're going to do the Smoky Mountains. I found what seems like a pretty great rat for Dollywood's Dream More Resort- 4 nights for $644 with taxes and fees included (they're running a 40% off discount). The resort looks very nice and we've been wanting to do that area for awhile now. I know it will be super busy but that's ok- we don't have to do everything in the area. It'll still be a good time

Thanks again to everyone for all of your help!

 

[kymom99]

Thanks everyone for all the recommendations!
After looking into all of these options, I think we're going to wait until next year to do a beach vacation. Out of everything I saw, I really liked Hilton Head the best so far. It's a pretty far drive for us- probably about 13 hours so I think it's probably best to wait til next summer so we have more time to plan.

But.... I did find another option for a summer vacation... I think we're going to do the Smoky Mountains. I found what seems like a pretty great rat for Dollywood's Dream More Resort- 4 nights for $644 with taxes and fees included (they're running a 40% off discount). The resort looks very nice and we've been wanting to do that area for awhile now. I know it will be super busy but that's ok- we don't have to do everything in the area. It'll still be a good time

Thanks again to everyone for all of your help!

I think you will like it. There is stuff to do that everyone will like. Very family friendly.

 

[My2CrazyGirls]

Another factor is do you want a life guarded beach or not? That is a huge factor.

 

[My2CrazyGirls]

Just so you know, out-of-staters visit the Outer Banks, in-staters visit Wrightsville Beach, and locals go to Carolina Beach.

That's funny. We live in MD and we go to Wrightsville for our summer beach vacation!

 

[mjkacmom]

It's cute but may get boring. Not a ton to do IMO.

There is surfing, paddle boarding, kayaking, swimming, the zoo, and of course the huge boardwalk in wildwood with rides and a water park.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

That's funny. We live in MD and we go to Wrightsville for our summer beach vacation!

We're local and we go to Wrightsville too

 

[Anchored]

Hilton Head!

 

[havaneselover]

There is surfing, paddle boarding, kayaking, swimming, the zoo, and of course the huge boardwalk in wildwood with rides and a water park.

Different strokes for different folks. I don't want to have to drive to the boardwalk.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

When we vacation with DH’s PA family we go to Avalon/Stone Harbor, NJ. We like the family atmosphere but don’t like the whole beach tag thing or how the life guards pack everyone into a small section of the water. Rental houses are also pretty expensive, so we stay on the bay side and have a 10 min walk to the beach. I really prefer to be a little closer.

My college kids love Myrtle Beach. It has more of a party atmosphere.

DH and I often escape to Virginia Beach because it is only 1.5 hours away, has great restaurants and has really been cleaned up/made family friendly over the last 10 years.

But our favorites are the Outer Banks and Hilton Head. Hilton Head is more upscale while OBX is quieter.

 

[chocolateavocado]

Just wondering... For all of you that do vacation at beaches, do any of you ever stay at hotels or resorts? If so, can you provide any recommendations for nice places to stay at? It seems a lot / most people rent houses. We would really prefer to stay at a resort or nice hotel.

One of the reasons I said I think I like Hilton Head the best/one of the best so far, is because it seems like it has some really nice resorts (was looking at the Sonesta Hilton Head) but it's so far away to plan a quick trip for just a few nights- around 13+ hours from us. We were just hoping for a new nights somewhere this summr, since we're going to WDW for Thanksgiving.

Cape May, Ocean City NJ, and some of the surrounding beaches look nice, but most of the hotels don't seem like what we're looking for. Alot of them seem more like motels; which is fine but not what I'm loking for. We had several very bad experiences booking and going to what looked like nice places online, only to show up and find something completely different (Hersehey Lodge this past Thanksgiving- completely run down -hallways had holes in the walls, stained ripped up carpeting, the room smelled really bad, and when inspecting the room before bringing our stuff in- there were some kind of bugs (not bed bugs) inside and on the pillows- housekeeper inspected and confirmed issues- we checked out and transferred to the Hotel Hershey) (and a few years ago Split Rock Resort & water park in the poconos- another nightmare).

I looked at Cape May Icona and Icona Diamond Beach- which both look nice, but the price for 2 nights during our dates would be about $1000.00 or more depending on which of the 2 (diamond beach is more) and that's just for a small room, no view and would only fit the 3 of us, my father-in-law would need his own room- which we'd be paying for, which makes for a very very expensive 2 nights. Hilton Head Sonesta is running a special w/ a small discount if you stay 4 nights or more and that would bring the cost to $188 plus taxes/fees per night- basically less than 50% the cost of NJ...it's just the super long drive that gives me a lot of pause for this summer. If I could find a reasonable nice place to stay somewhere closer, we'd love to go for a few nights.

