Hallie

Having grown up outside of Philadelphia, I traveled to the shore many times growing up. Now I live in Oklahoma, but I am considering a brief trip to the shore with my daughter this summer, as we will be back home visiting family. Since I haven't been to any of these towns in nearly 20 years (ouch!) I thought I'd look for some guidance. What I'm looking for is the 'typical' shore experience, not necessarily peace & quiet. We'll probably only stay for 2 nites, and probably during the week, sometime in late July. Your thoughts are appreciated! Also, how far in advance do I need reservations for a 2 nite stay during the week?
Hallie

jersey devil

Ocean City and Wildwood are over-developed, shabby, and in a running battle against erosion. Have you considered Cape May?

xxx

I really don't know why anyone would call Ocean City shabby. My mom who is now 69 started going there as a little girl and although it is definitely more developed than it was then, I've never heard her say she thought it went downhill. Ocean City is still a great shore town for the beach and boards kind of experience. If you were there 20 years ago, Shrivers salt water taffy and Johnsons carmel corn would have been there and they still are today! You would definitely have a good time.

phillygirl

Cape May has a lot of gourmet restaurants, and it is a pretty town with lots of old Victorian buildings and a nice beach. Wildwood and Ocean City both have amusement parks and boardwalks (great for kids!), but I Cape May's beach more. Generally, I stay in Cape May and drive to the boardwalk in Wildwood for a day to ride the roller coasters and go to the water park.

cap

Cape May is upscale. Great restuarants, not much for the daughter.

Wildwood is shabby-tough. Boardwalk is bright flashing lights and lots of arcades and amusement-park rides. College students partying.

Ocean City is shabby-genteel. Boardwalk is taffy & peanut stores and mini-golf, with bike rides in the morning. Two amusement-parks, one at each end (I think).

I vote for Ocean City, with a drive to Wildwood one evening if you want. We have just shown up in OC and driven around looking for signs that says ``rooms'' for good boarding houses a few blocks from the beach. It is a risky thing to do in July, but mid-week should be ok.

Nowadays we stay in Stone Harbor, which is great for families, but no boardwalk.

Shanna

Hi Hallie. Just got back from a few days in North Wildwood. Stayed at a small motel at the start of the boardwalk. Everyone was still getting ready for opening day next week. We drove to Wildwood (proper) and found it to be somewhat trashy and probably more appealing to teens and college kids. We also went to Cape May and were struck by how nice it was. Upscale without a doubt, but still good beach and lots of interesting shops, no boardwalk. If you are going midweek, you'll probably avoid teens/collegiates anywhere. The boardwalk in North Wildwood looked fun, although most of it wasn't open. I'd consider going back there but not to Wildwood. I like a party as much as anyone, but don't like rowdiness especially all night long, and drunken teens can be trouble. Also, driving wasn't much fun - hard to see crossing streets due to parking. It would be substantially worse in summer. Can't advise on reservations, but there sure are a lot of places to stay. Have fun.

xx

I was to Wildwood and have no desire to return. It is too busy for my tastes. Would consider Ocean City but would like to hear about Point Pleasant. Any comments would be appreciated.

KevinO

Point Pleasant is a nice town further north than Wildwood, OC, etc. I live in Long Branch and have spent many a summer night walking the boards with friends. I would say the crowds are fairly balanced between teens and families - nothing too rowdy, except perhaps when the bars let out at 2am. There is a boardwalk with amusements (rides and games) and Jenkinson's Aquarium, which is not that large but has an interesting assortment of creatures including sharks, gators and seals. There are a good number of shops and restaurants in town and on the inlet. Walk down to the north end of the boardwalk to relax watching the fishing boats going from the inlet out to the ocean. The beach is very good, wider after replenishment.
There are a number of hotels, none that I know well enough to recommend, but it is a nice place to spend a day or night or two. Also, Seaside Heights is a little further south with a larger boardwalk/amusement area, although it also is more rowdy like Wildwood.

Beach

NOT WILDWOOD!! From what you said, Ocean City will fit your needs perfectly.

Sarah

ditto not wildwood scary inner city types frequent here. Wildwood Crest is suppose to be different.

