Our Ocean City Adventure With a Toddler (and Lots of Snacks)

Vacations with toddlers aren’t exactly relaxing… but they sure do make for good stories. Here’s a little recap of our mini beach getaway to Rehoboth and Ocean City — coffee in hand, naps failed, tho memories made.

Day 1 – Road Trip + Family Time

We packed up the car (and enough snacks to survive the apocalypse) and headed to the Rehoboth Outlets. Honestly, I thought shopping with a toddler would be chaos, but we scored some deals at Old Navy, Nike, and American Eagle before the meltdown timer went off.

Then it was off to lunch with my great aunt and uncle. We picked up Grotto and had a beautiful afternoon of sunshine, and we even hit their private little beach before switching over to pool time. We attempted a stroller nap afterwards… emphasis on attempted. Apparently, vacation is no time for sleep.

Dinner was a highlight because they picked a restaurant with an outdoor play area. Plot twist: it was raining. Did that stop our toddler? Absolutely not. There we were, wet clothes and all, while our kid laughed like it was the best day ever. From there we drove down to Ocean City to settle in for the night.

Day 2 – Coffee, Beach, & Boardwalk Adventures

Started the day the only way I know how — with coffee. Then it was straight to the beach until lunch, followed by some pool time. You’d think running around in the sun would wear a toddler out, right? Nope. Another failed nap attempt in the hotel room.

Later, we wandered over to the Ocean City Outlets (bless Maryland’s tax-free week 🙌). Scored some cute finds from Carter’s and The Children’s Place, and somewhere in there our toddler managed a 30–45 minute stroller nap. I’ll take it.

The evening was for the boardwalk — arcade games, Thrasher’s fries, playground time, Kohr’s ice cream, plus grabbing caramel popcorn, Dollie’s salt water taffy, and even a caramel apple because… why not? We wrapped it up with an easy dinner before crashing at the hotel.

Day 3 – Mini Golf + Heading Home

Our toddler may not sleep on vacation, but they do wake up bright and early. So I treated myself to coffee from Rise Up (new fave!) and we had a little balcony breakfast before heading out.

We squeezed in a round of mini golf (because no beach trip is complete without it), then hit the road home. On the way, we stopped at Target to stretch our legs — which, let’s be honest, was more of a toddler “walk around break” than actual shopping.

Final Thoughts

It wasn’t the kind of vacation where you lounge and rest, but it was the kind where you laugh through the rain, eat way too many boardwalk snacks, and watch your toddler’s face light up at every new adventure. And honestly? That’s the best kind.