Does this beach town exist?
 

I'm looking for a quiet relaxing beach vacation here in the US.
Here are the stats.

Time of travel - middle of Sept. Traveling with 11 month old. Departing from Chicago. Flight distance 4 hours or so...

Looking for,

Quaint town but I do not require club night life. Prefer pretty beach water and swimable temps. Enjoy picturesque coast lines and laid back atmospheres. I won't have ooddles of money, price range would be 3000 grand.

Texas/Oklahoma relatives might join us so a beach house rental is an option. I have never rented one before so have no idea the neat towns (outer banks??)

My beach travels have been few. I've been to Fort Meyers FL, Padre Island..and that's about it except when I lived in Hawaii and outside the Us-Aruba. So I'm a newbie when it comes to other areas.

Would appreciate any suggestions.Mainly I just need to hear, smell and see the ocean before I die of sea deprivation.

Delmarva coast. Look at flying into BWI. My first choice would be Lewes DE. Both bayside (quiet,) and Cape Henlopen (Atlantic.)

Not sure about house rentals there--an assiduous web search will turn up information, I'm sure. Day-trips down through to Chincoteague would be rewarding, as well.

September and October is prime-time in that area. Yes, we go every year....

Charleston, SC. Go to Isle of Palms for a great rental, or venture to Litchfield Beach, just north of Georgetown.

Newport RI. Fly into Providence and rent car to drive right down to the coast (approx. 30 min). Beautiful and much quieter then in the summertime when it is tourist season. Still warm during Sept and ocean is very warm. Wonderful places to see and lots of gorgeus drives along the coast!! You can have a wonderful time for a lot less then 3000.

Not to sound the alarm, but the middle of September is the peak of hurricane season. Any beach area that I've enjoyed in the U.S. (Charleston area, Outer Banks, Alabama Gulf Coast) is ground zero for hurricanes this time of year. If you go this time of year, you need to be prepared for the possibility of having to evacuate. While there is no guarantee that you'll have to do this, it is always a threat and you'd need to be vigilant.

That said, September is an absolutely glorious time of year to hit the east coast beaches (from Delmarva south). The waning light of summer is like honey, the water its warmest, the crowds gone.

The beach resorts outside of Charleston (Seabrook and Kiawah are the ones I know) offer long, wide expanses of sand flat enough to bike on, and water that stays shallow for a long distance. While it's not the clear blue-green of the Gulf coast, the water is pretty enough, and the surrounding scenery (live oaks dripping with Spanish moss, palmettos and palms, ante-bellum architecture) more than makes up for it. And Charleston is not too far away -- I expect you'd be flying there and renting a car anyway.

While I like the Outer Banks too, the beaches there seem to be more prone to rip tides and heavy surf. And the most easily accessible towns (Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Nags Head) are basically long collections of strip malls, putt-putt, and chain restaurants (with exceptions, of course) as opposed to a bona fide history-packed city like Charleston. Bear in mind, too, that the nearest major airport is in Norfolk, and that is a 1.5+ hour drive to the Outer Banks. (If you're willing to drive a much further distance, Ocracoke offers a great deal of charm, but I'm not sure how well they've recovered from Hurricane Isabel.)

Think about Laguna Beach California or La Jolla for picturesque places, or one of the resorts around Mission Bay in San Diego. September is usually reliably warm (sometimes hot) and no chance of hurricanes. Plenty of non-beach distractions, too, and after Labor Day prices will be heading down.

The Isle of Palms area near Charleston would also get my vote.

You might want to think about Jekyll Island off the Georgia coast. It's pretty, temperate, laid back. You could fly to Savannah and drive the rest of the way south, or land in Jacksonville and then drive north.

I'm no expert, but I second Kiawah Island, and I presume that the other beaches in the immediate vicinity are just as lovely and calm and peaceful--this is certainly not Spring Break land. The beaches of Delaware would be my runner-up, for the reasons Bookhall notes; the waters there do seem rough-ish to me, but there may be calemer areas. Good luck!

