OT: Jersey shore destinations?

[moopdog]

What exactly is the diff between North Wildwood, Wildwood & Wildwood Crest. Also is it too "party" for a family vacation? Is Ocean City better? My DH usually go to OC, MD but are cutting costs this year. I have found some decent prices on vacation rentals on the Jersey shore through vacationrentals.com (anyone ever use this site before?) but the best prices are right on the boardwalk and we're not usually into that scene.

Any advice?

 

[PURTYPAT1]

Look into Long Beach Island. It is the Norman Rockwell of the Jersey Shore.
Very mellow, laid back and simply magnificent. We rent every year there.

No board walk, just beauty. Just my opinion

Any questions, PM me.

Patricia

 

[Ub_Iwerks]

If you don't like the Boardwalk scene, I don't think you'll like Wildwood or Wildwood Crest. I don't know about North Wildwood. The Wildwoods are a far cry from a "Norman Rockwell" setting. Cape May, NJ, is very quaint also, but more victorian than Long Beach Island. There's still lots to do in Cape May, but they don't have all the boardwalk games, rides and doo-wap type motels. Cape May has great beaches too.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

Wildwood Crest is great for families. Really nice beaches and you can go into Wildwood for the boardwalk. We've gone there every summer since I was a kid.

 

[jersygrl111]

You would be suprised Wildwood is trying to cater families...at the end of the crest is beautiful!! More family oriented, OCity is nice & quiet but if you have kids looking for boardwalk rides and games then Wildwood is your best bet, but if you just want a quiet type of beach vacation I would go to either Avalon, Stone Harbor, & Ocean city the first two cater to a more wealthier vacationer and ocean city is mixed...

 

[java]

I am so glad you posted this because I would love to rent a shore house for a week this summer- I have only heard about LBI as the place we should check out. We are low key beach people and it would be just the kids and I during the week. So any ideas on where else we should check out? Can you believe we have lived in Jersey for almost 6 years and we have not ever been to the shore!
YIKES! $35,000/week!! Um maybe not LBI.......

 

[lts862]

Oocean city is great for families!!

 

[The Disney Bunch]

We like to go to Stone Harbor & Avalon- nice family -oriented places & close to Wildwood for the rides & Cape May for the shops. LBI is nice but I found in recent years more college kids going there.

 

[fivefordisney]

We spend a week in Cape May every summer. There is no other Jersey shore town like it... It is very Victorian with lots of greenery (trees, gardens, etc). The beaches are beautiful, very clean and you can watch dolphins from the beach nearly every morning!

There are fun, but low key, things to do. You can collect Cape May diamonds at Cape May Point, go to the kids' shows at Convention Hall (I think that is what it's called), have a tea at the Emlick Physick estate, shop at the town square, rent surreys and/or bikes...the list goes on and on... There is a small boardwalk, but not much on it. It is great for a morning bike ride or jog!

One night during our week, we travel to Ocean City to play on the boardwalk. Our kids really look forward to this! Ocean City is really geared toward the family. Interestingly, it is a "dry" town. There are no bars, liquor stores, etc. So it has the boardwalk energy but it quite tame.

It is important to note that we went to WDW last August because it was cheaper than a week at the Jersey shore. (We had the free dining plan and stayed at POR.) If you are interested in staying close to the beach, Cape May and OC can be pricey. (So can Avalon and Stone Harbor...) It is fun, to us. Most of our friends from other countries and other states do not understand why people in the tri-state area love the Jersey shore so much. I think it is just part of the culture that we all grew up with in the Phila area!

Good luck with your planning. Be sure to download maps of the area to make sure you are renting in a convenient location!

I forgot to add...many of the Jersey shore beaches are shrinking. I was really surprised at some of the "skinny" beaches at OC and Avalon last year. Wildwood's beaches seem to grow as the others lose sand. So that is a plus for Wildwood. We don't do Wildwood's boardwalk because it is a bit too wild for us... Lots of teenagers, a few too many fights... public drunkeness, etc. BUT, we haven't tried WW for a few years so that may have changed--I know they have rides/attractions that teens love...

 

[Hillbeans]

DH and I rent in Ocean City, NJ.

We like a larger place to spread out since we do spend a lot of time in the house. We rented a 3bed, 2 bath place that's 2 blocks to the beach for $1700. That's not terribly unreasonable for late summer. If you're going in Mid July that's the most expensive time of the year.

I like OC for my young kids, and it's nice being in a town that's not full of partying teenagers. It's scary how the times change when you get older.

 

[Desnik]

I just had to post to agree with the above poster about Cape May! We go every year and absolutly love it!(especially because it is only 3-4 hours away!!) The beach is beautiul! There are cute shops, especially for the kids, some toy stores, and even a teady bear making place and an doll store where you can adopt a baby, like the ones they have at FAO Swartz. Over the years Cape May has become more and more kid friendly. There is even an arcade on the BW with all sorts of games. There are also horse and buggy rides, a zoo, light house, dolphine cruises. Great restaurants, alot that are kid friendly and also some really beautiful places to stay. Here is a link to a great site:
http://www.capemay.com/

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

We rent every summer in North Wildwood. My kids are teens and they love the boardwalk with it's neon, game "casinos" and amusement piers. I regard it as a giant vacuum aimed at sucking every last dime from your wallet! We do this vacation for the kids and I make up for the boardwalk expenses by insisting that we dine in for just about every meal. If you don't like the boardwalk scene, I would recommend looking into staying in one of the other shore towns.

