Fenwick Island, Delaware
The closest beach town to Ocean City is Fenwick Island. They have their own little boardwalk which includes a water park, mini golf, go-carting, an arcade, shopping, and lots of yummy food. They also have fun places to paddle board and kayak!
Bethany Beach, Delaware
Bethany beach, which is around a 20 minute drive from Ocean city, is another great beach town to explore when visiting OCMD. Bethany has multiple stores, restaurants, boutiques, and live music all along the boardwalk. And if you are into surfing they even have designated surfing beaches. One major plus is the stores in Bethany are tax free because this town is in Delaware!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gIKlQ96Y7w
Dewey Beach
Dewey Beach is a 30 minute drive from OCMD and is in between Bethany and Rehoboth beach. Dewey beach is a great place if your looking for a fun night as it is filled with lots of bars and good food. During the day this is a great clean family friendly place, but it definitely is known for its bars and night life (21+).
Highly suggest visiting Starboard especially when they have fun events planned! Definitely a must go bar!
Rehoboth Beach
The last town and only a 40 minute drive from OCMD is Rehoboth. I would say Rehoboth is the most family friendly town out of them all as it has countless activities. It has outlets, boardwalk with rides and games, lots of hotels, and many places to shop and eat. If you have young kids this is definitely the boardwalk to go to!
They even have a big water park where you can spend the day!
https://www.funatjunglejims.com/
You can’t go to Rehoboth Beach without shopping at the outlets!
https://www.tangeroutlet.com/rehoboth/stores