Ocean City is only shabby in some rentals near the boardwalk. It does have a carnival like atmosphere near the boardwalk but this is easy to avoid. On the other hand many of the top end inns in Cape May look like little girls bedrooms on the inside. Never could understand what people saw in that. I would rather go to New England and stay in a real Inn. Another problem with Cape May is you can't get beach front rentals the way you can in Ocean City. You can always visit Cape May for the day. It is a pretty town for a stroll but you have the terrible cement wall along the water and the paved street separating any hotels/Inns from the beach. We like renting in the fifties in O.C where properties are cheap at $3600 a week. Don't think what you get for this is shabby at all. We had a two story window facing the water. In August schools of dolphins dip in and out of the water in front of your eyes. Our house was so close to the water the veiw was overwhelming. Hard to get the same impact with a cement wall and major street of traffic blocking your view. At these prices however I started going to Hawaii, but if you need NJ OC is my suggestion unless you want to explore Long Beach Island.

Did not like point pleasant very much. O.C is a nice mix for your daughter, the boardwalk is kind of cheesy but kids love it. It is not a boardwalk that attracks troubled kids this is what I have seen in North Jersey beach towns (seaside heights) and Wildwood. The North (sp) end is quiet and open and far from the noise of the boardwalk.

SL

Wildwood's boardwalk has the best amusements on the South Jersey coast. Although don't expect Disney or 6 Flags. It's "honky tonk" Springsteenesqe Jersey Shore. Yes, a little shabby, but fun and not dangerous.

My recommendation is to stay in the Wildwood Crest. (the south end of the island) Plenty of vintage 50's and 60's motels close to the free beach.

Or Cape May is just 4 miles away and is a completely different shore experience. Beautiful Victorian structures, some great restuarants, (pricey though), and a quaint downtown shopping area.

Ocean City is also quaint but BORING. (and proud of it)

I can't speak for Point Pleasant. Enjoy your visit.

Hallie

Thanks to all of you for your imput. I understand that the boardwalk is cheesy/trashy, but as a 13 year old myself once, that was the fascinating part of the shore. My daughter has been to nice beaches all over the gulf and Florida, so I really wanted her to experience the boardwalk culture. Well, my sister will now be accompanying us (she's from PA) and she insists on Wildwood. My thoughts are to try to find a place right on the beach in the north part of Wildwood Crest, so that the boardwalk is still easily accessable, but we'd be in the Crest and right on the beach. Any hotel suggestions for that area? Again, thanks for all your prior postings.
Hallie

carrie

The best places to stay are The Port Royal or Pan American. If you are staying for a week look into the Condos such as Seapointe Village or La Quinta Towers.

nj

If I could give anyone one piece of advice on visiting Wildwood, it would be:

"Watch out for the Tram Car please!"

BUFFY

We are planing our 2nd trip to wildwood crest this summer. we stayed at the lotus inn the 1st trip. very nice . this trip we are staying at the madrid. the madrid is right on the ocean. we have a 2 room efficiency for under 200.00 a night. being only 2, you could get a one room for even less. word of advice....don't wait any longer to make a reservation. rooms go pretty fast.
enjoy your trip.

Donna

We stayed in Wildwood in early August. I would not return. The boardwalk is all that everyone says--fine for a day visit, but rather depressing, really. What I was disappointed in was all the noise and the beach. The beach was filthy (have people heard of trash cans?), and the town was not much better. Lots of boom cars and partiers.The beach is far from the hotels, even on the ocean front road. Midwesterners want to get as much ocean as we can--we see it so rarely. You could barely see the ocean, and we stayed at one of the closest motels.
I took a thirteen year old and a ten year old--wish we had stayed in Cape May or Ocean City.

WWShore

We love Wildwood every summer. The beach is great during the day. The boardwalk is fun at night. It's an experience, esp. since there isn't a boardwalk like that near Oklahoma. You can always day trip to Cape May.

SG

Ocean City isn't very pretty. I don't know about the others.

peggy

hi,
we went to wildwood for the first time this past summer.it was very clean but old.all the restaurants were bad.
cape may has some good shopping but still not my cup of tea.
we returned to chincoteague after a ten year absence. we are going back next summer.even my teenage son who didn't want to go loved it. inexpensive,good food and they now have two big beautiful new hotels.
peggy

xxx

I am sure Hallie has gone as her post was dated back in May. Summer is over!! We can only wonder where she went!