NYC for 2.5 weeks: Day trip to a beach area... which one?
 

Hi all

This forum rocks, have been here for a couple of years, and posted a bit in other forums, so I thought I'd continue honing in on what I'm gonna do for my 5th trip to NYC (this time showing my new wife around for the first time).

For starters, I would really love to get out to a beach area, most probably on Long Island or in Brooklyn, for a change of scenery (I fear Atlantic City is just too damn far away for the day). Given that I can only go for the day, and that it will be November (cold, I know), anyone got any great one-day itineraries for a good day-trip outside the city?

What type of beach area are you looking for? On Long Island (NYC or not)

Coney Island can be reached by subway and has a boardwalk, Nathan's famous and a bunch of rides and attractions (almost all closed in November). there is also a quite good aquarium.

Long Beach can also be reached by public transit and has a boardwalk - but the area is much more residential and has many fewer tacky atractions.

Jones Beach is an enormous state park which is much more natrual - most areas are just dunes and beach - no boardwalk except at one main parking field (there are 9 I believe) but don;t know how you would reach by public transit off season. (We have even seen seals on the beach there in midwinter - the place is empty.)

Or, you could trek out to the Hamptons by train and then organize a cab to one of the beaches - completely natural. Technically they are almost all private town beaches - but the cops don;t patrol or ask for passes except in the summer.

You can take a train to Spring Lake, NJ. There is a pretty boardwalk to walk, elegant houses to see and a nice downtown to stroll through. Don't know exactly what your interests are, but if you just want to get out to be at a beach and don't want to rent a car, Spring Lake would be a good option.

I suggest you do a search of this forum for more info. Beach day trips have been discussed quite a bit.

But November? I'm not sure it's worth it.

You can take the train to Coney Island, and visit the Aquarium while you are there. I think most of it is open year round.

It would be difficult to get to Jones Beach, you would have to get a cab at the Freeport train station, since the buses don't run other than summer months.

Hope this helps.