At a glance
- Meals in the order you'll want them: breakfast, sandwiches for the beach, casual family dinners, special dinners, and treats — then activities and local art.
- Bethany Beach has the walkable cluster on Garfield Parkway; Fenwick Island and Route 54 add bayfront and farm-to-table dinners; Ocean View is the easier-parking alternative inland.
- Every place below was checked against its own website. These are suggestions, not endorsements: hours, menus, and reservation policies change by season, so confirm before you go.
A Bethany Beach stay at Pelican Pointe is built around the house and the beach, but most families want a few reliable places for breakfast out, a cooler of sandwiches, one or two dinners, and a rainy afternoon. This companion to the sample 7-day itinerary collects the ones within a short drive of Bayshore Drive, in the order you'll meet them during a day. Nothing here is included with a Pelican Pointe stay; book and order directly with each business. For where these towns sit relative to the house, see the area map.
Price symbols are broad comparisons, not guaranteed spending levels. Menus and seasonal pricing change; check the restaurant's current menu.
Breakfast and brunch
A sit-down breakfast-and-lunch spot a block and a half from the beach, with an Eastern Shore, farm-to-table slant. Practical with children — there is a kids' section on the menu — and it runs a waitlist rather than reservations, so put your name in early on summer mornings. Takeout is available through online ordering, and it pairs naturally with a boardwalk walk or the toy shop next door.
A traditional diner on the Bethany side of Coastal Highway. Its website was not accessible for verification when this guide was checked, so treat details — menu, service style, ordering — as unconfirmed and look at the site or call before you go.
A full-service, reservations-only breakfast and lunch cafe inland in Ocean View, with a patio in good weather. A different kind of morning from the beach-town counters: sit down, book ahead through OpenTable, and skip the downtown Bethany parking. The site lists seasonal operating days, so check what is open when you visit.
Sandwiches and takeout for the beach
The most useful meal of a beach day here is the one you carry: sandwiches for the cooler, or lunch brought back to the screened porch. A few reliable counters, all with online ordering on their own sites unless noted.
An Italian market and deli with sandwiches, paninis, brick-oven pizza, pastries, and grab-and-go items — the natural cooler stop on the way to the beach. Order online for pickup; a catering menu with sandwich platters covers a full house (72 hours' notice per the site). Across the parkway from DiFebo's restaurant.
A bagel shop on Coastal Highway — breakfast sandwiches and bagels by the dozen for the porch, with online ordering. Open year-round per its site.
New York-style bagels, breakfast burritos, and lunch sandwiches and wraps, with online ordering and catering. A good stop when the day is pointed south toward Fenwick Island State Park.
The Delaware beach pizza chain's Bethany location (there is a second one on Coastal Highway in South Bethany). Online ordering and delivery make it the low-effort porch dinner; the dining room is casual and takes birthday-party bookings.
A pizzeria a block off Garfield Parkway with online ordering for pickup — pies, sandwiches, and salads that travel well back to the house.
Practical notes for beach lunches
- Order before the peak lunch period when possible; the counters on Garfield Parkway get busy from late morning in summer.
- Use a cooler with ice, and follow the town's beach rules (South Bethany prohibits glass and fires on the beach; check its current rules page).
- Choose food that travels well — sandwiches, wraps, fruit, and things that don't mind a warm hour in a bag.
- Pack out all trash.
- None of the businesses above delivers to the beach itself; pick up, or have pizza delivered to the house.
A porch lunch can be easier than keeping everyone out through the hottest part of the day: walk back from the beach, rinse off in the outdoor shower, eat in the shade of the screened porch, and return to the sand later.
Casual family lunches and dinners
Barbecue a block from the boardwalk, with a kids' menu, carryout through online ordering, and reservations through Resy. Catering is offered for larger groups. An easy family dinner before or after a bandstand concert.
Oceanfront on the boardwalk, with an American-Caribbean menu the site describes as family friendly and two bars. Online ordering for takeout; the site does not mention reservations. The setting is the point — a table by the ocean at the end of a beach day.
A casual seafood 'fish camp' with a raw bar, coastal classics, sandwiches, and a kids' menu, plus carryout and delivery. A private-event space handles larger gatherings. The site directs reservation questions to the phone.
A brewpub inland in Ocean View with indoor and outdoor seating, a beer garden, a kids' menu, online ordering for takeout, a private-events room, and its own free parking lot — a practical alternative to downtown Bethany at dinner time.
Slices and whole pies, strombolis, and calzones for dine-in or takeout, open seven days per its site — the family-pizza night when nobody wants to cook.
Special dinners and date nights
For the one dinner of the stay that somebody else cooks properly. Reservations are noted only where the restaurant's own site describes them.
Upscale seafood on the bay: the upstairs bar and outside deck overlook the water, there is a kids' menu, and the upstairs room hosts events for up to 150. Reservations are taken through the restaurant's booking system, and carryout is available. Choose it for the waterfront setting at sunset.
