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Bethany Beach, DE USA
 
  
  • Fresh crabs
  • Bethany Beach boardwalk
  • Hanging out on the deck
  • Breaking waves
  • Bethany Beach boardwalk
  • Whoa!
  • Chairs with a view
  • Conch shell
  • Fenwick Island Lighthouse
  • Goin' surfin'
  • Beach house
  • Fenwick Island
  • Hanging out with dad
  • The Addy Bed & Breakfast
  • The beach off season

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Bethany Beach Travel Guide: Reviews, photos, & videos

As you exit Dewey Beach and drive south on Route 1, the beach houses get increasingly larger and the air notably quieter. A giant totem pole, depicting a Nanticoke Indian chief, appears before you as you enter Bethany Beach and then it hits you—you’re in beach suburbia. Bethany Beach, ten miles south of Dewey Beach , is the antidote to a Dewey hangover. It’s peaceful. It’s relaxing. And there are plenty of places to find that Bethany Beach vacation home perfect for a relaxing weekend. But first, get a bushel of crabs and spread out some newspapers on the deck for a full blown feast. There you go, there’s dinner.

Rent a kayak and explore the shoreline of the island and the marshlands that spill in to Little Assawoman Bay. Bring the kids to check out 17th, 18th and 19th-century artifacts from shipwrecks at the DiscoverSea Shipwreck Museum on Fenwick Island.

  • Beach, Boating, Family-friendly, Fishing, Island, Northeast, Ocean, Relaxing, Romantic, Sailing
  • 89%

 
 
link38.5391698616-75.065116882312Bethany Beach, DE USA
link38.5401097491-75.0548171997Discover ResortQuest!
link38.538176-75.059411Chief Little Owl
link38.5391698616-75.065116882312Bethany Beach, DE USA
 
 
 
 

   

 Directions 

Distance from closest metropolitan area: 125 miles (from Washington, DC)  
 
Estimated travel time: 2 hours, 45 minutes (from Washington, DC)  
 
From Washington, DC, head east on Route 50 and cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Follow Route 50 to Wye Mills on the Eastern Shore. At Wye Mills, take Route 50 to Route 404. Follow Route 404 and pick up Route 16 E after passing Denton, MD. Travel Route 16 into Sussex County, DE, through Greenwood, Ellendale and Milton, all the way to Route 1 at Broadkill, just 10 miles north of the beaches. Take Route 1 south to Bethany.

 

   

 Weather 

  • Current conditions

    Cond007

    Sunny. Highs 55 to 60. Southwest winds around 5 mph...becoming southeast around 10 mph this afternoon.
    Hi: 61° F, Low: 39° F.

  • Tomorrow's forecast

    Cond007
    Sunny. Highs in the upper 50s. North winds 5 to 10 mph.
    Hi: 57° F, Low: 41° F.


    • Weatherbug's weather page.
 

   

 Attractions 

Add Attraction
Discover ResortQuest!
 
  

Discover ResortQuest!

Learn more about the benefits of Bethany Beach vacation rentals. At ResortQuest, we handle all aspects of your stay, from booking great vacation rentals in amenity-filled communities to providing onsite staff to service all of your arrival needs. We have your ideal vacation waiting for you.

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Chief Little Owl
 
  
  • Nanticoke

Chief Little Owl

A 24-foot statue called Chief Little Owl, depicting a chief of the Nanticoke nation, has been a downtown Bethany Beach landmark since 1976. Created by sculptor Peter Wolf Toth, the original statue was weakened by termites and eventually destroyed in a storm in 1992. The town commissioned Toth to create a new statue, and the replacement, made from durable red cedar log and estimated to last 50-100 years, was unveiled in 2002.

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 Reviews(Average Rating: 89% for 3 reviews) 

  • Sandy Snyder
    Sandy Snyder
    • Top member
    Reviews: 11
    Posts: 21

    Slowing it down in Fenwick Island

    08/12/2008

    88%

    Bethany Beach, DE USA

    Fenwick Island, Delaware is a little beach town that welcomes the millions of visitors who come to Ocean City, Maryland every year. In between the towns of Bethany Beach and Fenwick Island is a well-preserved and practically untouched beach which is part of the Fenwick Island State Park. Without the usual beach homes and boardwalks which distract you from the beauty, this beach gives you an idea of what it must of looked like before mankind came in and took over the seaside. I spent one of my favorite birthdays on this beach, surrounded by my family and digging in the sand with the kids all day...sometimes there is beauty in simplicity.

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    Slowing it down in Fenwick Island
     
      
  • Sandy Snyder
    Sandy Snyder
    • Top member
    Reviews: 11
    Posts: 21

    Mayberry Meets the Beach

    08/06/2008

    88%

    Bethany Beach, DE USA

    I would rather spend my 4th of July in Bethany Beach, DE than anywhere else. Nothing feels more like America and summertime than Bethany. This town is so quaint and family-oriented with its small boardwalk shops selling hermit crabs and souvenirs. The side-streets are full of homes with all sorts of character and many draped with the American flag bunting. There are kids playing on the town playground and always groups of men shooting hoops on the basketball court. On the 4th, the town becomes filled with people who come to hit the beach and watch the parade. That evening, the boardwalk becomes a place to gather and watch a patriotic concert followed by a terrific fireworks display on the beach. This past year, a pounding rain and thunderstorm hit just as the fireworks ended sending a packed beach and boardwalk on a mass exodus. It was raining so hard that the people walking were soaked through and through, but all we saw were people smiling and laughing at their tough luck. After having spent a 4th of July in Bethany, a little rain wasn’t going to ruin the mood.

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    Mayberry Meets the Beach
     
      
    • Baywatch or Bethany???
  • DawnMarieJones
    DawnMarieJonesReviews: 1
    Posts: 0

    Great Washington, DC escape

    07/14/2008

    90%

    Bethany Beach, DE USA

    Bethany Beach is a oasis beach location perfect for families and/or those who wish to have a more secluded beach holiday - one of my favorite Washington, DC escapes.

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 Bookmarks (5) 

 

   

 Rental buzz 

Bethany Beach is part of a seven-mile stretch of sandy, Atlantic ocean beaches in the southeastern corner of Delaware that also includes South Bethany and Fenwick Island.

Guarded by its famous totem pole, Bethany Beach's ocean beaches offer many recreational opportunities, including swimming, fishing, surfing and boogey boarding and raft riding. The water is warm enough to swim in from late May through early October making it an ideal spot to vacation with the entire family. This small beach resort is thriving.

ResortQuest is the ideal place to find and secure a Bethany Beach vacation rental. At ResortQuest, they handle all aspects of your stay, from booking great vacation rentals in amenity-filled communities to providing an onsite travel staff to service all of your arrival needs. Resort Quest makes finding and planning your ideal vacation in Bethany Beach easy and affordable.


Resort Quest
 

   

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 Top reviewers 

  1. DawnMarieJones
  2. Sandy Snyder
 

   

 Top bookmarkers 

  1. VacationHmQueen
  2. Viscape
 

   

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