We stayed at this lovely cottage the week leading up to Labor Day weekend. We have two small children and the car was filled with tears when our week had come to and end. Our first night there, we made our way to the public beach which was about a 5 minute drive (maybe even a little less) and it was so absolutely beautiful watching the sunset that we declared we would visit that beach every night. Our first full day we decided to venture out in the canoe to the private beach that you travel to through the marsh. What would follow were 6 days of doing that exact same thing - every morning we would carry the canoe across the street where you slip it into the marsh and then load it up with all of the things you need for a 6 and 2.5 year old for a day at the beach. The canoe trip took maybe 10 minutes and while I've been boating since I was a little thing, I would characterize the canoe trip to the private beach as a breeze, even for a beginner. Be aware of the tides - which is simple enough. We found that if we headed out as low tide was filling to high tide, that it would give us our biggest window. Anyways, that private beach was fit for kings. Every single day, our family had an entire white sand beach all to ourselves. We packed lunch and sand toys and chairs. Absolutely glorious. The cottage was perfect to hang your hat between adventures to play games outdoors or inside. Bring your bikes. One of our favorite vacations - ever.

Our family enjoyed our stay on Deal Island. It is a quiet area with lots of nature and wonderful star gazing at night. Brian and Mary were very kind and helpful. The house was comfortable. The bedroom with the twin beds did not have AC, but a fan was available. We were somewhat disappointed that the private beach was not as easy to access as we had expected. The road that leads to the beach disintegrates into marsh about halfway. With good water shoes or galoshes you could do it on foot, but we didn’t have appropriate foot gear. The access to the beach with kayak is lovely, but the kayaks are 1-person and one of the kayaks had a leak so we were not able to do this together. There are many areas to observe crabs and fish in the marshes, which was fun. The house is about 25 minutes from a grocery store and we didn’t see any restaurants open in the area, so be prepared to bring food and water in with you to save driving. We were aware that the house did not have internet, but were surprised that T-mobile had no service there. For the most part, we enjoyed having a break from the technology, but having no reception whatsoever made planning difficult. Our signal picked up around St Anne. We had a great day of fishing from Deal Marina and enjoyed excursions to Chincoteague and Assateague. We all enjoyed slowing down and reading and playing games and we left for home feeling refreshed. Thanks for a nice long weekend!

Kayaking in the marsh was the highlight of this stay. It was our kids' (ages 5&2) first time in a kayak and they loved it. The hosts were nearby and prompt with answering questions. We never made it to the private beach with small children, but the kids loved the public beach on the north side of the island. It's down the last road on the left just before you cross the bridge to leave. It's a small, kid friendly beach not even half as crowded as ocean city and with plenty of parking right up to the sand. I would recommend a larger beach for teens though.

My family of four stayed in this sweet little house off season to enjoy some quite time. It was perfect, and it was certainly quite, exactly what we all needed. The house was more than comfortable especially the beds. Sometimes when you stay at a vrbo the owners loads the house with the cheapest stuff, you wind up feeling worse after your vacation. Not this place! Both my husband and I slept beautifully, so what ever mattress they had was perfect! The kitchen was fully stocked to cook anything you’d like and since I’m a cook really impressed me. The house is definitely set up for a family vacation. I also would like to say that communication with Mary was wonderful. We had a minor problem with a remote and she and her husband got back to us right away and helped make us feel so welcome. We would definitely stay again at Mary’s place on Deal island.