Driving from NYC to Philly in August, we want to spend one night/2 days on a beautiful beach. Fire Island, Long Beach? Any suggestions? Thanks! Breathe

Fire Island and Long Beach are not between New York City and Philadelphia. Long Beach Island in New Jersey would be a good choice.

Agreed - both Fire Island and Long Beach are part of Long Island - the opposite direction from Philadelphia.

Suggest you get maps of NY, NJ and PA before you start on your trip.

Let me rephrase. I will be driving from New York and eventually to Philadelphia, but I want to stop at a beach for a couple of days. I have a map and understand that the blue on it indicates water. I'm aware I can't go directly to Philadlphia, but I am looking for suggestions as to where the nicest beach would be on the coast between the two states.

I live in NY and would definitely say that if you can make it out to the Hamptons (probably about a 2 1/2 - 3 hr drive from Manhattan), they have nicer beaches out that way - on the ocean, quiet, beautiful estates, etc. I would also choose Fire Island over Long Beach & Jones Beach over both of them...

Fire Island and the Hamptons are both beautiful. But it's hard to find a short-term rental that's right on the beach - most is either public park or long-term (full summer) rental housing. You can stay in a motel or inn off the beach and use the town beaches with a permit.

These beaches are primarily au naturel and depending on when/where you go don;t even have lifeguards. (You will however - be at least 3 hours further from Philadelphia.)

There is also great dining, antiquing, shopping and a lot of historical stuff (several of these towns were founded as whaling communitiies in the late1600/early 1700's.)

For a diffrent atmosphere with the beaches - boardwalks, activities, restaurants/bars right near/on the beach you should head for the Jersey shore.

Breathe,
If I read between the lines of your second post, it says that you are asking about which beach to go to in NJ on your way to NYC to Philly, correct?

The Jersey Shore is a big place, but can basically be divided into 4 distinct sections. The beach areas are all on a series of long thin barrier islands. In any case you'll be taking the Garden State Parkway towards the shore, then later the Atlantic City Pkwy from AC to Philly, so the 1st 3 sections are all on the "way" to Philly. If you have a choice, your best bet is to go M-F, and not S/S since the crowds (including traffic on the Garden State Parkway) get quite busy - really busy, as in bumper to bumper traffic.

Starting from North to South.

#1 is the beach that runs from Point Pleasant to Island Beach State Park. In the middle is Seaside heights. Pt Pleasant Beach and Seaside are both honkey tonk boardwalk areas. Crowds, arcades, bars, etc. Some people like it, some don't. Since your original post stated "beautiful beach" I would avoid those heavily built up areas. At the southern tip of that northern beach area is the NJ Island Beach state park for day use only. This is actually a very pretty area, and if you wander just a short way from the main parking lots/concession areas you'll actually have less crowd. Keep in mind the entire NJ shore can be quite busy on a sunny August day (esp. weekend).

In between each of the boardwalk areas are mostly residential/vacation home areas - towns like Normandy Beach, Lavalette, etc. I don't know anything about hotels in those areas, and vacation rentals are usually for a 1 week period. You would probably be in good shape if you found an ok hotel in this area and spent the day at the IB state park.

#2 is Long Beach Island. To get there you have to drive another 30min down the GSP to Manahawkin. The entire island is residential - no boardwalk areas. The northern end is considered by some to be more "exclusive" - not as wide and therefore not as many houses & people. Beaches on the entire stretch of LBI are pretty much the same and all very nice. This area gets very few day trippers and is mostly summer vacation rentals. Lots of restaurants on the Island - again I don't know about hotels since I rent a house there for a week at a time. On the northern half is the old Barnegat Light house (worth a visit), an arts center and a number of excellent restaurants. Not as much for the kids to do up there. At the southern end of LBI is Beach haven. A couple of blocks from the beach (on the bay side) at Pearl St. I think is an amusement/shopping area with kiddie rides, arcades, etc. There are mini-golf places every couple of miles up and down the main road.

#3 Further south is the Atlantic City area. I never make it that far south (coming from NY). AC is AC - beaches are nothing special, and many people call the city a dump, except for the $1B hotel/casinos. I have no desire to go to AC myself.

#4. At the southern tip of NJ is the Cape May/ Wildwood area. This area is another very popular vacation rental place with some boardwalk areas.

Long answer I know (as is my habit).

Without knowing who's going & what you like to do (kids, boardwalk, nightlife, etc), my recommendation is to find a hotel on Long Beach Island and enjoy the Jersey Shore for a few days.

Other posters may be able to give you hotel recommendations.

Forgive my not reading through all the other suggestions, but Spring Lake NJ has a lovely beach and some charming Victorian Inns. I don't think it would be much out of your way. Going to the beaches on LI would be a waste of your travel time IMO.

The nicest beach I've seen in NJ is Island Beach State Park, which is near Seaside Heights. A whole long coastline of beach is protected by a state park - on one side is beach, the other side you see sand dunes and sky - no development, high-rises, tacky boardwalks, etc. The water here can look BLUE which is not a common color for beaches in NJ.

I agree with Karens but didn't know whether there were any decent places to stay nearby. Here's a website with a map and some options.

http://www.seasideheights-nj.worldwe...p.html?map_id=