Okay, we've picked a week and now must book a place to sleep. Are choices are a hotel, a condo, a suite (with kitchen), a house (across the Rt. 90 bridge in Ocean Pines), or a campsite.

 

If camping is your thing than you must be aware that the best camp grounds are at Assateague Island National Seashore and Assateague Island State Park. For more things to do with the children and better availability try Frontier Town Campground or a little further from Ocean City is Fort Whaley Campground. Other, smaller, campgrounds are listed here.

*The National Seashore rates start at about $27 a night but are usually booked 2 years in advance. The best chance here is checking often and being willing to change sites at least once during the week or booking well in advance of your visit. Reservations are made through the National Recreation Website. If you have any questions call the campground office at 410-641-3030. Pets are allowed but check all the rules here.

*The Assateague Island State Park rates start at about $27 + fees per night but book at least a year in advance for best locations and the least chance of having to change sites during your stay. Reservations are made through the Department of Natural Resources. If you have any questions call the Park at 410-641-2918. Pets are allowed only in Loop J, check all the rules here.

*Frontier Town rates start at about $47 per night and go up to $92 with waterfront and dock. A western theme park and water park are located on site for a family friendly vacation, The water park is free to campers and the theme park offers a 20% discount for campers. Reservations can be made here but remember the earlier you book the better chance you have of getting the site you want. If you have any questions call 1-800-228-5590. Pets are allowed but check all the rules here.

* Fort Whaley rates start at about $40 per night and go up to $78 for lake front. Frontier Towns' water park is included in the rate as is a 20% discount to the Frontier Town theme park. Reservations can be made here. If you have any questions call 1-888-322-7717. Pets are allowed but check here for all the rules.

 

Renting a house for the week is a great plan for large families or multi-family vacations. The added cost of renting a home is more than made up by the savings of being able to cook in a fully equiped kitchen and the use local amenities to keep the younger, and younger at heart, busy and happy. Add to that the bonus of room for everyone to have privacy and be able to enjoy different activities of their choice. Ocean Pines is the most likely place to find weekly house rentals. Located just across the Rt. 90 bridge from Ocean City, Ocean Pines offers visitors the chance to rent a home by the week within a resort of its own. Rates vary too much to quote rates due to the many different homes and amenities offered with each home. Ocean Pines has several swimming pools, a golf course, and an ocean front beach club with pool is available. Each homeowner offers different packages with their rental. If your rental does not include an amenity that you want you can purchase it seperately here. You can find Ocean Pines rentals in your local newspaper or at Hileman Real Estate.

 

Hotel suites, while more expensive, offer the ability to cook some or all of your meals. The savings for suites are not just from restaurant prices but also from the expense of buying drinks at highly inflated prices. Suites are usually located in ocean front or ocean block hotels giving you quick access to the beach and limiting your need to drive in Ocean City traffic. Check carefully as not all suites are created equally, some offer only compact refrigerator and microwave while others offer full kitchens.

 

Hotels abound in Ocean City but a few are located just outside Ocean City and offer good value for your vacation dollar. My favorite is the Francis Scott Key located less than a mile outside of Ocean City. There is indoor and outdoor pools, a free shuttle bus into Ocean City and much more. There is also the Alamo Motel and the Comfort Suites, both offering prices lower than comparable rooms in Ocean City and located about a mile from Ocean City. Click here for a more complete list of Ocean City hotels.

 

Condos/Apartments offer at home convenience right at the beach. Some condos have amenities equal to the best hotels while others have the basics like air conditioning and TV. Although there are exceptions, apartments generally offer few extra amenities.  Decide which amenities are the most important and check each unit carefully for what they include.

 

Thankfully we've finally decided where we want to stay and have made our reservations. Now it's time to think about food. I recommend going to the grocery store your first day in town so you're ready to start your week. Even if you stay at a hotel its a good idea to have some drinks and snacks on hand to avoid those expensive Convenience Store prices. Restaurants in Ocean City range from McDonalds to almost any extreme you can think of. Click here for a list of restaurants or click here for my personal favorites. To keep your budget under control I recommend deciding how many meals you want to eat out based on the menu prices and how many meals you want to eat at your room. You should know in advance that boardwalk restaurants have to charge a little more due to the cost of land so avoid these if you can. There are a lot of good restaurants just outside of Ocean City and you will find the best prices here. Check the addresses for locations; Coastal Hwy. and numbered streets are always in Ocean City, while Ocean Gateway is always outside of Ocean City.

 

Now it's time for fun! The beach is the reason you chose to come to Ocean City but there is so much more to do that one week won't be enough. That means deciding where to spend your vacation money for the most enjoyment. Depending on where you chose to stay will determine a lot about what else you want to do. If you're staying at Frontier Town that includes admission into a water park you probably won't want to go to another one. On the other hand if you're staying in an apartment Splash Mountain at Jolley Rogers makes for a great day. After the ocean, the boardwalk is the main attraction. Visiting the boardwalk at night is the best time, especially for the children. Park or ride the bus as close as you can to the inlet (the southern end) as this is where most of the action is. Whether it's the roller coaster, carnival games, arcade games, candy apples, or shopping you'll find it here. Click here for a lot more things to do on your vacation. Don't forget there are a lot of things to do outside of Ocean City but less than a half hours drive. Assateague Island offers a State and National Park with guarded beaches that are much more relaxing than those in Ocean City and you can buy some fire wood and cook right on the beach. I prefer the National park because it's so much bigger but that could just be me. If looking for antiques and handmade crafts is what you're into than visit Berlin, Md, just 8 miles from Ocean City. Getting tired of the beach or just need some fresh water, try Pocomoke River State Park. There's plenty to do for everyone within a few miles of Ocean City and a lot of it is free or very inexpensive.

 

I wish I could say that your week would go by slow, but it will fly by with all the things there are to do. Just laying on the beach makes time seem to evaporate. But while you're waiting for your next vacation you will have a lot of good memories and this will hopefully make you want to start planning your next Ocean City vacation early.

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