Contemporary American cooking sourced from local farms and watermen, with outside dining in good weather. Reservations by phone or through the site's contact form; no takeout. Choose it for a quieter, more considered dinner for two.
Farm-to-table, with a mix of farm tables, bar stools, and lounge seating and custom menus for groups. Reservations through Tock; carry-out is offered. Choose it for a produce-led, shared-table kind of evening.
Coastal farm-to-table seafood on the Route 26 side of Bethany, which the restaurant frames as suited to date night or dinner with the family. The site did not describe a reservation policy when checked, so call ahead in season.
The Southern Italian restaurant behind the market: house-made pasta and seafood, a full bar, reservations and takeout through its online system, and family-style catering trays. Choose it for an Italian dinner that can scale from a couple to the whole house.
Dessert and treats
Vanderwende Farm Creamery
$300 Coastal Highway, Fenwick Island (seasonal) · farm shop on Seashore Highway, Bridgeville (year-round)Ice cream made daily at a family dairy farm. The Fenwick Island shop is open Memorial Day to Labor Day per the creamery; the Bridgeville farm shop on Route 404 is year-round and a natural stop on the drive in or out for anyone coming across Delaware.
Handmade caramel popcorn since 1937, with Fenwick Island and Rehoboth Beach locations as well. A boardwalk-bench snack and the take-home gift. (The Delaware company's site is fishers-popcorn.com; a separately owned Fisher's operates in Ocean City.)
Ice cream and pizza counters also line Garfield Parkway and the boardwalk; wander and pick one.
Shops and activities in Bethany Beach
Garfield Parkway runs from Coastal Highway to the boardwalk, and most of what families want is along those few blocks. Park once (pay-to-park runs May 15–September 15), or ride the free trolley, and walk.
- Tidepool Toys & Games — the Kids' Ketch family's toy shop at 98 Garfield Parkway, "toys for creative minds and active bodies." There is a second Tidepool in Fenwick Island.
- Bethany Beach Books — an independent bookstore at 99 Garfield Parkway, a few steps off the boardwalk, with a dedicated children's section and author signings and story times through the summer.
- Bethany Surf Shop — surf, body, and skimboards plus swimwear and beach apparel.
- Bandstand concerts — free, Thursday evenings in summer at about 7:30 p.m., and Saturday evenings in September and October. Bring chairs.
- Bethany Beach Nature Center — hands-on programs about the Inland Bays at 807 Garfield Parkway, year-round.
- Pirate Golf Bethany Beach — an 18-hole pirate-themed course a block from the beach; the course notes that children three and under play free with a paying adult.
- Bethany Beach Farmers' Market — Sunday mornings in summer at Garfield Parkway and Pennsylvania Avenue, with a "sell what you grow" rule and mostly nearby family farms.
Fenwick Island and Ocean City activities
- Viking Golf, Go-Karts & Thunder Lagoon — mini golf, go-karts, and a water park with a lazy river and slides, on Virginia Avenue in Fenwick Island.
- DiscoverSea Shipwreck Museum — a privately run maritime museum at 708 Coastal Highway with thousands of shipwreck artifacts on display. A strong rainy-day pick.
- Fenwick Island Lighthouse — first lit in August 1859 and the only brick conical lighthouse ever built in Delaware, on the state line.
- Coastal Kayak — kayak and stand-up paddleboard rentals for the bay side.
- Fenwick Island State Park — three miles of undeveloped ocean beach and a bayside launch area; per-vehicle fee, free by bike or on foot.
- Trimper's Rides and Jolly Roger in Ocean City — boardwalk rides since 1893, and amusement rides, Splash Mountain water park, and SpeedWorld go-karts respectively. Old Pro Golf runs indoor and outdoor themed mini golf at four Coastal Highway locations.
- Ocean City's free family fun — Sundaes in the Park concerts with fireworks at Northside Park on Sunday evenings, movies on the beach, and Thursday-night boardwalk fireworks in summer. Schedules are seasonal.
Live performances
Freeman Arts Pavilion in Selbyville is a five-acre open-air venue on Route 54 that operates May through September with more than 70 performances a year — concerts across genres, dance, theatre, comedy, and a Young Audience Series. Children under 12 are free for specific performances noted on each event page, and shows are rain or shine. Buy tickets in advance through the venue; they are not part of a Pelican Pointe stay. The seasonal events guide covers the summer season and the area's festivals.
Local art, galleries & handmade finds
The coast has a modest but real arts life — a photography gallery on the parkway, two long-running outdoor shows in Bethany, and, farther north, a cluster of galleries and a nonprofit art campus in Rehoboth. Festivals and programs are seasonal; check current calendars before planning a day around them.
Near South Bethany
- Bethany Fine Arts Gallery & The Beach Life Gallery — a fine-art photography gallery at 100 Garfield Parkway, with seascape and wildlife work by the photographer who runs it. An easy stop on a boardwalk evening.
