Chesapeake Bay Beach: This beach area has it all for families: great dining, sandy beaches and super mild surf. From the Resort beach take Atlantic or Pacific Avenue north. When the two streets merge near 42nd Street, keep driving north. Eventually the road becomes Shore Drive and the beaches will be on your right.

Chick’s Beach: Chick’s beach is the locals’ secret treasure. No waves to be found here. Or tourists, for that matter. Bring a picnic, your iPod and good digging tools. Consider setting down stakes under the Lesner Bridge or the Bay Bridge for ultra-shady real estate. Let the kids play while you kick back.

Sandbridge Beach: Long considered the “Outer Banks of Virginia,” Sandbridge Beach, 15 miles south of the Resort Strip, is the spot to get away from it all especially if you seek a nature-filled vacation minus the commercialism. Sandbridge is a five-mile peaceful strip of secluded beach ideal for chilling and reconnecting with your family. Expect to be pleasantly surprised by white dunes, surf-able waves and the sound of — what’s that? — sheer silence.

Lifeguards are on patrol from 9:30 a.m. to dusk every day from mid-May to mid-September at the public beach area.