Thirteen ways to reserve a beach vacation package by the water
Here are thirteen drive-to stays at hotels and motels with their own front desks, on Lake Erie in Ohio and Pennsylvania and on the Atlantic from New Jersey to North Carolina. Each one has a set number of nights, a figure for two and a dial for its beach, so you can reserve a beach vacation package with the facts in front of you.
The order follows the July sun. First come the beaches where it sets over the water, then those where it rises over the water, then two where it stays along the shore. Inside each group, the more squarely the sun sits in front of you, the earlier the stay appears.
The sun sets over the water
On these two Lake Erie beaches the July sun goes down over the water, out to the left of the shore.
Lakefront motel weekend at Geneva-on-the-Lake
Two nights at a lakefront motel on Ohio's old summer strip.
On July 15 the sun sets over the water, 46 degrees to the left of straight out.
- Water
- Lake Erie
- Nights
- 2
- Drive
- 76 mi, about 1 hr 40 min
- Season
- June to August
- Beach faces
- NNW, 347°
From, for two$2802 nights, two sharing · $140 eachNot included: state and local lodging taxes.
Four midweek nights at a historic Lakeside hotel
A long-porch hotel inside Lakeside's gates on the Marblehead Peninsula, Sunday to Thursday.
On July 15 the sun sets over the water, 55 degrees to the left of straight out.
- Water
- Lake Erie
- Nights
- 4
- Drive
- 98 mi, about 2 hr 4 min
- Season
- June and August, Sunday to Thursday
- Beach faces
- N, 355°
From, for two$8004 nights, two sharing · $400 eachNot included: state and local lodging taxes and anything beyond the package's two gate passes.
The sun rises over the water
On these nine beaches the July sun comes up over the water, starting with Nags Head, where it rises almost straight ahead.
Nags Head oceanfront motel, four nights
An oceanfront motel on the Outer Banks, the longest drive in the catalog.
On July 15 the sun comes up over the water, 2 degrees to the left of straight out.
- Water
- the Atlantic
- Nights
- 4
- Drive
- 589 mi, about 12 hr 13 min
- Season
- June to September
- Beach faces
- ENE, 64°
From, for two$7604 nights, two sharing · $380 eachNot included: state and local lodging taxes.
Virginia Beach oceanfront hotel, four nights
An independent hotel on the oceanfront strip, four nights on the boardwalk side.
On July 15 the sun comes up over the water, 16 degrees to the left of straight out.
- Water
- the Atlantic
- Nights
- 4
- Drive
- 520 mi, about 10 hr 37 min
- Season
- June to September
- Beach faces
- ENE, 77°
From, for two$9304 nights, two sharing · $465 eachNot included: state and local lodging taxes and oceanfront parking.
Rehoboth Beach oceanfront hotel on the boardwalk
Three nights at an oceanfront hotel on the Rehoboth boardwalk.
On July 15 the sun comes up over the water, 22 degrees to the left of straight out.
- Water
- the Atlantic
- Nights
- 3
- Drive
- 455 mi, about 9 hr 16 min
- Season
- June to September
- Beach faces
- E, 82°
From, for two$8603 nights, two sharing · $430 eachNot included: state and local lodging taxes and town parking meters.
Ocean City, Maryland beach motel, three weeknights
A motel on the ocean block, three weeknights.
On July 15 the sun comes up over the water, 42 degrees to the left of straight out.
- Water
- the Atlantic
- Nights
- 3
- Drive
- 470 mi, about 9 hr 35 min
- Season
- June to September
- Beach faces
- ESE, 104°
From, for two$5003 nights, two sharing · $250 eachNot included: state and local lodging taxes.
Huron lakefront resort hotel, two nights
A resort hotel on its own stretch of Lake Erie shore between Huron and Vermilion.
On July 15 the sun comes up over the water, 49 degrees to the right of straight out.
- Water
- Lake Erie
- Nights
- 2
- Drive
- 76 mi, about 1 hr 37 min
- Season
- June to September
- Beach faces
- N, 11°
From, for two$3202 nights, two sharing · $160 eachNot included: state and local lodging taxes.
