mattydale

I am driving from NYC to Atlantic City for the day on Saturday (I am curious to see the Borgata). I was wondering if it would be possible to get a little beach time in on the way down. Is this feasible? Can anyone recommend a nice beach that wouldn't be too difficult to access? Is it necessary to have resident parking stickers for these beaches?

I would just go to the beach down in AC, but I understand it's pretty disgusting, so I'm looking for an alternative. Thanks for any advice.

tpatricco

Unfortunately, the easiest driving route to AC is via the Garden State Parkway, which is considerably inland from most NJ Beach areas a 20-30 minute drive east at best. Not convenient at all for a "quick stop" on the way south.

Perhaps someone who frequents beaches in southern part of NJ can recommend some cleaner, nicer beaches near to AC?

cguest88

Depends where you are coming in from.

First, unless something has changed since July 4th, there is no resident parking stickers necessary to park. There might be metered parking in the heavier commerical areas.

If you are coming in from the north I would stop in Brigantine. It is the town north of AC and about as close as you can get to AC w/o being in AC.

If you are coming from the south I would try Ocean City which is the island south of Margate and Ventor. It is nice, clean and doesn't have any bars so it is more of a family destination.

I would remind you that most NJ beaches have beach inspectors that check to see if you have a beach tag which are $3/day. But you can avoid them by watching out for a group of absent minded teenagers in the same t-shirt trying to finish the end of the year tan.

But have fun

mattydale

Thanks for these replies. I am coming from the north (NYC), and I saw on a map that the Garden State was the way to go... but I didn't realize that it was so far away from the shore. But maybe if we're going to check out a beach, Brigantine is the one to go to?

atlcity

Atlantic City beaches wouldn't be my first choice but they certainly aren't disgusting.Brigantine beach is 5 minutes from the Borgata.

tpatricco

mattydale, I've heard good things about Brigantine although have never been there (We tend toward the more northern NJ beaches since it's a shorter drive from home in Union). $3 for beach tags seems cheap compared to what I'm used to further north as well. I think they're $7 in Spring Lake. Borgata is really cool. We were there in April and really had a great time! Enjoy! Trish

cheapbutnice

I would suggest that you consider the AC boardwalk & beach before the Borgata. For the price of parking at a Boardwalk casino you could hit the AC beach which is really not disgusting.If you don't like that idea consider the southern end of Ocean City or Brigantine for half the day and then hit the Borgata. The weather sounds perfect so expect crowds!

mattydale

These are great replies, thank you. If the AC beach is really not that bad, it may be just what the doctor ordered. Of course this is just a daytrip, and we don't have a hotel to shower and change in (unless we manage to roll nothing but 7s at the craps table for a few hours), but I imagine that if our money is green the dealers won't mind that we smell like the ocean. The traffic is my main concern, so if we can just park once and then get in both our beach time and our Borgata time, that would be ideal. Thanks again for the advice!

SusieQQ

I would suggest stoppping in Spring Lake. It isn't far and it is a beautiful town. You pay the day fee and can have a few hours on the beach.

tpatricco

mattydale, since Borgata is near the Marina, not on the Boardwalk, IMO it'd be kinda hard to walk between the two. I think there's an inexpensive shuttle that would drive you over to the beach if you park at Borgata. I seem to recall it's like $2 a trip. Not bad at all! My husband and I are both designers and we were really impressed by the attention to detail in the Borgata Hotel & Casino. We're not big gamblers, but enjoyed a very nice overnight there, treated ourselves to some spa treatments & dinner at Mixx and to a concert at Trump Marina (didn't want to stay there!). Just leave early to beat the Parkway traffic & you'll have a fun day!

Ryan

Spring Lake is a good idea. It's only 15 minutes from exit 98 on the Parkway.

You won't need a parking sticker but you will need to buy a beach badge.

mattydale

Ohh... I see, I didn't realize that the Borgata wasn't on the beach. In that case the shuttle sounds like the perfect solution. Park once at the Borgata, and take the shuttle when we're ready to get in a little beach time. Thanks for the traffic tip re: leaving early--I am still hopeful that the traffic will be light since we're coming back in the middle of the long weekend. But whatever it is, it is. Maybe if we luck out and the traffic is light we can actually go to some of the other towns that have been mentioned. I guess you can't do everything in one day, though.