Bethany Beach

The beach is the reason Bethany Beach exists. A wide strip of pale sand runs the length of the town, with a short boardwalk behind it and lifeguards on the main stretch all summer. The Atlantic surf is usually moderate, and the water warms from about 18°C in early June to around 24°C by August, which makes July to mid-September the real swimming season.

Within half an hour there is plenty of variety: the undeveloped dunes of Delaware Seashore State Park and the Indian River Inlet to the north, quiet Fenwick Island to the south, and the long, busy sands of Ocean City beyond. Calmer water for small children is found on the Inland Bays behind the barrier island. From October to May the sea is too cold for most people.

Eating here is seaside food: steamed blue crabs eaten off paper at picnic tables, crab cakes, fried clams, boardwalk fries, saltwater taffy and ice cream after the beach. Many places only open in season, and the town's own choice is small.

A wider choice is about 25 minutes north in Rehoboth Beach, which has a much larger restaurant scene and a local craft brewing tradition. Farm stands along the inland roads sell sweet corn, peaches and tomatoes in high summer.

There is very little to see here in the sightseeing sense. The town is known for its tall carved totem pole at the entrance to the boardwalk, and a small local history collection tells the story of the church camp the town grew from. Along the shore nearby stand concrete observation towers built to watch for ships during the Second World War. Anyone who wants museums and historic streets has to drive to them.

Bethany Beach calls itself the Quiet Resort and means it. Evenings are a walk on the boardwalk, a drink with dinner and an early night, and there is no bar district to speak of. People who want to go out drive about 20 minutes north to Dewey Beach, where crowded beach bars run late in summer, or south to the boardwalk and bars of Ocean City.

The landscape is a low barrier island: dunes, salt marsh and the shallow Inland Bays behind it. It is good for gentle outdoor time rather than anything strenuous. You can kayak and paddleboard on the bays, surf and fish from the beach or at Indian River Inlet, go crabbing off the docks and cycle the flat coastal paths. Herons, ospreys and shorebirds are everywhere in summer.

Assateague Island, under an hour south, has wild ponies grazing among the dunes and is the highlight. Cape Henlopen's pine forest and trails are a short drive north, and so is the Great Cypress Swamp inland. There are no hills, and in high summer it is hot and humid with plenty of mosquitoes.

Within a short drive along the coast there are several small towns, each with its own character. Lewes, about 40 minutes north, is a pretty historic port with old houses and a maritime museum. Rehoboth Beach and Ocean City are bigger, livelier resorts, and inland Berlin, Maryland, has a well-kept Victorian main street.

Further out, the ferry from Lewes crosses Delaware Bay to the Victorian seaside town of Cape May in about an hour and a half. Chincoteague's island village and the state capital, Dover, with its colonial green, are each a little over an hour away. It is a decent list of easy outings, but none of them is a major heritage destination.

This is a family resort above all, and it is easy with children. The beach is guarded, the town is small, safe and quiet, and a week's stay usually settles into beach days, bike rides, crabbing off a dock and ice cream on the boardwalk. Free summer evening events at the bandstand are aimed squarely at families.

For more excitement, there are mini-golf courses and water parks along the coast road. Boardwalk amusement rides are 25 minutes away in Rehoboth Beach or Ocean City. What it lacks are big attractions such as a zoo, an aquarium or a theme park. Outside summer most of the child-focused businesses close.

The town is small and flat, so you can walk or cycle between your rental, the beach and the shops. Many visitors leave the car parked all week. A seasonal bus runs up and down the coast road to the neighbouring resorts. Still, nearly everyone arrives by car, there is no rail link, and day trips, supermarkets and most restaurants outside the centre need a car. Summer weekends bring heavy traffic on the coast highway, and parking in town is metered.

Shopping in town is a short row of beach boutiques, surf shops, gift stores and bookshops stocked with beach reading. The more serious shopping is about 25 minutes north on the highway outside Rehoboth Beach, where a large spread of outlet malls draws visitors from across the region, helped by Delaware's tax-free shopping. Beyond that there are antiques shops on the inland roads and the galleries of Lewes.

In summer this is an expensive place to stay. Most visitors rent a beach house or condo by the week, and rentals near the ocean cost a lot in July and August. Hotels are few and charge peak-season rates. Eating out is priced like an American resort. Prices drop sharply in June and September, and further in the off-season. Self-catering, free beach access and the absence of sales tax help keep a week's costs under control.

Live performance here mostly means the bandstand by the boardwalk, where summer evenings bring free concerts by cover bands, brass groups and local acts, with families on deck chairs and blankets. There is no theatre or concert hall in town. Rehoboth Beach nearby has a small community theatre and a long-running autumn jazz festival, and that is about the extent of it.

There is no bathing or spa tradition here, only a few day spas and massage studios. What the town offers instead is a slow pace. The streets are residential and leafy, the boardwalk is calm in the evening with little more than the sound of the surf, and in spring and autumn the whole place falls close to silent. It suits people who want to read, sleep and take long walks, not people looking for treatments or thermal waters.