- Bethany Beach Boardwalk Arts Festival — the Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber's one-day juried show of more than 100 artists on the boardwalk and downtown streets, held on a Saturday in September (September 12 in 2026, with a rain date the next day).
- Bethany Beach Seaside Craft Show — a town-affiliated craft show on the boardwalk and streets of Bethany, held in June; check the town's page for the current date.
- South Coastal Public Library — at 43 Kent Avenue in Bethany Beach, with concerts, author talks, craft sessions, and children's programs on its events calendar. A rainy-morning option with small children.
An art-focused Rehoboth outing
Rehoboth is the farthest-north stop on the area map, so make this a day rather than an evening. Downtown, the galleries sit within a few blocks of each other; the art league is a short drive away in Henlopen Acres. Rehoboth Beach Main Street keeps a current arts directory.
- Rehoboth Art League — a nonprofit art center on a wooded campus at 12 Dodds Lane in Henlopen Acres, with several galleries, studios, and a historic homestead. The galleries run year-round; the homestead is open seasonally. Check current exhibitions and events before you go.
- Gallery 50 — a commercial fine-art gallery and frame shop at 47 Baltimore Avenue, with an exhibitions and events page.
- Tideline Gallery — jewelry, pottery, and art glass on Rehoboth Avenue, a long-running family-owned shop.
- Sean Kelley Art & Friends — an artist co-op gallery in the Penny Lane Mall off Rehoboth Avenue, run by a local photographer.
- 26 Ocean Gallery — art, vintage jewelry, reclaimed furniture, and handmade goods by local artists on Wilmington Avenue.
- West Side Creative Market — an outdoor market of handmade work from local artists, with live music and food, run by the nonprofit Developing Artist Collaboration on Central Street in West Rehoboth. It keeps a published schedule of market evenings from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day and Saturdays in September; check the current dates.
Groceries and supplies
- Weis Markets in Millville and Food Lion in Selbyville are full supermarkets a short drive inland.
- The house kitchen has a dishwasher, coffee maker, cooking basics, and a charcoal grill, so groceries are the main stop. Beach chairs, boogie boards, and other beach equipment are not provided at the house — bring your own or pick them up locally.
Planning notes
- Summer evenings between roughly 6 and 8 p.m. are the busiest at restaurants; eating early or late helps with kids.
- Delaware has no sales tax.
- Travel times along Route 1 vary a lot with summer weekend traffic; leave more time than the map suggests on Saturdays.
- For how these fit into an actual stay, see the sample 7-day itinerary. For the house itself, see the rental details.
Sources
Facts above were checked against these official or primary sources. Rules, schedules, hours and fees change — confirm anything time-sensitive before you travel.
- The Penguin
- Bethany Diner
- The Cafe on 26
- DiFebo's Market & Sandwich Shoppe
- 19Dough1
- Surf Bagel — Fenwick
- Grotto Pizza — Bethany Beach
- Bethany Pie
- Bethany Blues
- Mango's
- Matt's Fish Camp — Fenwick
- Ocean View Brewing Company
- Pomodoro Pizzeria
- Catch 54
- One Coastal
- Our Harvest
- Off the Hook
- DiFebo's Bethany Beach
- Vanderwende Farm Creamery
- Fisher's Popcorn
- Tidepool Toys & Games (Kids' Ketch)
- Bethany Beach Books
- Bethany Surf Shop
- Town of Bethany Beach — Bandstand
- Town of Bethany Beach — Nature Center
- Town of Bethany Beach — Public Parking
- Town of South Bethany Code — Chapter 34 (beach rules)
- Pirate Golf Bethany Beach
- Bethany Beach Farmers' Market
- Southern Delaware Tourism — Viking Golf & Thunder Lagoon
- DiscoverSea Shipwreck Museum
- Delaware Division of Historical & Cultural Affairs — Fenwick Island Lighthouse
- Coastal Kayak
- Delaware State Parks — Fenwick Island State Park
- Trimper's Rides
- Jolly Roger Amusement Parks
- Old Pro Golf
- Ocean City, MD — Free family fun
- Freeman Arts Pavilion — About
- Bethany Fine Arts Gallery & The Beach Life Gallery
- Bethany Beach Boardwalk Arts Festival
- Town of Bethany Beach — Seaside Craft Show
- South Coastal Public Library
- Rehoboth Beach Main Street — Arts directory
- Rehoboth Art League
- Gallery 50
- Tideline Gallery
- Sean Kelley Art & Friends
- 26 Ocean Gallery
- Developing Artist Collaboration — West Side Creative Market
- Weis Markets — Millville
- Food Lion — Selbyville
- State of Delaware — Why Delaware (no sales tax)
The vacation rental behind these guides
A 4-bedroom, 3.5-bath Bethany Beach house in quiet South Bethany, sleeping 8, about three blocks from the ocean, with a screened porch, canal views, and a queen suite on each floor. Managed and booked through Sandcastle Realty; stay lengths vary.