Suggestions please on nice beach towns for summer vacation (Virginia Beach: rentals, hotels)

[Melbourne Family]

Hi there,

Would anyone have some suggestions on nice beaches within about a 6 hour drive or a short flight from Fairfax County. Hoping to head away for a week or so over the school summer break but not sure which area to head for. Just looking for a nice relaxing spot, preferably not overly commercialized. Sure there are lots of lovely beach towns that fit within the travel time but just not sure where they are.

Thanks for your help again.

[juniperbleu]

I've always loved Cape May, NJ. It's a Victorian beach town about a 4-hour drive away (or you can drive to Lewes, DE and take the ferry over). I've been going there my whole life, and love it. Other nearby towns (Avalon, Stone Harbor) are also nice, Wildwood is more crowded and party-like. Ocean City, NJ is also nice. For Delaware, Bethany Beach and Rehoboth Beach are fun (~3 hours), as is Ocean City, MD, but I don't go to those quite as often.

[mpascal]

I also think Cape May is a nice place. We also enjoy Duck, NC and going again this August. Probably just under your driving limit and yes, weekend traffic in that direction isn't great. But it's lovely there, not too commercial, but that's just our opinion.

[irisheyes13]

I second the recommendation of Duck in the Outer Banks of NC. We have vacationed there many times and love it..

[kevinm]

We always go all the way down to Ocracoke Island, NC. No fast food and a nice walkable village that is VERY quiet and miles of beaches.

[claremarie]

The Outer Banks in North Carolina have, by far, the nicest and least crowded beaches within driving distance of the DC area. The Nags Head/Kitty Hawk/Kill Devil Hills towns are the oldest and most commercialized. There are some hotels and motels, but most people rent beach homes, some of which can be quite elaborate (and expensive) and are best suited to multiple families. Duck and Corolla are north of Kitty Hawk, and will require perhaps an hour of additional driving time along Hwy 12. South of Nags Head are towns such as Waves, Salvo, and Hatteras, which also includes miles of completely undeveloped beach in the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Ocracoke is a very special island, but will also require additional driving time.

[nwlv]

Sandbridge was a good alternative to VA Beach. It's been a while.

[sweetpotater58]

Okay, can recommend based in this order 1. Chincoteague-no place right on ocean, but the beach is nice and the town is great. Smalltownish. 2. Cape May-pricier than the above, but interesting, small townish as well-but still close to Wildwood and not even all that far from Atlantic City. 3. Lewes, Delaware-very nice-not a lot there compared to above.
The rest are all more developed and all fall into the same category-but for being able to do more stuff or greater variety on a vacation-Virginia Beach, you have access to some bay beaches-like First Landing, you are not super far from Busch Gardens, Williamsburg etc. I have been to every beach from Atlantic City down to Emerald Isle. These are my picks-the Outer Banks Beaches are nice-but why travel that far if you can find the same closer.

[Melbourne Family]

Thank-you all for your suggestions. I've started to google all of the towns mentioned to see what I can find. Have found that some of the areas have huge vacation homes (ie sleep 20 people etc) but we only need something for the 4 of us so I will keep searching.


Thanks again for all of your suggestions.

[nwlv]

There are some motor lodge type places at Nags Head, milepost 9. That may be suitable for your smaller group. Some of the most exclusive areas have zero hotels/motels, and the rentals are for large groups at an astronomical price. My brother spends about 100 per night for a kitchenette type of place at NH. I think he gets the 7th night free, which takes care of the taxes. They save a lot by not going to the often crowded and kind of expensive restaurants.

If you like good waves; you could be very pleased by NHNC. You do run the risk of "No Swimming.....". You could save a lot by going in September, but it looks like you may have kids in school.