Help! I need to get to the south Jersey Shore (Stone Harbor) from NYC on a Friday afternoon in June, returning on Sunday. I’m looking for a low-hassle, inexpensive, fast transportation option. I don’t own a car. So far this is what I’ve come up with:

A) Take NJ transit bus from Penn Station – this is a quick ride to Atlantic City…after that it runs local. It takes just over 4 hours – ugh! I have done this once before.

B) Rent a car from NYC – way too expensive & I’d have to put up with the awful tunnel traffic

C) Rent a car in northern NJ – I’d still have to get to the rental agency, and still have to go thru bad NJ traffic

D) Take the 2-2.5 hour bus ride to Atlantic City, then rent a car there. Also, I could pick up a car here at 4PM Friday and return it 4PM Sunday and avoid extra hour charges.

So far, “A” seems like the cheapest and most hassle-free option except for the fact that it’s LONG, but “D” might be good IF there were a rental agency right near the bus station in Atlantic City. Anyone know if there is one? Or have any other suggestions?

Option E. Take the New Jersey transit train to Point Pleasant or Sprng Lake, which are both 60 miles south of the city. Rent a car there, Avis/National are locations, avoid the worst part of the Parkway traffic.

Thanks for "Option E"! Is the car rental right there at the Point Pleasant or Spring Lake station?

I don't know where Stone Harbor is, but it sounds like that it's in the vicinity of Atlantic City.
Here's a quirky suggestion. Maybe, you could take an Amtrak down to Philly (it's about an hour--kind of expensive). Then at Philly's 30th St. station hop on the Atlantic City Express which I believe is about an hour and a half. From there rent a car in Atlantic City.
If the stars line up correctly you might be able to pull off this trip in about 3hrs.

I don't know where Stone Harbor is, but it sounds like that it's in the vicinity of Atlantic City.
Here's a quirky suggestion. Maybe, you could take an Amtrak down to Philly (it's about an hour--kind of expensive). Then at Philly's 30th St. station hop on the Atlantic City Express which I believe is about an hour and a half. From there rent a car in Atlantic City.
If the stars line up correctly you might be able to pull off this trip in about 3hrs.

I don't know where Stone Harbor is, but it sounds like that it's in the vicinity of Atlantic City.
Here's a quirky suggestion. Maybe, you could take an Amtrak down to Philly (it's about an hour--kind of expensive). Then at Philly's 30th St. station hop on the Atlantic City Line train which gets you there in about an hour and 40 minutes. That one way ticket is only $6.60. Here's where you'll find that line's schedule for a weekday. http://atisweb.njtransit.com/cgi-bin/railtt.pl
Check back before your trip they may change the schedule for summer.
From Atlantic City rent a car in Atlantic City.
If the stars line up correctly you might be able to pull off this trip in about 3hrs.

Read the 3rd of my multiple posts 1st 2 aren't complete.
Sorry about the multiple posts the browser was acting up.

GoNets,
That option does not make any sense, as I can get to A.C. in 2-2.5 hours on the express bus!

Stone Harbor is about another 45 minutes south of A.C. by car or 2 hours (!!) by bus. It is THIS part of my trip that's the problem...

Second to the Spring Lake, then pick up the car, option. Spring Lake is a very attractive town...drive or walk around it a bit before you head out to the Garden State Parkway. FYI, Stone Harbor is not *that* close to Atlantic City--at least it's not in the AC "vicinity". Although the train to Philly, then to AC, then the car route sounds ok. However, I think it would be more expensive than the train to Spring Lake and then car rental.

Re: Option E. The Avis in Point Pleasant is about a block walk from the train station. The location in Spring Lake would require a short taxi ride.

Think I said National, I actually meant Enterprise. They'll actually come pick you up and drive you back to the train station.

If you do get the car at Point Pleasant, the Avis is located in the Sunoco gas station. From there, it is about a 10 minute ride to the Parkway.
For full disclosue, it is still about 90 miles to Stone Harbor.

As someone else pointed out, Stone Harbor is about 80 miles from Philadelphia.

As much as I like Amtrak, going to Philly is NOT an option as it will take 3 hours 40 minutes to AC at a cost of $56 each way. THEN I still have to get to Stone Harbor - another 45 minutes by car. If I can rent a car from AC, my total transportation cost would be $202 for 4.5 hours of travel each way!!!

If I take the bus straight from NYC to Stone Harbor, it will take less time (4 hours) at a cost of what...under $50, total? Hmm, which shall I take

I'm still going to look into that Point Pleasant option. I think if I can take a friend with me & share the costs, this may be the best way to go. Otherwise...looks like the SLOWWWW bus.

