Need a quick getaway to the beach but haven't made reservations yet? Not to fear.
Many mid-Atlantic beach towns have a tourism office or a chamber of commerce tapped into the local lodging network. Most of them make daily or weekly updates to accommodations listings online. Others have real estate agents with last-minute discounts and locals offering rentals.
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Below are experts' tips on how to secure last-minute lodging in five popular spots. Prices listed are per night unless otherwise specified and were available at press time.
-- Elissa Leibowitz Poma
OCEAN CITY, MD.
Overview: Even with 9,500 rooms and many rentals, this beach town fills fast.
Top tip: Beachgoers who search Ocean City's Online Hotel Reservation Center ( http://www.ocvisitor.com/ ) may see the term "no availability" next to some property names. That doesn't necessarily mean the hotel is sold out, says Susan L. Jones, executive director of the Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association; it may just indicate that hotel managers didn't update their properties' availability. Call those hotels first, because other people won't give them a second thought.
Other options: Look at the "Current Specials" section of the Ocean City Convention and Visitors Bureau's Web site ( http://www.ococean.com/ ) for last-minute deals, such as $143.96 for a room at the Best Western Sea Bay Inn July 27 . . . Consider beach homes along the bay, including a three-bedroom condo overlooking a canal that can be booked through Holiday Real Estate (800-638-2102, http://www.holidayoc.com/ ; $3,045 for the week of July 29, $1,890 for the week of Aug. 26). Check http://www.ococean.com for other agencies . . . Salisbury, Md., is a half-hour away and is a good backup spot for a chain hotel room.
More info: Ocean City Convention and Visitors Bureau, 800-626-2326, http://www.ococean.com/ ; Maryland Office of Tourism, 800-634-7386, http://www.visitmaryland.org/ .
VIRGINIA BEACH
Overview: A handful of higher-end hotels have popped up several miles from the beach, so splurgers and budget-hunters alike can find ideal accommodations.
Top tip: Rent a place in Sandbridge, a low-key, secluded community 15 miles south of the hustle of Virginia Beach. Many properties are listed with Siebert Realty (877-422-2200, http://www.siebert-realty.com/ ) and Sandbridge Realty (800-933-4800, http://www.sandbridge.com/ ). For week-long stays beginning Aug. 19, for example, Siebert's Web site lists dozens of properties starting at $1,470.
Other options: The Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau (800-822-3224, http://www.vbfun.com/ ) updates its hotel availability daily, which means you could call in the morning and book a room for that night . . . Nearly a dozen inns and chains are in and around the area called Town Center 10 miles from the ocean, including the Hilton Garden Inn . . . First Landing State Park (800-933-7275, http://www.dcr.state.va.us/parks/1stland ) has a Chesapeake Bay beach for camping (from $23 for tents, pop-up campers and RVs); reservations needed . . . Tent campers can easily get a spot at the KOA Campground (800-562-4150, http://www.koa.com/where/va/46109 ; from $18), two miles from the surf.
More info: Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau, 800-822-3224. http://www.vbfun.com/ ; Virginia Tourism Corp., 800-847-4882, http://www.virginia.org/ .
NORTH CAROLINA'S OUTER BANKS
Overview: Most Outer Banks visitors rent vacation homes, which range from cozy condos off the beach to palatial oceanfront mansions. The barrier island is rarely sold out.
Top tip: Real estate agents in the Outer Banks often drop prices at the last minute to lure vacationers and advertise the discounts on their Web sites. Kitty Hawk's Outer Banks Blue Realty (888-623-2583, http://www.obxblue.com/ ), for example, lists on its Web site 18 rental houses in Duck and Corolla available the week of Aug. 5; most are discounted $400 to $750. Nags Head's Village Realty (800-548-9688, http://www.villagerealtyobx.com/ ) and Hatteras Island's Midgett Realty (800-527-2903, http://www.midgettrealty.com/ ) are among other agencies.
Other options: Check the Web site of the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau ( http://www.outerbanks.org/ ) for lodging availability, updated each Thursday . . . Many last-minute rental home vacancies are in the swath of land between highways 12 and 158. The visitors bureau's Web site links to companies that offer them . . . Though not on the beach, nearby Roanoke Island has 300 rooms at hotels, inns, condos and rental homes . . . Arrive early at Cape Hatteras National Seashore (252-473-2111, http://www.nps.gov/caha/pphtml/camping.html ) in Oregon Inlet, Cape Point, Frisco or Ocracoke Island to nab a $20 camping spot. All but Ocracoke are first-come, first-served.
More info: Outer Banks Visitors Bureau, 877-629-4386, http://www.outerbanks.org/ ; Visit North Carolina, 800-847-4862, http://www.visitnc.com/ .
DEWEY BEACH, DEL.
Overview: Packed with partiers on the weekends and families during the week, Dewey has group houses, motels and rental homes.
Top tip: The free classifieds Web site Craig's List ( http://www.delaware.craigslist.com/ ) has dozens of listings for Dewey rentals. Do you go with the three-bedroom condo 2 1/2 blocks from the beach (from $1,200 a week, as was listed last week) or pay $10 to sleep on the floor on a foam mattress in a cottage five minutes from downtown? To use the site, type "Dewey" into the search engine and choose "Housing" from the pull-down menu; remember Craig's List honchos do not verify listings.
Other options: Each Thursday, the Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce calls more than 100 local hotels and motels to check availability for the weekend. Call 800-441-1329, Ext. 12, as early as late Thursday morning for the best pickings . . . Deweybeach.com ( http://www.deweybeach.com)/ has listings for nearly two dozen group houses, some of which have last-minute spots available for the rest of the summer. If there are no spots, ask the house manager if he knows of other houses, suggests C.C. Christakos of Alexandria, who has managed a Dewey group house for six years . . . Peruse the "for rent by owner" listings on the Web site At the Beach.com ( http://www.atbeach.com/ ).
More info: Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce, 800-441-1329, http://www.beach-fun.com/ ; Delaware Tourism Office/Southern Delaware Tourism, 866-284-7483, http://www.visitdelaware.net/ .
WILDWOOD, N.J.
Overview: Wildwood is a family- and teenager-friendly sensory circus with 8,000 motel rooms and 2,500 condos.
Top tip: The Greater Wildwood Chamber of Commerce (609-729-4000, http://www.wildwoods.com/ ) and the Greater Wildwood-Hotel-Motel Association (800-786-4546, http://www.wildwoods.org/ ) both update their vacancy listings daily. Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Brian Barry suggests speaking to a person at the chamber, who can give you suggestions.
Other options: Area condo associations often report vacancies to the Greater Wildwood Chamber of Commerce. Call the chamber (609-729-4000) for listings, or visit its office on the boardwalk at Schellinger Avenue . . . If you show up without a reservation, stop at the Ocean View Welcome Center (Mile Marker 17 on the Garden State Parkway) and pick up the lodging hotline phone. It connects you directly to a dozen hotels that may have rooms.
More info: Greater Wildwoods Tourism Improvement and Development Authority, 800-992-9732, http://www.wildwoodsnj.com/ ; New Jersey Travel and Tourism, 800-847-4865, http://www.state.nj.us/travel .
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