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East coast beach vacation this summer
Hi ladies,
You all have always guided me great in suggestions. We've always wanted to have a beach vacation on the east coast. We are usually Caribbean and Mexico people or visiting relatives in Florida so this is all new. Most I've seen out east is NYC besides southeast of Myrtle Beach and Savannah.
We were thinking of Virginia Beach. We always fly but we are thinking of a road trip with the kids if we can do it in one day, if not it has to have a local airport. We need a 1 or 2 bedroom condo but more of a vacation rental with all the ammenities of food and drinks. I don't cook on vacation but want the kitchen for things for the kids. Actitives would be a plus at the resort and we want a lot to do around the area, so not secluded. We like nice places and will pay the price for something good. We'd like to go first week in July.
We honestly never do summer beach vacations. We live in Chicago and always go to Michigan or Wisconsin and save the beach ones for winters here which is why we fly so far.
Thanks!
Re: East coast beach vacation this summer
Have you thought of Point Pleasant Beach or Lavallette New Jersey? They are both great towns with beautiful beaches and tons to do. The first week in July is going to be expensive and it might even be hard to fins a place now because of july 4th.
If you do go to Virginia Beach take a day or two to go up to Williamsburg. Colonial Williamsburg is really neat and they are good with interacting with the kids too.
Also, you could do Busch Gardens...I know they have a cute Sesame Street themed section that your kids might really like.
Ocean City, NJ is a great beach vacation with kids. theres a boardwalk with a lot going on (rides, games, great boardwalk food), the cape may zoo isn't too far away, its a "dry" town which means no bars or liqour stores on the island. that helps keep some of the shady "jersey shore" people out LOL
i know there are houses you can rent, or some hotel rooms that probably have small kitchens
Well this is a topic i can definitely help with if you pick Virginia Beach. I'm a Chicagoan but spent 8 months in VAB this past April-Dec due to DH's job. I don't recommend driving from Chicago to Virginia but it's just DH and I so I'd rather fly than spend that long in a car (but I've done it a couple of times, it's doable). Flying is super easy--Southwest has direct flights from MDW to ORF and Norfolk is approx 20-30 min drive to the oceanfront. Continental/United may, too.
We lived in an apartment less than a 10-min walk to the ocean in the Oceanfront (i.e. tourist) area (off Laskin/30th Street if you look at a map). I can't help with short-term rental properties but there are lots of name brand hotels, many with mini kitchens for easy food storage. There are also LOTS of condos/time shares for weekly rental. DH stayed in one for 3 months (off season) before I came--Edgewater Condominiums. If you don't want to be in Oceanfront, there's also Sandbridge further south but also on the ocean. It reminds me a lot of what the Outer Banks was like 15 years ago (I haven't been since so I don't know what OB is like now). It seems better to rent a house (with multiple families) in Sandbridge. I think there are condos there, too. It's more desolate though if that's appealing. You can't walk to as many places as you can within Oceanfront. You're probably going to be cooking at home more in Sandbridge--there's only one road in and out (like the OB). There's also Shore Drive but that's more residential and not as conducive if you don't know where you're going.
I definitely recommend Virginia Beach for families. There's lots to do throughout the week--Pirate shows/buried treasure, fireworks, festivals, outdoor concerts, orchestra shows, movies on the beach, etc-most activities are free. Let me know if you have any specific questions or want recommendations of places to eat. Seafood is heavenly in VAB-especially if you like crab! Trust me, you won't find crabcakes in Chicago like you will in Virginia Beach. The prices are an added bonus. Same with oysters and peel-and-eat shrimp.
Here's a tentative guide of what's going on next summer: http://www.beachstreetusa.com/ You don't need to stay at a specific resort, the city plans things for the whole community--residents and tourists alike. It's a really nice set-up with everyone welcome/invited.
From the Oceanfront you can easily walk to a couple of grocery stores so you don't need to plan ahead with snacks and whatnot. There's also mini-golf, a small amusement park, ferris wheel, etc. All the kitschy boardwalk-type things but cleaned-up and super family-friendly. There's also the tourist t-shirt shops for all your souvenir fun!
I've been living in Virginia Beach for over 3 years now and KiKi did an excellent job describing a kid-friendly vacation here. But I also wanted to add the Virginia Beach Aquarium is a fabulous way to spend a few hours with the kiddies. Also, the water park just down the street from the Aquarium, Ocean Breeze, just went through a multi-million dollar face-lift and is a great time for kids ages 1 - 99!
Where ever you decide, I hope you have a great time. But a piece of advice, summer is an extremely busy time at any beach town so make your plans/reservations as soon as you can to ensure availability. Good luck!