Ocean City advice needed

We are considering our first vacation in Ocean City in late summer/early fall. I%26#39;m hoping those of you with OC knowledge can help me.

In the past we have vacationed in Miami Beach, FL, Carolina Beach/Kure Beach, NC and Sanibel Island, FL. We prefer quieter areas of the beach and plan to rent either a condo or duplex. We prefer single homes or duplexes over high rises or large complexes. The property must be oceanfront.

I%26#39;m having a hard time figuring out the best place to stay on the beach. We have 9 year old twins and will also be bringing my father and stepmother along (late 60s). We prefer a quiet, very clean area of the beach over the more crowded areas of beach. I%26#39;m sure we%26#39;ll want to visit the boardwalk, but I%26#39;m not sure if staying right in that area would be a good idea for us. We%26#39;re not sticks-in-the-mud, but at the same time I don%26#39;t want to be surrounded by huge crowds the whole time we%26#39;re on vacation.

From reading this forum I get the idea that parts of OC can be sort of campy/in need of updating, and I don%26#39;t have a problem with that at all. It sounds sort of like Carolina Beach in that regard. We just want a fun, relaxing beach vacation where our kids can play in the water, the adults can get some sun and eat good food, and there are activities/sights within easy driving distance.

Is the water warm enough for swimming in early/mid-September? We homeschool our kids so we can travel during the school year as long as the weather/water temps are warm enough.

So what do you all suggest? Thanks!

Ocean City advice needed

This is a good forum to answer your questions. I will try and lend my experience from the last 15 years of vacationing there.

First off, you won%26#39;t find any single homes oceanfront in OC. It%26#39;s all condos and hotels. The northern end from around 85th to 130th Sts. are where all of the busy high rises are. The beaches are more crowded and dirty there, and the properties not as new. The Boardwalk extends from the Inlet to 28th St. There might be one or two cottages for rent between 20th to 28th St, but I have no idea how you would go about renting them. The upper end of the Boardwalk is much quieter than the lower end. The lower end holds the rides and entertainments, lots of hotels and shops. There is a tram that runs the length of the boardwalk. You pay each time you ride, or you can get a round trip ticket, but in September I believe the hours are cut back, and OC council just last week decided to curtail certain hours off season due to their new budget. I have stayed and highly reccommend what is called Mid Town. From around 45th St. to 85th St. There are many smaller condos there and a lot of them are newer and most are well maintained. And the extreme upper or Northern end of OC has smaller condos as well. We have always rented from either Holiday Real Estate www.holidayoc.com or Coldwell Banker www.cbvacations.com

Holiday has a rating system and pictures of the interiors of most of their listings. I believe CB does too.

No matter where you stay in Ocean City you will be close to dining and amusements. There are a lot of mini golf courses all over OC. I would reccommend stopping by the Convention Center on 41st ST when you get to OC and pick up some of the free local papers and coupon books and tourist guides to give you an idea of what is around and where. You can drive to the boardwalk any time of the day or night and there is also a public bus that offers a ';pay one price/ride all day'; deal. But I think it%26#39;s easier to drive. You can park in the inlet (there is a fee) or the majority of parking on that end of town is metered. However if you don%26#39;t mind walking a couple of blocks, you can park on one of the back streets for free. The boardwalk is HUGE, so if you are going mainly for the amusements and shops, I would suggest parking somewhere around 5th St or so. If you park higher than that it is quite a hike to the inlet rides. You%26#39;ll have the five blocks to walk plus another 5 or so after that to get to the rides and games. But you%26#39;ll be so busy looking in all the little shops that you won%26#39;t really notice.

Skateboards, roller skates, and bikes are permitted till 10 am and you can rent bicycles and tandems all along the boards. Dogs are only permitted on the beach at certain times and must be leashed.

There are lots of good places to eat in OC. For an all you can eat buffet, most people like The Bonfire, Embers, or Horizon%26#39;s. My preference is the Bonfire. I don%26#39;t care for Phillips. And two places you absolutely want to avoid are Paul Revere%26#39;s and Jonah and the Whale. They are like eating out of garbage cans. BJ%26#39;s on the Water has good food, sandwiches and steaks. Frescos has quality food, but pricey. Ristorante Antipasti has wonderful Italian food, but be prepared to open your wallet wide. The Bayside Skillet has fantastic breakfasts, and their other food is good as well. All of these restaraunts are Mid Town except for the italian place.

The water is still plenty warm in early September, but I must tell you that a lot of the rides and such close on labor day . Jolly Rogers Amusements takes their rides down on Labor day. The boardwalk rides sometimes close and open again on the weekend. You may want to consider going the last week of August before Labor Day. And Delmarva Bike Week is the weekend of the 17th to the 20th. Lots and lots of bikers and motorcycles and noise.

So I hope I helped you some. If you have any more questions, let me know.

Ocean City advice needed

Here are a couple other things to consider as well. After you get past all the condos and high rises between 85th and 120th streets (condo canyon), you%26#39;ll be close to Delaware and the building steadily get smaller. You may be able to find a cottage or house up at that end of town. Although, they may not be beachfront cottages or houses.

Secondly, if you are planning to go down after school starts in the fall, you really could pick wherever you want. The city really slows down and the whole town has a more relaxed feel to it.

Thank you both so much for your input. I%26#39;ve already checked out both of the realty companies mentioned. It%26#39;s good to know what areas of the beach I should be looking for. Thanks again. I%26#39;m sure I%26#39;ll have more questions as I do more research.

if you%26#39;re looking for an oceanfront house or condo, you might consider going north a bit to delaware....to the northern end of dewey beach or to rehoboth.

dewey has a bad rep as being a ';party town'; but the northern end of it is residential %26amp; reasonably quiet, especially after the high season. (i%26#39;m there NOW %26amp; it%26#39;s SILENT!)

rehoboth%26#39;s a charming town year-round, %26amp; has lots of restaurants %26amp; shops open.

whether you choose MD or DE beach....september %26amp; october are the best months as far as ocean temperature goes for swimming...the water%26#39;s at its warmest in those months.

Hi. I hope you have a wonderful time planning your vacation. Ocean water is the warmest in August and September. The beaches are less crowded in early Sep. ofcourse labor Day weekend 2008 was a sell out but mostly everyone check out Labor Day and it died down. Sep is a beautiful month at the shore. Check out our site www.insideoceancity.com and call 1800 626 2326 for your free Seaforyourself vacation guide.

We always stay ooceanfront on 18th street and we are surrounded by eateries and no noise. The boardwalk starts on 28th street and goes all the way down until you get to the amusements it is all quiet properties and restaurants. I hope you have a great time.

Everything that is mention before is right on. OC has multiple locations for mini-golf, resturants and shops. I do however want to mention, do not stay up in Delaware. Not as nice and the two 9 year olds will be bored up there. There some real nice beach front hotels/condos that will allow you to be far enough away from the crowds but just a hop in a car/bus to the boardwalks and amusements.

The water is at its best that time of the year, enjoy.