Jersey shore suggestions for 2 and 6 year olds
 

My brother an I would like to plan a trip to the Jersey Shore for both of our families for 3-4 days during a week in July. We will be 4 adults and 2 kids ages 2 and 6. We were thinking of Point Pleasant, Ocean City or Cape May.

Any suggestions on good places for families? Which of these places would be best, or are there other places we should look into? What about hotels/motels?

Any help would be appreciated!!!!

All three are very family oriented. I would also consider Wildwood or Wildwood Crest. That area has one of the finest beaches on the NJ coast and with little kids it's great cause the waves are small. Plus there's a really great boardwalk with three areas of rides. (Much larger than Point Pleasant's and Cape May as far as I know has none.)
As to hotels-- sorry I haven't been there for a few years so I wouldn't feel qualified to make recommendations.

Now Cape May has lovely Victorian B &B but the prices may be high. Also Cape May is quite near Wildwood Crest and therefore you could go to both.

Ocean City would be my pick.Very family oriented.Nice boardwalk,too. Wildwood is nice but the beach is very deep(tough when you are tugging along alot of equipment for the kids) .The last time we were there, there was a "tough" group hanging on the boardwalk. lewd remarks, etc. Best Wishes.

I would go to either Point Pleasant or Ocean City, depending on where you come from. Being from Philadelphia, as a kid, I always went to OC, which has a great boardwalk. Now that I'm closer to NY, I go to Point Pleasant more because it is more convenient. The boardwalk there is good, but not as nice as OC. Also, there are a couple of clubs on the Point Pleasant board walk, so it is not as kid friendly at night. I know last year every Thursday night one of the clubs had fireworks on the beach if that interests you.

As far as hotels, in Ocean City, I've stayed at the Beach Club Hotel and the Days Inn (although not recently) and both were very family friendly. Both are on, or just off the boardwalk. In Point Pleasant I stayed at the Amythest Beach Motel, which wasn't bad, but it was a walk to the beach and boardwalk. Hope this helps!

Keep in mind that Ocean City is a "dry town". No alcohol served in restaurants and no liquor stores. It is a nice vacation spot though. My personal favorite is beautiful Victorian Cape May but pricing is high and availability gets slim. Children are not allowed at most inns and the hotels book up fast! Point Pleasant is fun and crowded. If you go to either Cape May or Wildwood, be sure to visit the great Cape May zoo and "Storybook Land".

Wildwood is a great place for families. I have been going there every summer for the past 15 years. My kids are now 18, 16 and 14 and still love to go. We stay in Wildwood Crest. Many of the motels have a counselor on duty Monday-Friday and this keeps the kids busy for a few hours with games and crafts. The beach is beautiful, and I think all the motels in the Crest have a pool and barbeques for your use. The boardwalk is great for the kids with three piers of rides and games. There is miniature golf and game rooms everywhere, and the restaurants are very child-friendly. As mentioned above, Cape May is right next door, so you can visit there. There was an article this past Sunday on the Jersey shore in the New York Times. That may help you a bit. Have a great time.

I would not recommend Wildwood for young children (or any children for that matter). Try OC, Pt. Pleasant or Cape May. We went there last year and I was amazed at the amount of cigarette smoking on the beach and boardwalk, poor service in many restaurants (for some reason, I dont expect to feel like I'm inconveniencing the wait staff by eating there), and a fairly rough crowd on the boardwalk. We found the people watching interesing both on the boardwalk and beach, but not necessarily pleasant. We ended up travelling to other towns to explore and enjoy. If money weren't an object, I would go to Cape May

I know I won't end the Wildwood debate, but I think this one is a matter of taste.

For me, an hour in Wildwood is about the limit. Others I know spend a week on the Boardwalk (typically honky-tonk) and love it. Personally, I think the Boardwalk would get old very quicky with a 2- and 6-year-old.

By the way, if the beach in Wildwood is "beautiful," then some others I've been to have to be classified as fantasmogorical. Wilwood's beach is wide and ordinary.

Have you looked at Stone Harbor just north of Wildwood? It is very family friendly with a cute town. There are several hotels. I just don't know if they require minimum stays during the season.

Long Beach Island! They have a great kiddie park. It is a nicely done Kid park for under 12. They have a wrist band day on Fridays. Also, the beaches are very nice. I would look into this. It is a very family oriented island. We usually rent a house, but I am sure there are motels/hotels. I would check this out!

Ocean City, NJ would be my recommendation. I have been going since I was a kid and its very family friendly, there is a super boardwalk, the beaches are clean and its a nice bunch! It is a dry town but I assume you will have a car and there are lots of restaurants not far away. I would recommend Buschs in Townsends Inlet right before you go over the bridge into Avalon...great food! Also, there is a small boardwalk/amusement park in nearby Sea Isle City great for kids. Wildwood is NOT a dry town and more party oriented, also would recommend the South end of Ocean City, its quieter and not as much traffic and the beach tends to be nicer. I will be there in August with 4 families and 7 kids, now going as an adult but have many fond memories of OC...good luck!

I've been going to OCNJ for about 25 years now, and would definitely call that family oriented. We began going there when there were lots of young kids in my family, because it's a dry town and you don't have to worry about drunks coming off the boardwalk and bothering your kids while playing or anything. Good luck, either way, you can't go wrong.

I"m another one who favors Stone Harbor or Avalon. My parents have owned and rented a house there and I find it's nice and quiet with lovely beaches and a nice "downtown" area. The boardwalks of Wildwood and Ocean City are each less than half an hour away so you can easily do them any given afternoon but still come back to a less seedy area.