Road trip to Virginia Beach...yes or no? (Norfolk, Portsmouth: amusement parks, hotels)

[CollegeKid.UD]

A few buddies of mine are thinking of taking a summer road trip on a long weekend to either Virginia Beach, VA; Atlantic City, NJ; or Ocean City, MD. Is Virginia Beach worth going to? It would be a few male, 22 year olds.

[Coconut1]

I would toss Ocean City out.

VA Beach and Atlantic City are going to be about the same in terms of mileage and time according to Google. With that said, I would pick Atlantic City, you'll have more fun.

The only issue is you're saying a long weekend. Are you actually going to be staying Friday and Saturday nights? In AC they can be very pricey, $300+ per night. During the week you'll have much better rates.

VA Beach rates are usually steady regardless of the week or weekend.

An alternative would be to head to Wildwood, NJ. Rates are the same regardless of whether it's midweek or the weekend. They have a far superior boardwalk with an array of amusements, as well as massive beaches.

You could stay there Friday and Saturday nights and then finish off any other night you'd be staying (Sunday through Thursday) in AC so you could do a little gambling, walk their boardwalk, club, etc.

[CrazyTed]

Virginia Beach and OC are about the same. Bunch of hotels, the beach, tourist shops, and bars. Atlantic City has the casinos that can get expensive but not much else. I also agree about Wildwood. I grew up working on the boardwalk as a teenager and still love Wildwood.

[gregir]

I would guess the male/female ratio is better in Wildwood as well. VB is family oriented and the singles scene has a higher male ration than female probably due to the military. Just saying if that is one of your interests.

[Coconut1]

Originally Posted by CrazyTed

I grew up working on the boardwalk as a teenager and still love Wildwood.

Me too. Was up there last year after not going for a few years (AC always sucks me back! ) and really few places can top it. Where else do you have 3 massive amusement parks jutting out into the ocean, 3 water parks right there as well, a 2 mile boardwalk filled with shops, games, food, etc., neon laden motels with plastic palms and a beach that's so wide it puts the Sahara desert to shame!

It's like being a kid again.

[CrazyTed]

Yup, worked on Mariner's Pier as a life guard one summer then as the EMT on Morey's Pier the next. Raced motocross on the beach during the summer. Even met my wife while working on Morey's. Great times....

[Coconut1]

Ah! Too cool.

[TAZORAC]

Originally Posted by Coconut1

I would toss Ocean City out.

VA Beach and Atlantic City are going to be about the same in terms of mileage and time according to Google. With that said, I would pick Atlantic City, you'll have more fun.

The only issue is you're saying a long weekend. Are you actually going to be staying Friday and Saturday nights? In AC they can be very pricey, $300+ per night. During the week you'll have much better rates.

VA Beach rates are usually steady regardless of the week or weekend.

An alternative would be to head to Wildwood, NJ. Rates are the same regardless of whether it's midweek or the weekend. They have a far superior boardwalk with an array of amusements, as well as massive beaches.

You could stay there Friday and Saturday nights and then finish off any other night you'd be staying (Sunday through Thursday) in AC so you could do a little gambling, walk their boardwalk, club, etc.

You should toss out Ocean City MD, but since it's all parallel with your journey I guess it's no problem with it.

[Coconut1]

Originally Posted by TAZORAC

You should toss out Ocean City MD, but since it's all parallel with your journey I guess it's no problem with it.

It's not parallel if they're coming from Dayton, OH!

[goofy328]

Originally Posted by CollegeKid.UD

A few buddies of mine are thinking of taking a summer road trip on a long weekend to either Virginia Beach, VA; Atlantic City, NJ; or Ocean City, MD. Is Virginia Beach worth going to? It would be a few male, 22 year olds.

I actually moved here from Dayton, OH. You might like it. It is a very large area, in comparison to Dayton. Think the distance from Dayton, OH all the way out to Cincinnati, then a large body of water, then the same distance all over again until you get to the ocean.

But it is a family friendly type of place. If you're looking for trouble, you might want to stick with New Jersey or Maryland. Not that there isn't trouble here, but you have to go out of your way ...

There are areas here that have a lot in common with places like Dayton though. Check out Portsmouth and Norfolk, they are a lot in common with the look and feel of Dayton, and aren't that far from Virginia Beach.