Ocean City, NJ

kristen714

Has anyone been? We decided to go here for vacation this year. We have never stayed at the beach before. Any tips for Ocean City or a beach vacation with a two year old?

jf198400

I LOVE OCNJ! We go every year. Are you renting a house or staying at a hotel? It's a great family town. Check out their events calendar online, I believe Thursday nights are family night on the boardwalk. There are great little kid rides at both Wonderland (6th St) and Playland (10th St). Manco and Manco is the best pizza on the boardwalk.

For the beach, I would bring an umbrella or beach tent, blanket, and some sand toys. All the beaches have lifeguards and the water is safe. You do need beach tags $20/week, but most hotels and houses should provide them.

Just in case you didn't know, it is a dry town, so you have to bring your own alcohol. You can shop at Circle Liquor before you go over the 9th St bridge.

I know pretty much everything about OCNJ, so if you have any specific questions just ask.

PhillyRN

The Cape May Zoo is about a 20 minute drive from OCNJ. It is free and it is great!

eaglesfan700

I was just there last week. The ride tickets for the boardwalk go on sale half price every year around Easter. We went down for the day last Saturday and bought a ton. Check online at www.gillians.com, they may still be on sale

We go to OC for the boardwalk and that's about it. It isn't my favorite shore town. It is really big and very crowded. They all get crowded in the summer, but in a smaller town you can walk to more places. It is a dry town, so no bars, liquor stores or drinks with dinner

jf198400

I thought of a couple more tips for you.

If you need to rent any baby equipment- crib, stroller, high chair, etc. check out surfbuggycenters.com we have rented from them in the past.

You can rent a bike or surrey and ride on the boardwalk until noon. My kids enjoy this.

Make sure you have cash on the boardwalk, a bunch of restaurants don't take credit cards.

Don't feed the seagulls ever. They will swarm you, it's crazy. Shoo them away and make sure you keep your food covered up. They will swoop down and grab an entire donut out of a toddlers hand.

kristen714

Thanks for the tips so far. We are staying in a condo two blocks from the boardwalk. We are very excited. We haven't been on a vacation since I got pregnant with DD so almost three years.