How to Get Around Delaware

A car is necessary for everything except central Wilmington. The state has no internal rail to speak of.

One main route carries almost all traffic from the north to the coast, and in summer it is the defining frustration of a Delaware trip. Travel midweek or early, and expect the last stretch to take far longer than the distance suggests.

The Cape May-Lewes ferry crosses the mouth of the bay from New Jersey in about ninety minutes and avoids a very long drive around — book a vehicle space ahead in summer.

Amtrak's Northeast Corridor stops at Wilmington, about ninety minutes from New York and twenty-five from Philadelphia, which is also the nearest major airport.

Seasonal buses link the coastal towns in summer and are a genuine alternative to hunting for beach parking.