Seaside, Florida is a quaint beach town in north Florida near the Panhandle. It is near Destin- white sandy beaches along the emerald coast. Do a search for Seaside and it will provide some websites with beachfront rental homes.
This area was featured in Southern Living a few years back.

My friends there would kill me if they knew I was making this recommendation (because they want to keep the tourists out): Melbourne Beach, FL.

While the New England Coast is attractive after Labor Day, the temps could be iffy for swimming, beaching, etc. Plus, it's sort of the 2nd season there in Sep., so while prices will drop from summer, they're still high.

Can't argue much about the recommendation for the Del. coast. A lot of it is quaint and pretty, and you have a better chance of decent temps than in New England. However, again, I don't think you're going to get that much of a bargain there in Sep.

Now, back to Mlbrne Bch. It's going to be cheap in Sep. -- you'll probably be able to get a nice place across the street from the beach for $1000/week, often including access to private beach.

Very quiet there -- there's a ban on high rises -- and lots of decent restaurants, especially in Old Melbourne, which is a mid-scale shopping area. Get bored with it all the peace and quiet? Orlando is 90 minutes away and West Palm is 2 hours. As for hurricanes: Yes, they're a threat, but I wouldn't let that stop me.

Just one person's opinion. (With apologies to my friends in Mlb. Bch.)

Edgartown on Martha's Vineyard satisfies every requirement you set forth. And September is the best month of the year to visit--few crowds, best weather, better value on lodging.

I would go much further south than some are suggesting. Average high for Newport, RI in Sept is 72. It's really tough to relax on a beach in a swim suit in 70-degree weather if there's the smallest breeze.

You can even get unlucky as far south as Georgia weather-wise in Sept. I've been unlucky a couple times in mid-september at Tybee Island, GA and Hilton Head, SC. Breezy, cool and rainy.

You'll likely get the warm temps you're looking for anywhere south of NC in Sept, but you'd want to dip into Florida to be sure.

I'll second Laguna Beach.
Honorable Mention:
Cocoa Beach, FL -- Holiday Inn has "kids rooms".
St. Petersburg, FL

I haven't been to either place within the last few years, but investigate Ocean Isle, N.C. (and other islands/beaches close by) and Pawley's Island, S.C. Both are (or were) laid-back; neither is what I consider picturesque, although South Carolina's low country more or less begins close to Pawley's Island.

I can guarantee warm water at that time of year, but DO keep tabs on the weather, and have an alternate choice in mind if a blow is on the way.

Here's a thought; if you really have $3000 grand, why not just buy your own Caribbean island?

There are many house rentals in Seaside. That's what I recommend you do. Seaside has a community pool that you can use if you want (sometimes children that age are happier in pools than at the beach).

I'd also suggest Sunset Beach at the south end of Treasure Island. And Anna Maria Island west of Ft. Myers. You can't lose with any of these.

You've gotten good advice and I'll chime in on Melbourne, Fl, Pawleys Island, SC, and the Charleston, SC beaches.

If there is cool weather on the coast of SC in September, it is a fluke and not the norm.

As far as hurricanes are concerned, season is June 1 through December 1 and hurricanes do occur before and after that time. My point is hurricane season shouldn't alter your decision.

I agree with GoTravel. We live in Florida and do not alter our life around hurricane season.

redshoe, you said you've done Padre Island... did you do South Padre? If not, it would fit your stats, there are beach houses to rent, and the relatives wouldn't have far to go.

I live in Florida and have to confide that I love hurricane season. I'm glued to the TV tracking the storms. It gets really exciting here, and I don't want to bring out the nay-sayers but I'd probably be one of those idiots who'd choose to ride out the big one from my rooftop strapped to my chimney (although I don't have one). After living in Florida for soooo many years and having only been taunted by stories of winds and gales (and disaster such as chronicled in Zora Neale Hurston's terrific 1937 book Their Eyes Were Watching God), I'm ready.

I'm sure this won't sit well with the more practical folks on fodors. And redshoe, please don't interpret my missive as advice for you.