Home of the non profit Art League of Ocean City, our newly built bayside facility features a spacious two story gallery, a pottery studio, classrooms, art library and five working More Details...
Kid Friendly Vacation in Ocean City, MD
Ocean City is a family friendly resort town
Lots of places to stay and play
Family-friendly restaurants
Bringing your family to Ocean City
It's the perfect kid-friendly beach vacation!
You’ve waited all year to bring your family to the beach. Now, you just want to make it perfect for all the generations in your family. At least in our family, if the kids aren’t happy, nobody is happy so here is OceanCity.com’s guide to planning the perfect vacation with children.
The Perfect Kid Friendly Ocean City Vacation
rain or shine for any budget
The blocks below will define the different areas of Ocean City so you can choose the perfect hotel as your base of operations. Do you want an indoor or outdoor pool or both? Do you want to be on the Boardwalk or uptown where it is quieter? Do you want to go to the Jolly Roger’s waterpark, Splash Mountain or visit the amusement park downtown or do both? Do you want your kids to be able to get up and play on the beach at Macky’s Bayside Bar & Grill or would you rather have them have a pirate ship to climb on? Everything is possible, you just need to know where to look and OceanCity.com will help you navigate your perfect vacation. Start with our Area Guide, then choose your hotel, and you have the basis for a fabulous family vacation!
Where to Stay with Kids
Beachfront Condos vs Hotels vs House Rental
The key to a fun stress free trip with the family is research and planning. At the top of the list is finding a easily accessible place to stay that is located near the activities you plan to do. Nobody is happy if the kids aren’t happy so if you want vacation success for all you must please the kids. The most common requests are:
- Easy Beach Access
- Close to the boardwalk – especially for teenagers.
- A great pool.
- Fun activities nearby – amusements, mini-golf, arcade
- Away from the crowds – for those with small children
Small Children & Beach Lovers:
- Beachfront Condos in North Ocean City are a popular choice. Much quieter and less crowded area.
There are plenty of dining options in North Ocean City, but you will need to drive to get to boardwalk, inlet and amusements though.
Teenagers:
- Downtown/Boardwalk Hotels. They can’t get enough of the boardwalk scene and offerings. The lively downtown beaches are loads of fun and they can manage getting back to the hotel on their own.
Hotels with Outdoor Pools
Rides and amusements
Surely the first thing that comes to mind when you picture your kids having a blast in OC is Trimper Rides on the boardwalk, or Jolly Roger Amusement Park on the boardwalk and on 28th street. But besides those boardwalk staples, there are limitless other entertainment options for kids: for the fantasy-loving adventurers, there’s the gold-mining, zip-lining, train-riding fun of Frontier Town, and the swashbucklin’ good time of Pirate Adventures. If your kids love to learn, take a trip to the boardwalk’s Life-Saving Museum or discover all the weirdness of the world at Ripley’s Believe It Or Not. And for the thrill-seekers, fear not: you’re certain to find something you love at Baja Amusements, Speedworld Go-Karts, Under the Bridge Watersports or Odyssea Watersports. By the way, on 90-degree days, don’t forget that Jolly Roger’s and Frontier Town both have waterparks, and you can also venture out to Fenwick for Thunder Lagoon.
Fun Things to Do with Kids
Entertainment Options in Ocean City
Free activities abound all year in Ocean City. During the summer, you can catch some Movies on the Beach throughout the week at 118th and 27th Streets, or take part in the Kids Crafts in the Courtyard at City Hall every Saturday throughout the summer.
Keep your eyes peeled for free events throughout the rest of the year, too – the city is pretty good about offering free family entertainment, you just have to know how to find it (and we’ll always keep you updated).
Free events abound all year in Ocean City. During the summer, Sundaes in the Park has a free concert each Sunday night, as well as free kids activities. There’s daily free activities at the Ocean City Life Saving Station each morning all summer. Watch out for the free Headline events too, like the Ocean City Air Show which you can watch for free from the beach or Boardwalk. You can check out more free events here.
