beach weekend from dc

June 2, 2011 6:45 PM

Looking to head out to a weekend beach trip from DC. Is there anywhere in July that is a) on the beach, and b) doesn't require a a two night stay, and is reasonably populated?

We're leaving from DC (about 4-6 of us). We were looking at Bethany, Reheboth, Ocean City and Lewes.

We're planning to leave WAY earlier on Saturday morning, and return way late on Sunday night.

All of those seem to require a 2 night stay (which doesn't work due to scheduling). Any thoughts on where to go? Virginia Beach seems to be an option as well, and would be equidistant, and seems to be not as swamped with summer beachgoers.

posted by waylaid to travel & transportation around Washington, DC (8 answers total)

A little quieter than the above, but I really like Chincoteague, VA.
posted by goggie at 7:28 PM on June 2, 2011

It's been a while since I've been to VA Beach in the heat of tourist season, but "not swamped" is not the description I would use. I seem to remember struggling to find a space to put down my towel. It was wall to wall bodies.
posted by COD at 8:50 PM on June 2, 2011

Yeah, VA Beach is swamped, and more with the discount traveler.
posted by orthogonality at 11:06 PM on June 2, 2011

Out of the four you mentioned, I'd stick with Lewes. This depends on your age and what you do/don't mind. Bethany and Reheboth have become somewhat family-and-house-oriented and so the prices have shot up dramatically. Ocean City is going to have a lot of looking-to-get-wasted teens/20-somethings.
posted by kuanes at 4:24 AM on June 3, 2011

" looking-to-get-wasted teens/20-somethings."
maybe in southern OC, but northern OC/Fenwick area is prettty laid back... my parents have a house about a block from Fenwick/DE stateline in OCean City, it's quiet and quite nice.

If you are looking for just one night... you also might want to consider staying in-land a little, it'd be a drive to the beach, but much cheaper of a trip...

check out
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/search/vac/mld?query=ocean+city&srchType=A&minAsk=&maxAsk=&bedrooms=
posted by fozzie33 at 5:00 AM on June 3, 2011

I've done Rehoboth in a day. It's not too bad, and a nice beach. Be prepared for traffic. Lots of traffic. Even by DC standards.
posted by schmod at 5:46 AM on June 3, 2011

If VA Beach seems reasonable distance-wise, also check out Sandbridge or the Outer Banks, which tend to have bigger waves and fewer people.

If any of you have military credentials, you can get on some of the base beaches (memail me), which are a lot more reasonable.

It also depends on your definition of 'crowded' - I have little tolerance for crowds and like swimming. My coworkers seem to think the resort beaches are fine except for the 4th of July weekend, and they're so long that you can probably find some area along the boardwalk to set up chairs and a cooler.
posted by bookdragoness at 6:08 AM on June 3, 2011

Oh, if you'd like to check out the beach leading up to your weekend, here are some webcams:

HD, but has an ad and only plays for about 30 seconds at a time and rotates

Stationary cam with stop-motion action!
posted by bookdragoness at 8:13 AM on June 3, 2011