May 10, 2007
Delaware vacation: Rehoboth Beach or Bethany Beach & hotel recommendations please
I recently received this question: I have a wife and 2 small kids. Has anyone stayed at a place in either Rehoboth Beach or Bethany Beach that they could recommend to a family with small kids. Thanks...
I've compiled a few answers. Please leave a comment below if you can add something.
Answer #1: Henlopen Hotel is oceanfront but pretty reasonably priced.
Answer #2: Thos are pretty nice beaches. Rehoboth Beach is known as the gay beech town though. Don't know if that would bother you with the kids. I would stay in Bethany Beech instead.
Answer #3: Didn't stay there, but passed on my way up from Ocean City. Very nice town with a lot of places to eat and shop and looked like nice beaches. They make excellent beer there also, DogFish Head...
Answer #4: I stayed in nearby Bethany Beach a few years back and liked it a lot. It's a little more laid back but still plenty close enough to Rehoboth or Ocean City, MD. We stayed at Sea Colony, a high rise complex. It was very nice so I can recommend it. Dewey beach nearby is good times.
Answer #5: Rehoboth beach is known to have a strong gay community. However, don't let that stop you. It is a very nice place for your family. The town is really nice and as you can imagine...well kept. I would also recommend the Henlopen right on the beach and boardwalk
Answer #6: I have a friend who lives in Henlopen Acres and that is beautiful but he hates Rainbow Street because Rehobeth has a very large gay community and they like to express themselves too much for my friend's conservative tastes.
Answer #7: I like the Henlopen and stay there frequently with my wife and two kids, and the location is unbeatable. The Henlopen is nice because it is towards the end of the boardwalk so its not as loud at night and is more private.
Its a great town. Even though it is known as a 'gay town', it doesn't affect it being very family friendly. I've never seen anything that I would consider bad for kids in the many years I've gone there. As for the gay aspect, yeah, it's there... but the town goes out of its way to be family friendly. It is well maintained and is very clean.
And eat at Nicola's. Excellent food!
This is a noisy 3 minute video of the waves at Rehoboth Beach - I got bored after 30 seconds, but it did look like a nice beach in the short time I spent watching the video. If you make it through the whole thing let me know how it ends!
Posted by James Trotta at May 10, 2007 3:17 PM | TrackBack
Delaware
Posted by: Bob at May 10, 2007 8:40 PMStay at Sea Colony in Bethany Beach. There are tons of families.
Posted by: GBy at May 10, 2007 11:13 PMI would say that either of the beaches would be great. I lived in Dover, De. so I am familiar with them. Yes, Rehobeth is known as "the gay beach town" but please do not let that deter you. I have never seen anything flamboyant or over the top there. Although if you want a good spot at the beach go early.
Posted by: Dawn H at May 10, 2007 11:36 PMThanks for the correction bob. And thanks for the tips GBy and Dawn.
Posted by: James Trotta at May 11, 2007 6:48 AMWhat's wrong with a gay beach for kids? Do you think your kids will catch gayness or something?
Posted by: anne at May 12, 2007 5:40 PMMy sister lives in Dover and I have spent a lot of time over the years in Rehoboth, Lewes, and Bethany. They are all so close together. It is really South Rehoboth, past the Funland, that is more gay, though of course you do see some couples around. Funland is great for kids, with rides and games. I recommend Nicola, and for an interesting break, the Papillon cafe in Abbey Lane off Rehoboth Avenue.
Lewes is also nice, with a quaint, pretty town, but the beach there is state park and nowhere near as commercial as Rehoboth.
Bethany is also lovely, but I don't know the town as well as Rehoboth, sorry.
What timeframe are you looking at? I have a condo in a development called Bethany Bay just outside Bethany Beach which is available the last two weeks in August. The development has a swimming pool, a basketball court, tennis, a small playground area and a nine hole golf course. If you are interested, it can be found on either VRBO.com or greatrentals.com.(property #321482).
Posted by: Nick Chumbris at May 19, 2007 10:38 AM