We live in the DC suburbs and trying to plan next summer's vacation. Yes, next summer. I am a planner. We would go last week of August...we want to do a roadtrip to save some money next year on a family vacation. We arent big with going to the beach in the South...would rather hit the North East...like The Cape, Martha's Vinyard etc.
Our kids will be almost 3 and almost 5 at the time of travel. We want suggestions on drivable beach/summer vacations where we can rent a house or condo in a beachy town. Love lots of outdoors activities like nature hikes, kayaking, etc. Any suggestions and advice for places to stay, activities, etc.
Thanks!
Advice needed for a family vacation in the North East US beachtowns
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Block Island is a wonderful destination for a weekend getaway..cruise to the island ,rent a scooter,sunbathe on the beach and drinks and food are amazing.
http://www.fort-lauderdale-movers.us/
I'd give some thought to Rhode Island, as well. There are a number of beach communities in South County which would suit your purposes: Quonochontaug (Quonny) East and Central Beach, Shady Harbor, Shelter Harbor. Each of these "Fire Districts" are part of Charlestown or Westerly, and offer ocean beaches and access to the salt pond, which is ideal for kayaking. Hiking is available in Burlingame State Park. Cottage rentals range from about $1500 a week a block or two away from the water, up to many thousands for oceanfront. It's pretty much exclusively a family scene. Nearby excursions would be Block Island, Mystic Seaport and the Aquarium.
Mystic CT. It has the seaport and aquarium. You can do the Essex Steam train. Take a day trip to Block Island on the ferry. I think the kids would get bored with a week at Block Island.
White Mts NH - there are some theme parks like Santa's Village and Storyland. There are lots of great places to hike. No ocean though.
For NY you would probably want to look at renting a house on Fire Island (but many are for the whole summer and all rent early) or you could look at renting a condo on the beach at Amagansett.
This is definitely family territory (unlike most of the Hamptons) and you can visit a number of cute towns, small museums, the aquarium, mini-golf, the fishing boat docks at Montauk and I believe Montauk has a couple of inlets/small lakes where you can use a small boat. (Obviously you won't want to kayak int he north atlantic.) Condos rent for a week only - and again - you need to org far in advance.)
You can look at www.weneedavacation.com to find rentals on Cape Cod. You may want to stay near a bay beach which would be good for the kids. If you stayed mid-Cape you could easily explore the National Seashore, have access to calmer waters, and kayak and take long walks.
If you stay at the Cape, try the mid-cape, around Chatham and Harwich. You can explore the National Seashore and there are great places to go bike riding. The Cape Cod Rail Trail is great for small kids, it is a completely paved trail that goes half the length of the cape designated for biking and walking. Chatham is a great town with good food. You shouldn't have problem with rentals if you are thinking about the trip this early.