Rick's Guide to the Delaware Shore - Rehoboth, Dewey & Bethany Beaches

Growing up in Wilmington, Delaware, Rehoboth and the local beaches have been my standard summer vacation spot for longer than I care to mention (suffice it to say, when I first started going to Rehoboth, the Ford Thunderbird was a new concept).

My wife's family used to rent cottages in Lewis, later in Dewey, and even later in Bethany. When the two of us starting going to the beach, we rented places on our own (including for our honeymoon in Lewis).

But for purposes of IgoUgo, readers will find most valuable our most recent experiences, staying at two different area hotels. And although the dining experiences (with the exception of the ubiquitous Grotto Pizza) have changed over the years, most of our favorite shopping places are still there.

We love Rehoboth. The smallness and somewhat old-fashioned nature of the place is what we crave. Even if we're staying at a rented house down the shore a bit, we always come into Rehoboth for dinner, shopping, and general silly fun.

The reviews attached herein, therefore, cover Lodging at Rehoboth and Bethany Beaches, Dining (mostly at Rehoboth), and Shopping (again mostly at Rehoboth).

Quick Tips:

Rehoboth Beach has been the fortunate victim of the explosion of growth out on busy Route 1. That's where all the outlet stores are (along with the traffic). Because that construction was built right up against the Rehoboth Canal, it essentially "hemmed in" the town of Rehoboth, so it could not grow any more.

Trust me, this is a good thing. It has allowed Rehoboth to maintain it's "beach-town" charm without turning into something ugly like Ocean City. There is no major highway that runs through town, or even close to town. You exit Route 1 and drive through neighborhoods down to Rehoboth Avenue, the main drag that runs at right angles to the beach.

And since Rehoboth is hemmed in, there isn't a lot of parking. Again, this is a good thing if you're there, but not so good if you're trying to find a parking place. The real estate is too valuable to be turned into parking lots, automatically limiting development in the town.

The beach itself can resemble, in the high summer (first week of August), a tiled floor. The beach towels are that close together. But that's at 2pm. It's less crowded later in the day, and MUCH less crowded in the morning.

Rehoboth's beach, however, is not any different from any of the Delaware Shore beaches: of medium width, with soft sand and the occasional jellyfish.

If beach-going is really your thing (versus eating, shopping, and playing on the boardwalk), you're better off driving north to Cape Henlopen State Park or south (between Dewey and Bethany) to the public beaches along the Ocean Highway: same beach, same sand, same water, and hardly any people. And the state beaches are dotted by amazing concrete watchtowers that were constructed during World War II. They were manned 24 hours a day to protect the coastline from submarine attacks.

Best Way To Get Around:

Parking in Rehoboth is tricky, but I can safely say that in (ARRGH!) some 40 years of coming to the Delaware Shore, I have NEVER been unable to find a parking place. Rehoboth Ave has meters with a maximum of 3 hours down close to the beach, and longer back away from the beach. The side streets also have meters that cover longer times.

Do NOT ignore the meters or the "No Parking" signs, however. The local police apparently are instructed to fill the city's coffers by writing as many parking tickets as possible, and they take their jobs very seriously.

But if you get into town before 10am, you won't have a problem. Similarly, if you get there about 3pm or 4pm, you won't have a problem (that's when people start to leave). But if you try to get a parking place around noon, expect to spend about 10 to 15 minutes driving around looking for a slot. You'll find one, but it will take you a while.

There are shuttles available for off-beach parking, but inasmuch as I've never used them, I can't give you much information.

But I can say that if you stay at a Rehoboth Beach hotel, you'll be allotted a single space for the length of your stay. Make sure to guard the parking certificate the hotel gives you with your life, however. It's worth it's weight in gold. And don't put it near an open (or cracked open) window, because somebody will snatch it for their own use.

My wife and I spent a glorious 2 days at the Addy Sea in early August, 2004.

We'd always rented houses in Bethany for a week of family reunion (with families from all up and down the East Coast). But this time we only could spend a couple days, so I went online and found the Addy Sea.

