We are visiting our daughter in NYC and want to rent a car for a weekend trip. We've been looking at Atlantic City, Cape May or The Hamptons/Montauk. Just looking for something out of the city and not too far a drive for just a weekend. She is a new resident so has no ideas. I'm overwhelmed! Any ideas for something mid priced- under $300 nite. Thanks for your ideas!

It depends what you're looking for. The Hamptons are beautiful and attract a preppy crowd (and some wannabees). It has sandy beaches and ritzy stores. Will be packed on the wkend with young city people visiting their summer share houses. Atlantic City is quite cheezy, I wouldn't recommend it unless you are a gambler or want to see some shows. Cape May is wonderful--good for a more family/older couple getaway. Nice Victorian b&b's, shore line, seafood etc. There are countless b&b's there in your price range, check out tripadvisor.com for specifics. It is a 3 hr drive from NYC though. Spring Lake, New Jersey is another option. It's a quiet, but lovely shore town with miles of boardwalk (tasteful, no cotton candy/corndogs vendors, don't worry!). It's 1.5 hrs from NYC. Less of a town than Cape May and less activities, but closer.

Thanks for your ideas. I am open to any suggestions- I just picked those from the Fodor list. Our daughter is 22 so looking for a place she would enjoy also. Is Spring Lake good for young people too? Also-What about traffic? How long should we plan it take on Friday nite from NYC?

It will take you a lot longer than 3 hours to get to Cape May for the weekend, especially if you plan to leave on a summer Friday. It took us almost 5 hours to get to Stone Harbor last weekend, and that's a bit north of Cape May.

There are many nice shore points along the Jersey coast that are much closer to NYC. Spring Lake and Sea Girt are both really beautiful. I can't recommend hotels, but I'm sure someone else on here can.

I would also look at Long Beach Island. That will probably take about 3 hours to get to from NYC, but I think there a lot more hotel options.

Spring Lake and Sea Girt are both do-able in around 2ish hours from NYC. Spring Lake is great for young people - lots of good bars and not a stereotypical cheesy Jersey shore crowd. If you can leave early afternoon from NYC, it will be a lot better in terms of traffic.

Your daughter will like spring lake also. Many years ago, Belmar which is very close to spring lake was a big hang out for young people. You will like spring lake more though. NJ will be easier to access than NY. I agree AC will be far and rather cheesy.

Spring Lake is sounding like a good choice. Although I have to say we go to Cape May regularly from NYC (once or 2x a month in the summer) and it is a 3 hr drive unless there is some crazy traffic. 5 hrs sounds terrible!

Fri nite traffic to the Jersey shore is always bad during the summer, and Sat traffic (both ways) is far worse - 20-30miles of slow going stop and stop traffic. Sat is the normal changeover day for weekly rentals.

I recommend you do not get caught on the Garden State Parkinglot at these times.

Spring Lake or Sea grit sounds interesting. We cannot leave NYC until 6 PM. Is that still a better time than Saturday AM to go? I live in the Pacific Northwest and do not have to deal with that kind of traffic- kinda hard to imagine....

I can tell you about traffic to the Hamptons. If this is in the heart of July or August, wait til 7 pm on a Fri. night and traffic will be better. Many people either take Fri off or leave early on Fri. By 7 you can sometimes sail through. Finding a nice room for under $300 for the 3 of you could be a bigger challenge. More importantly, many place require a 3 night stay on weekends.

Check the Enclave Inn (enclaveinn.com) Their Wainscott or Bridgehampton locations are central. I think some of their rooms have 2 beds. The Wainscott location I think has some detached cottages. None of these are on the beach. For that you'd need to go further east to Amagansett or Montauk.

I think Spring Lake, NJ is very pretty and charming. Depends what you're looking to do.

Another vote for Spring Lake. When I was 25, I spent the summer there with a bunch of friends in a house one of them owned. We had a terrific time and there always other young adults around to socialize with. (Before that, I did summers in Avalon/Stone Harbor, which attracts the Philly crowd.)
It's also a much shorter trip from NYC to Spring Lake than to the Hamptons or Cape May.

Re the drive (and we moved from the Portland, OR, area to NYC, so I know what you mean about the drive), we found it easier and cheaper to go to Newark Airport and pick up the rental car there rather than fight with trying to drive out of Manhattan on week-ends.
But isn't there still train service to Spring Lake? When I spent the summer there, several housemates came down from Manhattan by train. You don't need a car once you're in Spring Lake, esp. for just a week-end. Much nicer to rent bikes or walk. I'm sure your hotel could arrange for a pick-up if SL still has a train station.

This site suggests there is still train service. It stops in Spring Lake Heights.

http://world.nycsubway.org/us/njtransit/njcoast.html

www.njtransit.com shows trains departing NYC Penn Station and arriving in Spring Lake about two hours later.

If interested in going to the Hamptons/Montauk, I would recommend taking the Hampton Jitney. It is a big comfy bus (not like a tour bus) There is extended leg room, and attendants handing out drinks, snacks and magazines. A much better way to travel to the Hamptons. www.hamptonjitney.com

A couple of less crowded options include:

Driving up the Hudson River - www.hudsonriver.com

There are beautiful small towns along the river with much to offer.
There is a wonderful sculpture park called Storm King Art Center (www.skac.org), FDR's home in Hyde Park and West Point. The drive is on a parkway and it is very pretty.

Alternatively, Shelter Island is inbewteen the north and south forks of Long Island (The Hamptons are on the south fork). On Shelter Island you are near a lot but it feels more laid back.

Finally, Litchfield County in Connecticut is very beautiful and a well kept secret.

To go to the Hamptons on a Friday you need to leave either before noon or after dinner (no ealier than 8-8:30pm). It will take hours longer in between - since many offices close early on Friday afternoon - from 1 pm to 3pm - so traffic is incredibly bad anytime from noon on.

Similar situation to resosrts in New Jersey - although not perhaps quite so bad since there is more than one road to take.