Bethany Beach

Located in the town of Bethany Beach, Bethany Beach is a large, one-mile-long, and popular beach with light brown sand.  This beach was listed as one of the “The 10 Best Beaches in Delaware” by Yahoo.com and it was also listed as one of the “Best Beaches in the United States” by USA Today in 2023.  It is also a favorite of Randall Kaplan, the world’s foremost beach expert who is known as Mr. Beach.

Bethany Beach offers lifeguards from Memorial Day to Labor Day – in September, lifeguards patrol this beach on weekends.  In addition to lifeguards, this beach offers many other amenities including a nearby boardwalk, restrooms, nearby watersports equipment rental facilities, showers, changing rooms, concession stands, and benches.  

Dogs on leash are allowed at Bethany Beach between October 1 and May 14.  Dogs are not allowed here during the rest of the year.

Bethany Beach offers many fun activities including sunbathing, beachcombing, fishing, surfing, boogie boarding, swimming, kitesurfing, windsurfing, bodysurfing, boating, jet-skiing, water-skiing, wakeboarding, scuba diving, skimboarding, kayaking, canoeing, surf-skiing, and wildlife watching.   

Bethany Beach is ideal for less-experienced swimmers because the water here usually offers gentle waves.  You can check the Bethany Beach cam online here to see the amazing waves here.  If you are planning to swim, kayak, canoe, and surf here, we recommend being careful because the water here is known to have unpredictable rip currents and dangerous waves. 

Bethany Beach is ideal for visitors looking for a quieter beach experience because the beach here sees fewer visitors as compared to other Delaware beaches.

Bethany Beach offers a wheelchair-friendly access ramp for visitors with disabilities – this ramp is located near the intersection between Ocean View Parkway and Atlantic Avenue.  In addition, this beach also offers beach wheelchairs for disabled visitors – the beach wheelchairs here are available daily between May 15 and September 15 from 9:30 am to 5 pm.  These wheelchairs are located in a lifeguard station at the eastern end of Garfield Parkway.  You can contact the local authorities at (302) 539-1000 for more information regarding the beach wheelchairs.

Getting to Bethany Beach is easy – this beach is located along South Atlantic Avenue and there are multiple street parking spaces and parking lots near the beach.  These parking lots and street parking spaces usually require a fee between May 15th and September 15th – parking here is free during the rest of the year.  The seasonal parking fee here is usually $3 per hour.  You can visit the “Visitors Parking Guide” at the town of Bethany Beach’s website for more information regarding the beach parking rules.   

We recommend visiting Bethany Beach early during the summer because this beach can get crowded.

Bethany Beach and the area around it hosts many fun events including the annual Seaside Concert Series, Bethany Beach Boardwalk Arts Festival, and the annual Poseidon Festival.

There are many attractions near Bethany Beach.  Bethany Beach Boardwalk is a half-mile-long boardwalk that offers amazing views of the southern Delaware shoreline – this boardwalk also offers interesting shops, restaurants, and a bandstand that hosts fun concerts.  Chief Little Owl is an interesting totem pole that is a popular local landmark in Bethany – this totem pole has been destroyed and reconstructed multiple times since the 1990s and its latest version was dedicated in 2002.  Bethany Beach Nature Center is a nature center that has interesting exhibitions on the local biodiversity – the area around this center also has many habitats including wetlands and forests.  You can explore the rich biodiversity surrounding this center through a boardwalk and a nature trail – the center’s premises also have interesting gardens.  If you like golf, Bear Trap Dunes Golf is a golf club that has a 27-hole golf course which offers a fun and challenging golf experience.  Bethany Beach Central Park is a recreational park that offers many amenities including grassy recreational areas, walking paths, benches, and a pavilion.  If you are looking for another attraction near the beach, John West Park is a recreational park that offers many amenities including grassy recreational areas, a picnic pavilion, barbecue grills, a playground, and open-air exercise equipment.

If you get hungry, there are many great restaurants near Bethany Beach.  Mangos in Bethany Beach offers many amazing tropical-inspired dishes including seafood, pork chops, pastas, steaks, and burgers – this restaurant also offers refreshing mango margaritas and it also offers live music performances.  Harvest Tide Bethany Beach is a steakhouse that is known for serving delicious steaks, pastas, salads, soup, and seafood.  Another great restaurant is the Cottage Cafe Bethany Beach that offers many excellent dishes for lunch and dinner including fries, meatloaf, ribeye steak, salads, and sandwiches.  Off the Hook is an upscale restaurant that is known for serving excellent seafood, along with a variety of other dishes including pastas, steaks, Southern-style dishes, and salads.  Bethany Blues Bethany Beach offers many amazing dishes for lunch and dinner including barbecued dishes, sandwiches, nachos, chicken wings, and burgers – it has been praised by many publications including Delaware Today magazine and Coastal Style magazine.  If you are looking for another good and affordable restaurant nearby, Bethany Diner offers a variety of delicious dishes for breakfast and lunch including pancakes, sandwiches, burgers, eggs, dumplings. French toasts, and waffles.

If you are looking for a hotel near Bethany Beach, there are many great nearby options within a 25-minute-drive.  The 4-Star Boardwalk Plaza Hotel has Victorian-style architecture – this hotel also offers many amenities including a hot tub, a pool, a fitness center, craft activities for kids, and a restaurant.  The 4-Star The Bellmoor Inn & Spa is another upscale hotel that offers many amenities including a spa, two pools, a hot tub, rental facilities for beach chairs and umbrellas, and complimentary breakfast and afternoon refreshments.  Another upscale hotel is the 4-Star Hilton Ocean City Oceanfront Suites that offers many amenities including a restaurant, a lounge, multiple seasonal pools, a fitness center, a game room, and a bar.  A more affordable hotel is the 3-Star Bethany Beach Ocean Suites Residence Inn by Marriott that offers many amenities including a pool, multiple patios, a restaurant, a gym, and complimentary breakfast.  If you are looking for another good and affordable nearby hotel, the 3-Star Fenwick Shores, Tapestry Collection by Hilton offers many amenities including two restaurants, a pool, and a fitness center.  Another good and affordable accommodation option is to stay in a vacation rental property – there are many nearby Bethany Beach rentals that you can book for your visit.