Erie bayfront hotel, two nights
A hotel on the bayfront in town, with the peninsula's lake beaches a short drive away.
On July 15 the sun comes up over the water, 51 degrees to the right of straight out.
- Water
- Presque Isle Bay, Lake Erie
- Nights
- 2
- Drive
- 125 mi, about 2 hr 31 min
- Season
- June to August
- Beach faces
- N, 8°
From, for two$4202 nights, two sharing · $210 eachNot included: state and local lodging taxes.
Port Clinton beachfront motel with its own sand
A motel set right on a strip of private beach west of downtown Port Clinton.
On July 15 the sun comes up over the water, 51 degrees to the right of straight out.
- Water
- Lake Erie
- Nights
- 2
- Drive
- 96 mi, about 1 hr 59 min
- Season
- June to August
- Beach faces
- N, 9°
From, for two$2702 nights, two sharing · $135 eachNot included: state and local lodging taxes.
Wildwood Crest oceanfront motel, three nights
An oceanfront motel on the wide, free beach at the southern end of the Wildwoods.
On July 15 the sun comes up over the water, 79 degrees to the left of straight out.
- Water
- the Atlantic
- Nights
- 3
- Drive
- 491 mi, about 9 hr 27 min
- Season
- June to August
- Beach faces
- SE, 140°
From, for two$4803 nights, two sharing · $240 eachNot included: state and local lodging taxes.
Ocean City, New Jersey boardwalk hotel, three nights
A hotel on the boardwalk in a family beach town on a barrier island south of Atlantic City.
On July 15 the sun comes up over the water, 85 degrees to the left of straight out.
- Water
- the Atlantic
- Nights
- 3
- Drive
- 474 mi, about 9 hr 1 min
- Season
- June to August
- Beach faces
- SE, 146°
From, for two$9003 nights, two sharing · $450 eachNot included: state and local lodging taxes and beach tags.
The sun stays along the shore
At Chincoteague and Cape May the beach faces south southeast, so the July sun comes up off to the left along the shore.
Chincoteague island motel, four nights
An island motel in Chincoteague, with the Assateague beach reached by the causeway.
On July 15 neither sunrise nor sunset sits over the water here; the sun comes up 94 degrees off to the left, along the shore.
- Water
- the Atlantic at Assateague
- Nights
- 4
- Drive
- 502 mi, about 10 hr 9 min
- Season
- June to September
- Beach faces
- SSE, 155°
From, for two$5804 nights, two sharing · $290 eachNot included: state and local lodging taxes and the refuge beach vehicle pass.
Cape May beachfront motel, three nights
Three nights at a beachfront motel at the tip of New Jersey.
On July 15 neither sunrise nor sunset sits over the water here; the sun comes up 104 degrees off to the left, along the shore.
- Water
- the Atlantic
- Nights
- 3
- Drive
- 493 mi, about 9 hr 30 min
- Season
- June to September
- Beach faces
- SSE, 164°
From, for two$5703 nights, two sharing · $285 eachNot included: state and local lodging taxes and beach tags.
Measuring which way each beach faces
For every beach we took the direction the shoreline faces from OpenStreetMap shoreline data, then worked out where the sun rises and sets on July 15 at that latitude. A sunrise or sunset counts as over the water when it lies within 90 degrees of straight out from the beach.
This helps when you already have a picture of the week in mind. On the Ohio shore of Lake Erie both sunrise and sunset sit over the lake in July. The Atlantic beaches face east or southeast, so the sun comes up over the ocean and goes down behind the town; at Chincoteague and Cape May the shore turns south southeast and the sun keeps to the side. Choose quiet evenings by the water or early mornings, and the order points the way.
Once a stay looks right
Send the request form with the stay, your nights and who is coming. The form takes a request at any hour; sending it costs nothing and holds nothing. We ask the hotel whether a room is open, then write one quote with the room, the nights, the taxes, any local charges and the hotel's own cancellation terms.
Read it and reply yes in writing, ask for a change, or let it go. Only after your yes do we ask the hotel to hold the room in your name, and you pay the hotel at its desk when you arrive. How a figure is built explains what each number holds.
Next page: Geneva-on-the-Lake motel stay