Practical Information for visiting Delaware

Coverage is good statewide — the state is small, flat and densely enough populated that there are few gaps.

Signal can weaken on the bay marshes and in the more remote farmland of the south.

Free Wi-Fi is standard in cafés, libraries and hotels.

Delaware is a safe state for visitors. Wilmington has neighbourhoods with higher crime, and they are not areas a visitor would have reason to enter.

Ordinary precautions apply: lock the car and leave nothing visible at a beach or trailhead car park.

Rip currents are the genuine hazard on the Atlantic beaches, particularly on the swell ahead of a distant hurricane. Swim at guarded beaches during guarded hours.

Summer traffic on the coast road is a real safety issue as well as an inconvenience, with heavy congestion and frequent collisions at the junctions.

No vaccinations are needed and tap water is safe.

Ticks are widespread from spring to late autumn and Lyme disease is present throughout the state. Check after any time in grass, dunes or woodland.

Mosquitoes and greenhead flies on the marshes are severe in July and August, and the state runs an active mosquito control programme for good reason.

Sunburn and rip currents account for most summer incidents. Healthcare is good, with major hospitals in the north; insurance covering medical costs is essential for non-US visitors.

There is no sales tax in Delaware. The price on the label is the price you pay, which is why the shopping centres near the state line are full of out-of-state cars.

Tipping is expected: 18-20% in restaurants and bars.

Beach towns charge for parking in season, usually by meter or permit, and enforcement is brisk. Several towns restrict alcohol on the beach and boardwalk entirely.

Right turns on red are permitted after stopping unless signed. The drinking age is 21 and identification is checked routinely.

911 reaches police, fire and ambulance statewide.

The major hospitals are in the north around Wilmington, with regional hospitals in the centre and near the coast. The state is small, so transport times are short by American standards.

211 is the statewide information and assistance line.

Coastal evacuation routes are signposted throughout the southern counties, and the state issues its own orders when a hurricane threatens. The Coast Guard covers the bay and the offshore waters.