We would like to take a vacation to a beach area in late October/early November. We want to stay in a hotel ( would consider a condo) right on the beach with a beautiful view and that we can walk along. We are also very thrifty! We have been able to stay in a beachfront room in South Padre and in Alabama this time of year for approx. $60! We would consider up to $80 per night. Am I dreaming when asking if anything would be available in Maryland, NC or SC? We would like SOME sightseeing, but our main purpose is to relax and enjoy the ocean. We realize it would be cooler in these states than Texas and Alabama. Any ideas or other thoughts? Thanks so much.

Litchfield Inn at Pawley's Island SC. Ask for a renovated room. Look on the website of Litchfield Beach and Golf Resort.

First the good news.

Just got back from a week at the Jersey shore. Rented a 3br house right on the beach. Beautiful view, great walking 6am sunrise, mid day, dusk and even late at night under the moon. I know off season rates are very reasonable, so you should have NO problem finding a place to fit your budget. Plenty of relaxation and enjoing the ocean.

Now for the bad news. The sun will be rising later and setting earlier, so your daylight hours will be far less in late Oct/early Nov.

If you were considering early Oct, I might actually recommend something as far North as NJ. I have a feeling even MD is too far N for that time of year.

[aside: think I've been watching too much TV, because I almost wrote: "good news, I just saved a bunch on my car insurance with ......"]

What's up with the sunrise/sunset stuff. The SC beaches are drop dead gorgeous in October/November.

I'm wondering that also. The further south the later the sunset.

Also, daylight savings time may not kick in until November.


The South Carolina beaches will still be warm in October.

Tongue in cheek about NJ in late Oct, but I'm serious about sunrise. Nothing more peaceful & beautiful to than watching the sunrise on a deserted beach, listening to the crash of the high tide, the rush of the morning breeze and the chatter of gulls in the distance.

Warm cup of coffee, big blanket & my honey.

I guess sunset on a deserted West coast beach would be better, but I'm a morning person.

BrendaKay,
You could probably get a great deal on a beach house on the Outer Banks of North Carolina at that time of year. We rent in the summer from Joe Lamb Jr. Real Estate but some other rental agents are Sun Realty and Outer Banks Realty. Make sure, though, that the house is designated as 'oceanfront'.

J62,
Can you tell me what rental agent you used for the Jersey shore house and where your house was located? I've been trying to move our little group up north a bit just to save driving time. It takes us a two day drive to get to NC but we could do NJ in a day. I've been looking at a few NJ houses but the prices are incredible -- at least double what we pay in NC for August. You may have a better lead on places than I would find just wandering around the internet. Thanks for your help.

hdm,

I rent on Long Beach Island through LBI real estate (7900 LB Blvd). Prices on LBI are very high. We pay ~$2500 for oceanfront 3br, 1.5ba house a week in Aug. That's the going rate for ocean block up and down the island and it keeps creeping up year after year. Will try to negotiate no change for next year.

I strongly recommend that you do NOT rent sight unseen.

I went there one April a few years ago and must have looked at 20 houses before I found one I liked. Most properties are 30-40yrs old, and many have not been renoveated since the Carter admin. or longer.

I chewed on the idea of saving $500 or more a week and getting a 2br place, or the same amount to get a place by the bay, 2-3 blocks from the ocean. In the end I decided I wanted: 3br, close to ocean so it was easy to come and go during the day, central AC (not window units), king master bed, non-smoking property, renovated kitchen/bath, washer dryer, LBI (which has no boardwalk), far away or at least upwind from the Chinese takeout, etc.

Yes you can pay less. You can pay a lot less. Is $2500/week it a lot? Yes. Is it worth it (a frequently asked question on this forum). to me, yes. Am I going back next year? I could sit home or rent somewhere else and count my stack of $1 bills I saved, but it's a lot more fun knowing what I'm looking forward to and building memories with my family.

I've have heard MD is a lot cheaper, so if you can get there then go for it. It's too far for me to drive.

For those who may be interested, I noticed this year that one realtor JerSea realty is offering Fri pm to Fri pm rentals, which would be great to beat the Sat NJ beach traffic which can be horrendous from the North. Normal rentals are 2pm sat to 11am the following sat.

J62, $2500 isn't too bad for a three bedroom. Down here, I don't think you can find that for a house in peak season. Maybe a condo.

Most of the houses, second and third row included start at around $3500 and go up.

www.PawleysIslandRealty.com

Thanks, J62, I'm going to look into it. Considering the prices I've seen for the Jersey shore, I think you've got a bargain. The ones I've been seeing on various websites are way more than that. We get a great deal in NC but as I said, it's a long drive for us and we miss out on two vacation days because of that. We have a four-bedroom house, oceanfront, will all mod cons (non of us likes to rough it) and we pay about $2000 a week for the last two weeks of August. It's a risk for us to leave there because we've been renting the same house for several years so we have no surprises (well, except for the year they moved the whole house about 20 yards farther from the beach). We would have to rent sight-unseen, so that might be a bit of a problem for us. Still, it doesn't hurt to have a look at the website, so thanks again.

I answered about Litchfield Inn. I think you might get an ocean front room for your price.