Ocean City, MD

Ocean City is a popular oceanfront resort city on the coast of Maryland. Many things draw visitors -- skyscraper hotels, clean beaches, the boardwalk, restaurants, beachfront lodging, amusement parks and the large convention center -- but a simple bay sunset may be the greatest pleasure. Visitors range from families escaping the more urbanized Western Shore of Maryland to conventioneers soaking up the sun to teenagers enjoying the first taste of vacation without adult supervision

Getting there

Ocean City is accessible from Route 50 in Eastern Maryland, Route 1 (coastal highway) in Delaware, and Route 90.

DART first state bus route 208 runs from Rehoboth Beach, DE to the intersection of Coastal Hwy and 144th St in Ocean City making stops in towns on the way.

Travelling around

• Bus The Ocean City Municipal Bus operates over the entire city. from 146th street to 1st. It costs $2 and goes everywhere. Busses are frequent and quick.

• Walk Ocean City is very easy to walk and easily navigable. You might end up waiting to cross Coastal Highway in summer due to heavy traffic.

• Drive Driving should be avoided in Ocean City because of very heavy traffic with frequent congestion. Parking can be hard to find and also comes with a cost. OC is still easily navigable if you're used to heavy traffic, streets are well marked and the entire city is just one long strip.

• Taxi Many Taxi services are available, ranging from '50s classic cars to modern mini vans. You can hail a cab on the street and most local cabs go by a zone fare system.

See

Upon entering Ocean City via the Route 50 Bridge, visitors are greeted with towering hotels, the hustle and bustle of the boardwalk, kite-flyers on the beach and lots of fishing boats and other recreational boaters. Ocean City's 10 mile long ocean beach is definitely the main attraction in Ocean City.

• Located in the south end of Ocean City, the historic boardwalk features various beachfront attractions, including shops, restaurants, lodging, as well as entertainment and amusement options.

• Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum, +1 410 289-5600, Summer: 10AM-5PM daily, March, Oct-Nov: Sa-Su 10AM-5PM, 401 S Atlantic Ave, You won't miss this building, as it's on the boardwalk and has a giant moving shark embedded in the outer walls. It's not a cheap sideshow tourist trap, as you might expect, but rather a really big and engaging museum devoted to the strange.

• Wheels of Yesterday, +1 410 213-7329, June-Sep: 9AM-9PM daily, Oct-May: 9AM-5PM daily, 12708 Ocean Gateway (Route 50), A classic car museum of Granville Timper's personal collection. The curator will lead you through the exhibits, including all sorts of classic cars, as well as the development of the car engine, and a recreated 1950s service station.

Things to do

Beachgoers can swim, fly kites, play sports, surf or just relax on the beautiful beaches. The beach is fully lifeguarded and patrolled daily from late April to October. Golf, minigolf, deep sea fishing and more.

• Jolly Roger Amusement Park,

• Trimper's Rides , 410-289-8617, 410-289-8617, S. First St. & The Boardwalk, Amusement park located at the south end of town where the boardwalk begins. Has been in business for well over 100 years.

• Dive Ocean City , Half day or full day custom SCUBA diving trips in a six pack SCUBA diving charter boat that runs recreational dive trips to some of the best local wrecks and artificial reefs.

• Glen Riddle Golf Club , Glen Riddle has 2 courses open to the public as well as a Ruths Chris Steak House. The War Admiral course, is routed through mature forest. The course is sheltered from the wind. The Man O’War Course occupies the westerly portion of GlenRiddle and is not.

• Eagle's Landing Golf Course , A seaside golf course.Overlooks Sinepuxent Bay and Assateague Island National Seashore

Eat

Dining options range from fast food, beachfront snack bars and all-you-can-eat seafood to dinner cruises and waterfront dining.

• Lombardi's Restaurant , 9303 Coastal Hwy., Best pizza in town!

• Phillips Crab House , 2004 Philadelphia Ave., The best seafood. In business for over 50 years.

• Bayside Skillet , 410-524-7950, 7701 Coastal Hwy, Very good breakfasts. Specializing in crepes and omletes.

• BJ's on the Water , 410-524-7575, 75st Street Bayside, Best seafood dinners and lunches in Ocean City, duck feedings at lunchtime, Canoe race in July, hoppin' bar in the evenings, amazing sunset on the bay!

Drink

• OC Frogs, at the end of the boardwalk at the inlet, a great place, a lot of locals go here

• Seacrets, 49th street and bayside, Jamaican nightclub scene, good live music nightly.

• Fishtails, 22nd street and the bay, a nice little place, they even have swings.

Sleep

• Hilton , (410) 289-6444, 3200 North Baltimore, Ocean City, MD 21842

• Coconut Malorie Resort ., 200 59th Street, 1.888.828.6745, The 85 deluxe suites are newly redesigned down to the last detail. Awarded Best Hotel on the Eastern Shore by Metropolitan Magazine, Coconut Malorie is nestled in the natural wetlands overlooking the beautiful Isle of Wight Bay.

• Flagship Oceanfront Hotel, 2600 N Baltimore Avenue, +1 410 289-3384, Toll-free: +1 800 837-3585, Fax: +1 410 289-1743, .

• Holiday Inn, 6600 Coastal Hwy/oceanfront, +1 410 524-1600, .

• Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites, 12601 Coastal Hwy, +1 410 250-7800, .

• Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites, 1701 Baltimore Avenue, +1 410 289-7263, .

• Park Place Hotel , 1-888-212-PARK, 208 N. Baltimore Ave.

• Sea Bay Hotel, 6007 Coastal Highway, +1 410 524-6100, Toll-free: +1 800 888-2229, Fax: +1 410 524-1619, .

• Fenwick Inn, (410) 250-1100‎, 13801 Coastal Hwy

Buy

• Ocean City also features outlet shopping as well as grocery and department stores to meet all your vacation needs. Of course, Ocean City has MANY souvenir shops for momentos of your Ocean City experience.

• Chauncey's Surf Shop , 410-289-7405, 410-289-7405, 2908 Coastal Highway, This is by far the best surf shop in Ocean City; the owner is a very nice guy. There is another location at 5309 Coastal Highway.

Get out

• Tranquil, idyllic, empty Assateague Island, with its National Park seal of approval, pristine beaches, and wild ponies, is oddly adjacent to Ocean City. Just head back to Route 50 and make a left on MD-611/Stephen Decatur Hwy, and follow it around to the Park entrance (15 min drive).

• The Delaware beach resorts to the north offer a more relaxed environment than the bustle of 'O.C.'. Straight up the coastal highway, US-1, is Bethany Beach (30 minutes) and Rehoboth Beach (45 minutes).

• A 50 minute drive west along Route 50 will take you to Salisbury, the largest city on the Eastern Shore, with a quaint historic center.