Visiting Ocean City in New Jersey

I have been traveling to Ocean City in New Jersey for the past 35 years. When I was a little girl (age 5) my mother used to take us kids down to the Jersey Shore at least once every summer so I have very fond memories of the beach. Back then, this was my family's preferred summer vacation destination.

Ocean City is a "dry" beach meaning that there is no alcohol being sold within city limits. OC boasts about being a true family resort destination and I would have to agree with that. It is one of the MOST "family friendly" Jersey Shore locations.

We were just down to Ocean City 3 weeks ago for a mini 4 day vacation and I was pleasantly surprised at how much activity was going on down there since it was still "off season" and their official season begins on Memorial Day.

If you are looking for great fudge, I recommend the Fudge Kitchen which is located right on the boardwalk, in my opinion, its the best! (try the chocolate!) Plus, they often times will give you free fudge samples if you ask them!

The beaches are very clean and well maintained although they do charge a fee so you will need to buy beach tags during the IN-SEASON. There is plenty of parking available but most of its via parking meters or parking lots both of which cost money but its reasonable.

We stayed at the Pavilion Motor Lodge which is a 1/2 block back from the boardwalk. Nice and clean and economically priced, however I was disappointed that the heated pool had not yet been filled. The furnishings are very modest. If you are looking for luxury & a upscale hotel, this one is not for you.

One of the great things about going down at this time of the year is that the beach and boardwalk is a LOT less crowded. Almost all of the boardwalk businesses were open for business while we were there and the amusement rides were up & running on Friday night, Saturday and on Sunday. In another week or so, everything will be open 7 days a week until the end of the "in-season", but it sure is nice going this time of the year and not fighting the large crowds.

We took the PA turnpike down to Philly and then got onto the Atlantic City Expressway and then onto the Garden State Parkway and our journey only took 3.5 hours from Harrisburg. The commute was nice except for the Philly Expressway portion. Sigh.

Overall, we had a nice time in Ocean City and you can find some in-depth posts here on our travel blog about the things we saw and did while on our mini vacation by looking under our New Jersey category or by visiting our Discover New Jersey board on Pinterest.