Suzanne,
I'm really sorry I put any effort into helping you. The option I offered I admitted was quirky and had obvious drawbacks. Others who are familiar with the area seemed to think it had some merit.
The advantage of taking a train is that their times are a lot more reliable than bus or car travel. Being painfully familiar with weekend Jersey Shore traffic that 2-2.5 hour trip on a Friday afternoon can easily turn into 4 hours. In fact if it's going to be a sunny weekend 4 hours is much more likely. A 2 to 2.5 hour bus trip from NYC to AC occurs only when there's little to no traffic.
But why am I telling you this? You seem to have all the answers.
Anyway, in the future you may want to try being courteous even to those whose ideas you disagree with. You can practice while you're sitting in traffic.

Suzanne: I know none of the options are great...let me ask you, are you not going to have a car all weekend or will there be others joining you who will and who might be willing to pick you up in AC? I ask because I've done the same for friends. We have a house in Stone Harbor and have picked up a friend who took an express bus to AC. It's not all that far (exit 10 to exit 38) just a little over half an hour.
Oh and by the way, for those who don't know the rental situation in S. NJ, rentals are from Saturday to Saturday so that's the lousy day to travel. Friday should not be that bad!

If you're considering the train, but the expense is to much, here's an alternative:
NJT train from NY Penn station to Trenton; then take the SEPTA commuter train from Trenton to Philly 30th St Station, then the NJT AtlanticCity train from there. Last time I priced, the two trains between NYC/PHL were about $29 round trip.

BTW - always check for Enterprise Auto rental locations - they're EVERYWHERE, except their hours are limited, and most are closed Sundays.

Kay,
Maybe the traffic in South Jersey isn't that bad on a Friday, but the Parkway becomes the Parking Lot from the Union Toll Plaza to the Asbury Toll Plaza by 4pm on a Friday when the weekend is going to be nice. If that's the case expect a 4 hour trip (at least) to AC.

Sorry, GoNets, I meant no offense...I researched your option on Amtrak.com and found that it wasn't right for me, that's all. I'm pretty familiar with travel times/costs on Amtrak as I travel on the train about 10x/year. Mostly for work though - it's not cheap. The Acela costs as much as flying.

Kay - Cool, another Stone Harbor fan! I like your idea. If I can get my friend (driving up from Baltimore) to pick me up in AC, I'd be thrilled. It would save me lots of time, money and hassle.

Yeah, Jersey traffic is a nightmare on Friday evenings. I think I'll leave work around lunchtime to (hopefully) avoid most of it.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

Suzanne,
Thanks for the apology. Hope you find a halfway decent option. Guess you have to be resigned to the notion that Friday's going to be rough one, until about 9pm when you're somewhere in Stone Harbor sipping a margarita. If you get there earlier it's gravy. That's the way I keep some semblance of sanity when I'm heading down the shore on a summer weekend.
Cheers.

Suzanne: Too bad I'm not heading up until July or I'd help you out! What my friend did some years ago was take one of those AC buses that costs under $20 and gives you a meal voucher and a quarters voucher...(ends up costing like $10 for the ride even if you don't use the food voucher). Anyway, her bus seemed to fly and I was able to pick her up Friday evening avoiding traffic myself. (I used to take the one that left from Nathans in Yonkers but that was years ago and now I come up from VA. I don't know where they depart from in NYC but I"m sure they still exist).
If you like italian food, be sure to hit Nino's in Cape May Courthouse. Big portions, good food (I've had some great veal dishes and love the mussels). Also, check out some of these humongous homes they've built right at the beach. The one at 84th is like a pagoda, wild! Good luck!

Suzanne,
If you get out of the city shortly after lunchtime, you should be in good shape. Folks recommended taking the NJT shore line train and picking up a rental car in Manasquan and that's a pretty good idea b/c you'll sort of be jumping past some of those congested toll plazas.
Towards that end you may want to consider taking the same trainline but only to Matawan and grabbing a rental there. That's only about a 55 minute train ride out of Penn Station and the station is right near a Parkway entrance. This will put you past the Driscoll Bridge toll plaza but the Asbury Park toll will be further on down the road. With Manasquan you'll bypass the Asbury tolls.
The only thing you may have to watch out for w/ the Manasquan plan is that you'll have to transfer at Long Branch to go further south. Most of the times this isn't a problem. You just have to walk a hundred yards to the train which will be waiting for you. However, there are odd hours where you'll have to wait an hour for the next southbound train. I'm not sure if this occurs during a weekday, but look into it before committing to the Manasquan trek.