Your shopping ship has come in

For some people, vacations mean shop-ping. And if you are looking for a one-day discount shopping vacation, your ship has come in. Just across the river in Delaware are more than 130 outlet stores just waiting to be discovered…and it’s tax-free.
The Rehoboth outlets offer more than a mile of shopping fun. You can leave your car behind and park in the free, well-lit lots. The Cape May-Lewes Ferry offers regular service across the river for just $9.50 one way by foot. And for that price, you take in scenic views of historic lighthouses and quaint har-bors, while you make your shopping list. When you disembark, an air-conditioned shuttle will bring you to a shopper’s para-dise. (Ask about the ferry/shuttle combina-tion ticket.)
The Tanger Outlets in Rehoboth offer three separate locations for shopping along the Coastal Highway (Route 1), and the shut-tle stops at each one. Plus, Tanger offers shuttles of its own between properties.
“We like to call it our ‘mile of style’,” Tan-ger Outlet Manager, Amy Norgate said
Rehoboth Outlet Center 1, features 40 stores, including Reebok, Ann Taylor Loft, Jones New York Sport, L.L. Bean, Liz Clai-borne, Polo Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Perfumania.
Rehoboth Outlet Center 2 has 24 stores, including a Vanity Fair factory outlet, Kitchen Collection, Donna Karen Company Store, M.R. Ducks, Old Navy and Nike.
And the biggest of all, Rehoboth Outlet Center 3 offers more than 60 stores, includ-ing Sunglass Hut, the Athlete’s Foot, Osh Kosh B’Gosh, Bugle Boy, Casual Corner, Dockers, Dress Barn, Eddie Bauer, Guess?, J. Crew, the Jockey Store, Levi’s, Mikasa, Oneida, Royal Doulton, Etienne Aigner, Nine West, Black & Decker, Paper Factory and Samsonite.
Norgate recommends planning your shop-ping strategy on the ferry. “We recommend that our customers use the brochure that’s available at the ferry terminal to really strategize where they want to go. That way they can shop smart,” she said.
Smart shoppers can also visit Tanger’s website, tangeroutlet.com/rehobothbeach for coupons and sale information, or call 888-746-7333 or 302-226-9223.
If you like shopping QVC at home, you’ll love the bargains at the Rehoboth Beach QVC Outlet store, located at 19324 Light-house Plaza Blvd., Rehoboth Beach, right near the other Rehoboth Beach Outlets.
The Rehoboth QVC Outlet is designed with a warehouse theme, with a lofty ceiling, bright truck bays, faux concrete floors, and spacious racks and aisles–all making it easy (and fun) to shop for what you need and must have.
The outlet boasts better prices than you get on televised shopping products, and their ever-changing selection includes a mix of housewares, collectibles, jewelry, elec-tronics, and more. You never know what you might find.
If you get hungry along the way, a number of dining options are available, or you can grab something to go and enjoy a sunset picnic on the deck of the ferry while you rest your feet and think about your loot.
Now, that’s vacation shopping.
mcawley@cmcherald.com