Ocean City Maryland on a Budget

In 2017, I graduated from high school, which meant that my friends were just days away from our “senior week” trip to Ocean City Maryland. Since many of us were student athletes and couldn’t fit a part-time job into our schedules, we didn’t have a lot of money to go towards a week-long trip at the beach. If you want to go to the beach, but you don’t have a lot of money to go towards the trip, this is the trip for you! This is targeted for larger groups, around 10 people, who want to go to the beach for 6 nights, 7 days.

How to Get There:

To avoid taking multiple cars, we decided to carpool in three cars. With carpooling, it is a huge money saver because you split the cost of gas, but also save money on parking. Most houses in Ocean City Maryland provide 2-3 spots of free parking directly outside your house. If you bring more than the allotted parking spaces, then you could end up paying more than you want.

Where to Stay:

Bay Mist Cottages my friends and I stayed in on our trip to Ocean City Maryland.

Both years, my friends and I went to OCMD, we chose to stay at Bay Mist Cottages. The location is great, on the bay, near restaurants, and still only a three block walk from the beach. Without going into many details, each year when we visited we paid around about $170 before the security deposit. But don’t worry, the security deposit will come back to you as long as you don’t trash the house. For this price, you’ll get an upstairs and downstairs with the same set up, because they are technically separate cottages. If interested in the house, you can contact the homeowner by clicking on the hyperlink above. My friends and I loved everything about the house, I highly recommend renting here.

Activities to Do:

Outside of going to the beach to tan and play games, there are a few obvious free and cheap activities- the boardwalk and mini golf. Walking up and down the boardwalk is completely free, and purchasing things in the stores is completely up to you. My friends enjoyed going down late at night to walk around, take pictures, and go into stores just to see some of the crazy stuff some people sold. When it comes to minigolf, we went to Nick’s Golf. Here you can golf with friends for less than $10 on a decently challenging course. There are many other cheap mini-golf places that you can go to, so don’t feel limited.

Entrance to the OCMD boardwalk.

Food:

The best way to save money when you are on a week long beach trip is being smart with how you choose to handle groceries and restaurants. Both years that my friends and I chose to take this trip, we found that restaurants are way too expensive and that bringing food from your hometowns local grocery store is the best option. About two days before leaving, make a grocery list and visit a local grocery store to get everything to put in coolers.

Below I listed some tips and things I learned during the process of purchasing food for both males and females so you don’t make the same mistakes we made.

My friends on a deck in front of the bay right outside of our house in OCMD

1. The simpler, the better. When it comes to cooking, pick meals that don’t involve a lot of ingredients. My friends went with hot dogs and hamburgers for a lot of the meals, with salad on the side. Frozen pizzas, spaghetti with pre-made sauce, boxed mac n cheese, grilled cheese, and deli meat sandwiches are all great options. These meals use minimal ingredients, which means less things to buy
2. Don’t buy anything “for fun.” Stick with the basic meals and if you want it later in the week and have some money then you can get it at that point. My friends and I bought jello to make jello shots, and we never found the time to make them. It was a waste of money.

The overall amount my friends and I each spent on the trip, minus any extra purchases at the stores on the boardwalk, was approximately $200-$250. The perfect cheap trip for those who want sand between their toes without money being drained from their bank account.