Cape May is beautiful and very quaint with a lot of Victorian-era B&Bs. It's kind of upscale and not necessarily family-friendly. Ocean City has a boardwalk but it is a much more family-friendly boardwalk than Wildwood's. Lots of cute shops and a small amusement pier. Sea Isle is another great shore town with nice beaches and no boardwalk.

I do have to mention that Wildwood, N. Wildwood and the Crest do not have beach tags. They do not charge you to enjoy their beaches. All the other shore towns charge for them. And yes, they actually have people who's job is to patrol the beach and check people's beachtags! The cost in Sea Isle and Ocean City is $8/week for 12 & over. In Cape May, it's $13/week.

 

[mommic32]

Hello...
I see that no one has mentioned Sea Isle!
That is where we will be again this summer!
We love love love it there.
Yes,, it is very family oriented. Very quiet.
A "little promanade" with a band stand area where they have free concerts.

And it is close to Stone Harbor and Ocean City,, heck all the destinations are only 20 -30 minutes apart.

It is not cheap! It is costing me more here that Disney! But then again, I chose to stay Ocean Front!
Sea Isles beaches are also, very soft and no rocks or pepples.

I vote for Sea Isle!

 

[phisigprincess]

We ADORE Cape May. It's the perfect quaint beach town. My family went there practically every year when we weren't in Disney and can't get enough of it. We tried Stone Harbor and liked it, but our hearts are still with Cape May.

 

[rhiannonwales]

As a life long Jersey Shore resident i feel li have to chime in here. Wildwood has one of the best boardwalks but one definite drawback - Wildwood and Seaside are both MAJOR teen/collge havens- meaning you might end up renting next to the party house where the kegs are tapped every night.They are pretty indiscriminate as to who they rent to.

I disagree that Cape May isnt family friendly - i think its gotten much more friendly over the years...and definelty less drinking and stuff.

Personally we go to Point Pleasant a lot.... the boardwalk is smaller but its much more family oriented...theres an aquarium there, lots of nearby dining, a boat marina if you want to rent a charter for fishing, and the beach is beautiful.As another poster mentioned a lot of the beaches are shrinking, because of the shape of the Jersey coast, it moves a lot of sand from one area and deposits it in another.The problem lies in that most NJ beaches are owned by towns who often dont have the funds to replenish the beaches well.Point Pleasant is owned by the Jenkinson family and they replenish it themselves.Yes you do have to pay but its worth it in my opinion.

Another + is that on weekends throughout the summer a local radio station sponsors free family events on the boardwalk, like concerts, (all pg, once they even had a Disney Radio concert) contests, and weekly fireworks.

Sherrie

 

[JustInLouisville]

We rented a house in OC last year through http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals/usa/new-jersey.

 

[Karenj2]

I went to North Wildwood for the first time last year, and I'm a Philly suburbanite! My SIL & BIL have a 1 bedroom "condo" at the northern end of the boardwalk, and it was actually quiet while we were there. The other Jersey shore places that I've visited are Cape May (which I love) and Sea Isle (which I liked, depending on where we stayed).

My "problem" is that I grew up with a summer house on the Chesapeake Bay, so I got spoiled - I want to be able to walk out the door and be on the beach. If you're going to do that, it gets very expensive! Plus you can't have dogs on the beach, like I can on the Chesapeake Bay.

(Can you tell I prefer the Bay? If you want some places to visit/stay on the Eastern Shore of the Bay, I'd be happy to give you some places...)

 

[brentalex]

I grew up in South Jersey and went to OC every weekend. Although we lived close enough that we did not have to rent a place there, our family loved it. It is almost two different towns, the northern end where the boardwalk is and downtown, is busier, lots to do for everyone. We always went to the beaches that were towards the southern part of the city, often times straight over the bridge onto the 34th street beach. The beaches in OC are some of the nicest I have ever seen. The town was always very family friendly and a great place to go. I love those beaches much more than the Cape Cod beaches I now go to, not even a close comparison. If I was to go and rent there, I would try ofr something towards the south end of town and then would drive when I wanted to go to the boardwalk.

 

[Maggiemom]

We have gone to Cape May and love it. It is definitely family friendly. The beach is beautiful and there is so much to do. The restaurants are excellent. We have also been to Avalon which is a beautiful quiet relaxing town. I find it to be much more affordable than LBI and probably less crowded. There is only about 15 block area for food and shops(22nd Street to about 36th Street). It is sort of upscale place. And it's a short drive to Wildwood and Cape May. Lavalette is another Family friendly beach area that is less expensive than LBI.

 

[zizzyx]

Ocean City, NJ is my choice. I have a summer home there and drive on the weekends to go there. A true family town. My kids grew up going there and now at 17 & 21 still love going there and invite their friends.