It is a beautiful, vintage 1900 home, divided into 12 rooms and one funny little area. A full buffet breakfast is served daily, and tea and cookies (and lemonade) in the afternoon. Each room has a sink in the room, and either a shower or large (Jacuzzi) tub, and of course a toilet. In our room (#4), the toilet was literally in the closet (where comes the name "water closet"). But the larger and more expensive rooms had full bathrooms.

Everything was clean and well-appointed, with real antiques. More than sufficient air-conditioning, but we preferred to open the windows at night to listen to the ocean (which was RIGHT OUTSIDE THE WINDOW). You may pay more, you may pay less, but you'll never find a nicer place to stay on the Delaware Shore than The Addy Sea.

By the way, the funny little area is called the "crew's quarters," contains two double beds, a sink, and a semi-private toilet. You'll need to use the second-floor public bath, just like in old-fashioned B&Bs, but it's about a third of the cost of the standard room.

We're definitely going back again!

And if you're hungry, go just a bit North on the main highway from Bethany and stop at RedFin. Wonderful, wonderful food. My wife had the best soft-shell crabs she's ever eaten, and I had FRIED lobster tails and terrific shrimp dumplings with hot chili oil.

UPDATE: The RedFin has now been re-named the Blue Coast, and although the food is every bit as good as the previous incarnation, they no longer have the fried lobster tails! BooHoo!!!

This is probably the swankiest hotel in Rehoboth (and, honestly, the only one I've stayed in). The Boardwalk Plaza is, under the skin, a cinder block box just like every other hotel. The difference is the details; Victorian-era design motifs on the outside, Victorian-era furniture and decorative treatments on the inside.

And it works. The Boardwalk Plaza is a very pleasant (albeit expensive during the high season) Oceanfront respite from the noise of the boardwalk.

The rooms are large, and if you reserve oceanfront, have an amazing view. Quiet, very clean with high-end amenities, great maid service, and very reliable room service.

The indoor/outdoor pool is heated (although you don't need that during the summer), and extremely clean.

If you have the desire, you can get afternoon tea every day (from 3 to 5pm, I think), but you'll need a reservation. A selection of teas and little sandwiches (but not, when I was there, the traditional English Cucumber Sandwich). But a nice break in any case.

WARNING, watch out for the parrot in the lobby. He's cute and all that, and very talkative, but if you get too close he will GRAB your earring.

They've added high-speed Internet in the rooms, and some come with a whirlpool.

Go for the oceanview suite (two beds, sitting room, and a balcony) or the oceanview deluxe (one queen bed, sitting room, and balcony).

And as my kid can attest (see pics), the beds are very bouncy!

When we stay at the Boardwalk Plaza, one of our treats is breakfast at Victoria's on the lobby level, right on the boardwalk. Victoria's breakfast is reasonably priced, and it's just plain fun eating a fancy breakfast on the boardwalk. Here are some of our breakfast favorites:

 

- Raspberry Swirl French Toast (just as good as it sounds)

 

- Cappuccino Crepe (cinnamon flavor crepe with espresso-flavored cream cheese filling and raspberry sauce)

 

- Veggie Omelet (as well as every other kind of omelet you can imagine).

 

For Dinner, the traditional Rehoboth eatery is Grotto Pizza. It's been in Rehoboth longer than I've gone there (which is very long indeed). Locations on Rehoboth Avenue (the larger restaurant and site of the original take-out pizza stand) and the location on the boardwalk (opened in 1963).

The pizza itself is great, certainly better than the chains. But I go for the Philly style cheese steak sandwiches.

Of course, you don't have to go to Rehoboth for Grotto Pizza anymore. There are something like 20 locations throughout Delaware, and now even in Pennsylvania.

But the Grotto Pizza on the boardwalk, with just a tinge of salt and sand, is still the best.

