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Driving is still a little more expensive, but not by much. The 40% discount for NJT is only for weekdays in the summer, AND you can only use the discount code once per month. I know starting in July, with the 15% fare increase, the reg round trip price to the shore towns from Newark Penn will be around $28.
Driving is still a little more expensive, but not by much. The 40% discount for NJT is only for weekdays in the summer, AND you can only use the discount code once per month. I know starting in July, with the 15% fare increase, the reg round trip price to the shore towns from Newark Penn will be around $28.
It’s a lot more expensive because of gas, tolls, and especially paying to park.
It’s a lot more expensive because of gas, tolls, and especially paying to park.
In addition to expenses, you also have heat, crawling traffic, annoyed, complaining, car sick kids and stressed out adults. And once you finally get to the beach, there is no shade anywhere, it is crowded, the water might be either too cold or Life Guards just decide to ban swimming because they don't feel like working. Our kids are both excellent swimmers that have been on swim teams... Going to the beach and not being able to swim is an alien concept for them. Given all of these "pleasures" of NJ beaches, we went once in the last ten years and will probably not go again during the summer. And when we compared notes with friends, they told us that we have to leave Bergen county by 7:00 am to avoid the worst of traffic. That is earlier than we leave to work, totally insane
Instead, we scraped up some money and bought a run down bungalow in the Hudson Valley Region of NYS. The community has access to the beautiful, spring fed lake with a wooded private beach. There is no Life Guard after Covid, it is much less crowded than NJ beaches and the traffic getting there is not bad as we generally drive against traffic. When we go there, we usually leave around 12:00 pm on Saturday.
The weekend we spend there are usually relaxing and stress free, unlike going to NJ beaches.
In addition to expenses, you also have heat, crawling traffic, annoyed, complaining, car sick kids and stressed out adults. And once you finally get to the beach, there is no shade anywhere, it is crowded, the water might be either too cold or Life Guards just decide to ban swimming because they don't feel like working. Our kids are both excellent swimmers that have been on swim teams... Going to the beach and not being able to swim is an alien concept for them. Given all of these "pleasures" of NJ beaches, we went once in the last ten years and will probably not go again during the summer. And when we compared notes with friends, they told us that we have to leave Bergen county by 7:00 am to avoid the worst of traffic. That is earlier than we leave to work, totally insane
Instead, we scraped up some money and bought a run down bungalow in the Hudson Valley Region of NYS. The community has access to the beautiful, spring fed lake with a wooded private beach. There is no Life Guard after Covid, it is much less crowded than NJ beaches and the traffic getting there is not bad as we generally drive against traffic. When we go there, we usually leave around 12:00 pm on Saturday.
The weekend we spend there are usually relaxing and stress free, unlike going to NJ beaches.
September is the best month to go. Still warm days and the ocean is usually nice and warm, too. In Ocean City anyway, everything on the boards is still open.
I have to defend the lifeguards, as they don't ban swimming because they don't "feel like working". It is the authorities that occasionally ban swimming or ban going in past your knees, if there's a strong rip current. You can be an excellent swimmer and still drown. Several years ago, a Delaware lifeguard drowned in Ocean City when he went surfing when there were strong rip currents.
Myself, I'm a decent swimmer and had a near drowning about 15 years ago. I would never swim on an unguarded beach now.
It's not even the cost. It's the traffic. Friday of Memorial Day weekend, a couple of friends and I thought about going to see an old band we like in Point. Then we thought about it, said are we nuts? laughed, and hung out in her backyard for the evening listening to music.
She lives in Brick, half an hour down the Parkway from me on a normal day. It took 50 minutes, and that was late afternoon. I got off at 89, just after the sign saying the traffic was backed up for the next ten miles.
When my Mom was still living and up in NW Bergen County where I grew up and I had moved to Monmouth County, I told her not to expect to see me on summer weekends.
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