My husband and older daughter were planning to drive to atlantic city, stay overnight, and take a bus to new york city for 4-5 days and return to the boardwalk for 2-3 days. We had planned to stay at the holiday inn express when we drove in, then take the bus to new york city, and return to stay at the Flagship All Suite Resort or the Holiday Inn boardwalk for 2-3 days. My questions are, is the holiday inn express in a safe area and is the bus station in a safe area. Where can I safely leave my car for our 4-5 days in nyc? Cost? What about the Flagship? I think it is 8 blocks from the nearest casino, but provides a shuttle to the Taj Mahal. Would the holiday inn be better? Would like a nice outdoor pool. I have seen posts saying areas are bad off the boardwalk. Is my plan okay or not? Appreciate any help you can give to help us plan a safe trip.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Judy, I wouldn't recommend finding a hotel off the boardwalk, espeically if you are 8 blocks away from the nearest casino. The "off boardboard" area is really not that safe. As for the bus station, I really have no clue because we usually drive to AC from nyc...which is about 2 1/2-3 hrs. How about driving to NYC instead of taking the bus?

Hi Judy, its been a few years(1996) we stayed at the Holiday Inn boardwalk. It is your basic holiday inn. The pool was indoor(we stayed in early may) at the resort next door. It wasn't anything special, but was nice for a quick dip. We took a cab to the Taj one evening, that was convenient. Just left the car in the parking building at the holiday inn. We had driven there from Wilmington Del. We didn't walk any of the streets only the boardwalk. Much safer. one to two blocks back from the boardwalk-no don't walk it. You will see why when you get there-seedy, rundown neighborhoods. We enjoyed walking the boardwalk. The beach is right in front of the hotel.There is loads to do on the boardwalk to keep the you busy for a day or two.As far as the holiday inn boardwalk, it was convenient.They have a small restaurant-nothing spectular for sure.Even breakfast was just ok.When I lived in southern NJ, I never drove to NYC-took train or bus trip. I'm not mush a big city person..hopefully someone will have a good tip for you..D

Unless you are into the casinos, Atlantic City is NOT the ideal vacation spot on the Jersey Shore. There are some fun seaside communities on the shore, many have boardwalks with lots of rides and amusements, others are upscale and quiet, others are pretty seedy. If you are looking for a lively family spot, try Point Pleasant Beach, Seaside Park, Ocaen City, or Wildwood. You can drive from any one of these towns to Atlantic City for a night at a casino if you so desire.

Just say it 'dougd', Atlantic City is a dump, it's depressing, it smells, and I don't know why anyone would take a family there...unless it's a family of cocckroaches.

I could have written Harriet's response.

If you like to gamble, AC's probably worth a night. If you REALLY REALLY REALLY like to gamble, maybe you could stick it for 2 nights.

My brother used to work in a resort there, and would take the bus home for Christmas. He's 25, 6'3, 225 pounds, and he always had to leave to go back to AC very early in the morning, because he refused to get into the bus station after dark. He said it was scary enough during the day.