South Jersey Beach Towns-Advice

Okay...so I'm a Jersey Girl. But since I grew up at the beach in Seaside (yes--the "Jersey Shore" town is my beach. I am so proud.) I never ventured to any of the beaches further south. We're heading up that way and I'd love to have some advice from the "collective" about good family beaches between LBI (though not LBI itself) and Cape May. Places to stay? Things to do?

 

So funny I am on long beach Island right now. I have never been here before. We are from Ct and always went to the Outer banks. I love this area. It is Grant beach. The kids are having a great time. The beach is beautiful.
Not sure I would like it further down where it is built up though.

 

Check out "True Blood on the Jersey Shore" with Snookie Stackhouse.

Certain to be a #1 hit on HBO.

 

Cape May, Stone Harbor, Avalon, Wildwood Crest, any beach on LBI. Highly recommend them all.

 

Avalon

 

I grew up in Philly and went down the shore every summer. I've stayed in just about every town south of AC.

Atlantic City has some sketchy parts, best to stick to the casinos and outlets. Not the best place for kids.

Ocean City has a great boardwalk and it's a dry town. Definitely has the family feel. You can get liquor at Circle Liquor on the other side of the 9th St bridge.

Sea Isle's main attraction is the bars around 40th St.

Avalon and Stone Harbor have most of the expensive houses and are definitely family towns. Not as much to do as Ocean City. If you do go, be sure to go to Springers at 95th and 3rd for a pretzel cone. Go early though, the line will wrap around the block. These two are definitely the quietest towns and the towns keep the beaches pretty clean.

Wildwood has a big boardwalk that seems to cater more toward teenagers with nose rings and purple hair. You almost need a vehicle to get from the boardwalk to the water's edge. I was never a huge fan.

Cape May has the old victorian houses so it has a bit of a different feel.

The shore has always been about who you go with, not what you do there.

 

As a fellow Jersey girl, our family grew up near Freehold, but for some reason we always vacationed in Wildwood & Cape May.

 

We've been to Cape May twice. We found the Montreal Inn to be good value beachfront. We enjoyed the quiet scenic beaches, the cute downtown, historic architecture, and catching sunset at Sunset Beach. The other time we went we stayed at Beachcomber Campground and if you don't mind being a 4 mile drive away that's a great place. We'd drive in for the day on the beach and go back to the campground for dinner - their cabins were brand new then and very cute. We haven't been to any of the other Jersey beach towns so can't compare, but I value quaint, scenic, not-too-crowded, decent prices. I don't care about nightlife so couldn't tell you about that, and the boardwalk/amusement things at Wildwood aren't what I'm looking for. It depends on what your expectations are.

Also, we thought the ferry was a fun way to get there. Made a nice break in the drive.

 

We went to Cape May once off season (I think it would be pretty busy otherwise). We enjoyed eating at the Blue Pig (I think it was called). We stayed at the Mainstay Inn B&B (which used to be a gentleman's club back in the day) which was nice.

 

Being from Monmouth Co NJ, I Love Seaside Heights and Seaside Park, Great Family area

 

Spent every summer as a kid at either Wildwood, Seaside Heights, or Long Beach Island. My husband and I got engaged at the Queen Victoria in Cape May, which is our favorite. It's a picturesque Victorian beach town with plenty of shopping, sightseeing and eating. The Blue Pig is well known and highly recommended, especially for their crab cakes. If you go, try The Mad Hatter for breakfast and Cucina Rosa for dinner. The Washington Inn is also another must. Some restaurants offer BYOB, and there's a great liquor store in town with an impressive wine selection. Lots of great sub and pizza shops along the beach road. You can even take the ferry and venture into Lewes, DE. You can rent side-by-side, double-seat bikes to travel around town, and not have to worry about overly busy beach traffic.

 

I love Stone Harbor for families.

 

Just got back from Avalon/Stone Harbor-- my in-laws live right on the divide at 80th street, so I'm there at least once every summer. This Virginia girl loves those beaches more than anything VA or NC has to offer. There's so much more to do! And, depending on traffic, about a 4 hour drive.

This last week, we spent time on the beach, of course, but lots of shopping in SH and Avalon, mini-golf, great restaurants where you can BYOB, ice cream at Springers, we spent a day walking around Cape May, an evening at the Wildwood Boardwalk-- which has *vastly improved* from a few years ago. Ocean City is nice too, but as someone else mentioned, dry.

Also, Atlantic City isn't too far away. Great upscale restaurants and shopping there, now, too, as well as comedy clubs and gambling if you can get away from the kids for a night.

And, I just came back with loads of perfect Jersey tomatoes, corn, cantaloupes and blueberries from great stand near Delaware Bridge. Delicious.

PM me if you have any specific questions.

 

I used to stay in the condos at 80th and the bay every summer!

 

Ha! We've probably said "hello" to each other on our way to the Windrift or Bud's! Sunsets on that bay are incredible.

 

But the water is too DAMN cold!

 

So true!!!! In that case, may I suggest Puerto Rico