east coast vacation spot
 

hello - am looking for advice for family vacation spot for end of August and beginning of Sept. We would like to be on the ocean but not spend the kid's university fund! Is Cape Cod outrageously expensive? What other places are there? Thanks !

Wildwood on the Jersey Shore is a nice place for a family vacation.

http://www.the-wildwoods.com/

Cape Cod gets more than 6 million visitors per year, so it can't be outrageously expensive to that many people.
If you need to be in an oceanfront resort then it could be. If on the other hand, you could be satisfied with a mid-cape route 28 motel with a $10 fee for a local beach 2-3 miles away then it is not.

having been to cape cod with 3 boys, i can say it wasnt the best for a family vacation. the traffic from nj was a nightmare, the ocean was freezing with tons of seaweed, and not a whole lot to do in general for kids. my husband and i loved it when we went a few years ago alone...reading on the beach,great restaurants. it really depends what you're looking for and what the ages of the kids are. Id vote for ocean city nj or md.. or any of the beaches along de, md or nj.

If you're willing to go further north, you could try Rockport (I posted a few days ago on this area), Newburyport, or some of the NH/Maine beaches. If you want specifics on those areas, let me know. I'll post more.

You might want to look into Ocean City Maryland or Bethany Beach Delaware. Our family takes an east coast beach vacation every year in late August and it seems we end up on the MD/DE beaches every other year. Our kids were not thrilled with Cape Cod-too much traffic, expensive, so-so beach, they loved Maine but the water is really cold. We liked Cape May but disliked Wildwood Crest area. We found the hotels really on top of each other (there was about 12" between our hotel and the next), the restaurants understaffed at that time of year, my kids also noticed i was one of the few women on the beach without a tatoo. Virginia beach didnt impress the kids, but MD/DE just always fits the bill. Nice beaches, variety of accomodations, depending on what you want to spend, other things to do besides the beach (take a ferry to Cape May, Assateaque to see the wild ponies, great outlet malls and no sales tax in DE, Bootsies BBQ, fishing, boardwalks in about 6 different towns, mini golf, real golf, etc.) Will probably be there again this summer!

Larry, I am always amazed at replies to questions such as yours which was very simple and to the point. You asked if the Cape was too expensive and what other places are there?

I tried to explain that with 6 million plus visitors to Cape Cod every year, most of them are satisfied with their vacation to return again. Other people replying to your question have found it necessary to knock Cape Cod rather than just extolling the virtues of other East Coast vacation areas.

I would just like to add the following: Cape Cod has history (1st landing of the Pilgrims); whale watches; Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; Ferries to Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard; Fifteen towns and hundreds of villages and seaside beaches to explore to name just a few of area attractions.

Compare this with other posters who are suggesting you spend your family vacation time on some boardwalk beach with tatoo parlors, pinball arcades, fast food restaurants and carnival rides. You be the judge!

gene,what an attitude! the post was asking for advice and what other places are there. everyone did just that.. gave their advice based on their experience. there's good and bad in every location. its obviously up to the poster to read the advice and make their own choice.the only blatantly negative comments were from you!