Grotto Pizza helped me get a consulting contract one time, by the way. I found that a potential client had grown up in Delaware, and that he used to go to Rehoboth with his family. So I purchased a Grotto Pizza sand pail and shovel, packed my proposal into the bucket, and sent it off. Surprise! I got the contract!

OK, so the kids head straight to Funland on the boardwalk as soon as you get to Rehoboth.

It's not too big, well-guarded (so it's safe). I wouldn't leave kids under 12 there by themselves, but at 13 or 14 I'd have no problem.

A great variety of games and rides (the only rides available in Rehoboth), plus a shooting gallery and, of course, bumper cars!

Next door is another arcade area (I don't remember the name) with a motorized climbing wall. You climb up, and the wall rotates top to bottom so you always have a different grip. And then, after a bit, the wall TILTS towards you so that you are literally hanging by your fingertips! Not for the middle-aged or faint of heart.

But while the kids are playing, the parents want to shop, right? Our favorite two stores are about two blocks up from the beach on Rehoboth Ave. In the 200 Block.

The Thunderbird Shop is another Rehoboth tradition. Terrific (and I really mean that) selection of quality American Indian jewelry, plus belts, pottery and more. Recently they've featured a carver who takes driftwood and fashioned FACES in the wood. You may have a 6-foot tall floor sculpture of craggy winding driftwood, with a bearded face right at head level. Pretty Cool. Not cheap, but cool. We got a smaller piece, maybe 18 inches long, that hangs on the wall. Pretty spooky to have it always looking at us.

Then about a half-block further away from the Thunderbird shop is a newer Rehoboth tradition - Abizaks. They also have a location out on Rt. 1.

Abizaks is the kind of store you want to go to even if you have no intention of ever buying anything there. It's funky, funny, and very different. Creative furniture and home furnishings, plus tons of little oddball bits and pieces. And, surprisingly, not too expensive.

And while you're in town, check out Candy Kitchen (natch!) and make sure to get their trademark salt water taffy. And South Moon Under (for the more style-conscious).

And if you do happen to venture out to the outlet stores on Rt. 1, get into Ocean Outlets #3 and find PEPPERS. Literlly thousands of different hot sauces (as well as a thriving mail-order and internet business). Lots of free tastings for the EXTREMELY brave. But available in small enough containers at reasonable prices, so that for $20 you can go home with a basket of pure fire!

One of the first stops we always make on our annual journey to Bethany Beach is at "Made by Hand," at the York Beach Mall on Rt. 1 in South Bethany. It doesn't look like much on the outside, just another store in a strip mall with a Grotto's Pizza on the end. But inside, it's a wonder.

The following is from the Made by Hand literature.

"Made by Hand is a Fair Trade shop that promotes economic development and social justice for artisans and their communities while preserving cultural traditions.

"We pay artisans and small farmers a fair price for the crafts, clothing, jewelry, bags, rugs, musical instruments, home and garden products, toys, kitchenware, stationery, collectibles, holiday goods, coffee, tea and other foods they make or grow so that people can improve their living conditions and build sustainable businesses in their hometowns.

"Money from sales also supports community projects, such as the building of schools and health clinics, disaster relief, product development and other needs.

"Fair Trade proves that business can be ethical and "just say no" to sweatshops!"

And from my personal viewpoint, Fair Trade proves that astonishing quality and variety can be purchased from an ethical retailer at extremely attractive prices. On average, we'll spend between $200 and $400 at Made by Hand every vacation, and we'll treasure the things we buy for years to come. Our favorites are women's clothing, rugs, musical instruments, and belts. But they also have furniture, handbags (this summer they featured bags made from Juice Box containers), jewelry, tons of pottery and gifts, and rugs and wall hangings you have to see to believe. We would have purchased more rugs this year, but we don't have a wall space left to display them!

Just take a look at the pictures attached!

Made by Hand is open during the summer season, with pretty regular hours, but to be sure, I'd call ahead: (302) 539-6335.

And for a treat, ask the guy who works there to demonstrate one of the drums!!