Thanks to all who took the time to read and respond!! I sincerly appreciate your help!!

 

[mjkacmom]

Just wondering... For all of you that do vacation at beaches, do any of you ever stay at hotels or resorts? If so, can you provide any recommendations for nice places to stay at? It seems a lot / most people rent houses. We would really prefer to stay at a resort or nice hotel.

One of the reasons I said I think I like Hilton Head the best/one of the best so far, is because it seems like it has some really nice resorts (was looking at the Sonesta Hilton Head) but it's so far away to plan a quick trip for just a few nights- around 13+ hours from us. We were just hoping for a new nights somewhere this summr, since we're going to WDW for Thanksgiving.

Cape May, Ocean City NJ, and some of the surrounding beaches look nice, but most of the hotels don't seem like what we're looking for. Alot of them seem more like motels; which is fine but not what I'm loking for. We had several very bad experiences booking and going to what looked like nice places online, only to show up and find something completely different (Hersehey Lodge this past Thanksgiving- completely run down -hallways had holes in the walls, stained ripped up carpeting, the room smelled really bad, and when inspecting the room before bringing our stuff in- there were some kind of bugs (not bed bugs) inside and on the pillows- housekeeper inspected and confirmed issues- we checked out and transferred to the Hotel Hershey) (and a few years ago Split Rock Resort & water park in the poconos- another nightmare).

I looked at Cape May Icona and Icona Diamond Beach- which both look nice, but the price for 2 nights during our dates would be about $1000.00 or more depending on which of the 2 (diamond beach is more) and that's just for a small room, no view and would only fit the 3 of us, my father-in-law would need his own room- which we'd be paying for, which makes for a very very expensive 2 nights. Hilton Head Sonesta is running a special w/ a small discount if you stay 4 nights or more and that would bring the cost to $188 plus taxes/fees per night- basically less than 50% the cost of NJ...it's just the super long drive that gives me a lot of pause for this summer. If I could find a reasonable nice place to stay somewhere closer, we'd love to go for a few nights.

Thanks to all who took the time to read and respond!! I sincerly appreciate your help!!

Lodging in NJ is always going to be much more expensive than the southern states. We are renting a large home in point pleasant omg the beach for $1500 - a night. However, it’s an hour’s drive. For a fraction of that we can rent a home in the outer banks, but it’s a drive.

 

[chocolateavocado]

Lodging in NJ is always going to be much more expensive than the southern states. We are renting a large home in point pleasant omg the beach for $1500 - a night. However, it’s an hour’s drive. For a fraction of that we can rent a home in the outer banks, but it’s a drive.

Thanks for this if the drive was the same amount of time, which area NJ or southern states, which would you rather state?
I'm sorry for so many questions....

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

I listed the beaches we usually go to a couple of posts back. The only place we rent a house is Avalon/Stone Harbor and it is super expensive. All the other locations - Myrtle Beach, Virginia Beach, OBX and Hilton Head - we trade our timeshare through RCI and stay at a timeshare condo property. Many of the timeshares also can be rented by non owners. We very rarely stay in hotels.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

Just wondering... For all of you that do vacation at beaches, do any of you ever stay at hotels or resorts? If so, can you provide any recommendations for nice places to stay at? It seems a lot / most people rent houses. We would really prefer to stay at a resort or nice hotel.

One of the reasons I said I think I like Hilton Head the best/one of the best so far, is because it seems like it has some really nice resorts (was looking at the Sonesta Hilton Head) but it's so far away to plan a quick trip for just a few nights- around 13+ hours from us. We were just hoping for a new nights somewhere this summr, since we're going to WDW for Thanksgiving.

Cape May, Ocean City NJ, and some of the surrounding beaches look nice, but most of the hotels don't seem like what we're looking for. Alot of them seem more like motels; which is fine but not what I'm loking for. We had several very bad experiences booking and going to what looked like nice places online, only to show up and find something completely different (Hersehey Lodge this past Thanksgiving- completely run down -hallways had holes in the walls, stained ripped up carpeting, the room smelled really bad, and when inspecting the room before bringing our stuff in- there were some kind of bugs (not bed bugs) inside and on the pillows- housekeeper inspected and confirmed issues- we checked out and transferred to the Hotel Hershey) (and a few years ago Split Rock Resort & water park in the poconos- another nightmare).

I looked at Cape May Icona and Icona Diamond Beach- which both look nice, but the price for 2 nights during our dates would be about $1000.00 or more depending on which of the 2 (diamond beach is more) and that's just for a small room, no view and would only fit the 3 of us, my father-in-law would need his own room- which we'd be paying for, which makes for a very very expensive 2 nights. Hilton Head Sonesta is running a special w/ a small discount if you stay 4 nights or more and that would bring the cost to $188 plus taxes/fees per night- basically less than 50% the cost of NJ...it's just the super long drive that gives me a lot of pause for this summer. If I could find a reasonable nice place to stay somewhere closer, we'd love to go for a few nights.

Thanks to all who took the time to read and respond!! I sincerly appreciate your help!!

We have stayed at the Marriott Grande Dunes and the Marina Inn Grande Dunes at Myrtle Beach - both were very nice. The Marina Inn isn't oceanfront, but they have a shuttle to a private beach access (with chairs, umbrellas and food service). There is also an Embassy Suites that is oceanfront, along with many, many other hotels and resorts.

Wrightsville Beach has the Holiday Inn Sunspree, Blockade Runner, and Shell Island Resort. All are oceanfront and nice - after the hurricane we had in September, the Blockade Runner and Shell Island closed for a while but have renovated and reopened.

Hilton Head is very nice, but it is definitely not within ten hours for you. But there is a Disney DC property there

 

[lovin'fl]

So OC, MD, VA Beach and Myrtle Beach are all young party places and can be wild (I am from MD and my DDs played years of travel ball where we were at these beach areas for tournies). Not nice family beach towns...IMO.

We have liked Hilton Head a whole lot. We own DVC there and go often. We now live a 5 hour drive from there so it is nice. Another great beach trip was Tybee Island (near Savannah GA). Very sweet beach town. And we live super close to Wrightsville Beach now and go there upon occasion. I'd recommend those 3 beaches (Hilton Head is calmest most low key, then Tybee and then Wrightsville/Carolina/Kure Beach). We have also done Outer Banks a few times and that's not bad either (a little more built up).

 

[mjkacmom]

Thanks for this if the drive was the same amount of time, which area NJ or southern states, which would you rather state?
I'm sorry for so many questions....

I’ve only been to Hilton head and OBX in the south, I prefer OBX but probably because you get get gorgeous homes for little money. I like Corolla (also stayed in hatteras and nags head). Hilton head will have more resorts. I love the jersey shore because I grew up going there, and can tolerate the crowds. I love the Wildwood boardwalk, so much energy and great people watching.

 

[kymom99]

You could look into cape cod

 

[chocolateavocado]

So OC, MD, VA Beach and Myrtle Beach are all young party places and can be wild (I am from MD and my DDs played years of travel ball where we were at these beach areas for tournies). Not nice family beach towns...IMO.

We have liked Hilton Head a whole lot. We own DVC there and go often. We now live a 5 hour drive from there so it is nice. Another great beach trip was Tybee Island (near Savannah GA). Very sweet beach town. And we live super close to Wrightsville Beach now and go there upon occasion. I'd recommend those 3 beaches (Hilton Head is calmest most low key, then Tybee and then Wrightsville/Carolina/Kure Beach). We have also done Outer Banks a few times and that's not bad either (a little more built up).

Thank you for this! We are definietly looking for famly friendly. We are really considering Hilton Head. It looks wonderful. It's just the drive that isn't too wonderful, lol
Do you think there's fun stuff to do there to keep a 12 year old busy / happy? We don't mind driving a little out of the area to do things too.

 

[chocolateavocado]

We have stayed at the Marriott Grande Dunes and the Marina Inn Grande Dunes at Myrtle Beach - both were very nice. The Marina Inn isn't oceanfront, but they have a shuttle to a private beach access (with chairs, umbrellas and food service). There is also an Embassy Suites that is oceanfront, along with many, many other hotels and resorts.

Wrightsville Beach has the Holiday Inn Sunspree, Blockade Runner, and Shell Island Resort. All are oceanfront and nice - after the hurricane we had in September, the Blockade Runner and Shell Island closed for a while but have renovated and reopened.

Hilton Head is very nice, but it is definitely not within ten hours for you. But there is a Disney DC property there

Thanks for all of these resort/ hotel recommendations! I did look at Mariana Inn online and it looks great! Off to check out the others you listed! I rally apprecate the info!