How To: Jersey Shore Guide: A Local’s Advice to Visiting the Point Pleasant Beach Boardwalk and Beach Area

Congratulations! You have decided to visit the Jersey Shore, particularly Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey with your friends or family in order to get away and enjoy all of the wonderful benefits of the quaint, shore town, including the beach, boardwalk and nightclub establishments. You’ve checked your calendar, and made a list of the particular places you want to visit and what rides you want to go on. However, don’t make your hotel reservations or gas up your car before you reading the following advice about visiting the Point Pleasant Beach area, including ways to save your money, your time, and your sanity.

1. Instead of visiting the Point Pleasant Beach boardwalk and beach areas in the summer, consider coming down for a week or a weekend in September. You will reap the benefits of off-season hotel and parking rates, as well as enjoy the boards and the beach without having to share it with hoards of other visitors or pay for beach access. Be aware while swimming, though, as lifeguards are not on duty in September.
2. Bring plenty of money for parking from April through October, and even on warm days from November through March. Most municipal lots are pay-by-the-hour lots using pay machines and parking meters (averaging $2 per hour), and private lots can charge up to $20 a day during the height of the summer for prime parking spots. To avoid crowded lots and a long walk, arrive early in the day and park on streets which run parallel to Arnold Avenue and Ocean Avenue….parking on these streets is free. However, be sure to park legally, because the traffic enforcement is very stringent about enforcing parking laws. Another idea is to consider using New Jersey Transit trains, which stop right in Point Pleasant Beach (less than a mile from the beach) along the North Jersey Coast Line.
3. If you schedule your visit during September, don’t miss the Annual Seafood Festival, which is organized by the Point Pleasant Beach Chamber of Commerce and usually scheduled for the third Saturday in September (this year it is scheduled for September 20). The entire Point Pleasant Beach downtown area is converted into a street-fair with hundreds of different types of seafood dishes available from local merchants, along with craft and other vendors. The prices are unbelievably affordable, and the food is spectacular. For more information, visit www.pointchamber.com.
4. When visiting the beach, keep in mind that from Memorial Day through Labor Day, the beaches charge a day fee. In most cases, season badges are available. Swim only when lifeguards are on duty, which is from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm, weather permitting. Glass, pets, smoking and alcoholic beverages are not permitted on the beaches at any time. Many beaches offer umbrella and chair rentals.
5. Instead of wasting all of your money on ride tickets, many of which end up going through the wash because they were unused and shoved into your kids’ pockets, save money during the summer season by taking the kids to the amusement rides on wristband days. Visit the rides on Tuesdays from Noon to 6 pm or Fridays from 5 to 11 pm and the kids can ride all of the rides they want for $15.
6. When going to one of the boardwalk-area nightclubs, make sure you not only bring enough money for cover charges and for drinks, but also make sure you bring your patience! Arrive early if you are a person who does not like to stand on line, because it is not uncommon to wait on line for two hours to enter clubs such as Jenkinson’s or Martell’s Tiki Bar during the height of the summer.
7. Always bring an extra sweatshirt or pair of sweatpants, even if the weatherman says it is going to be 90 degrees. It is not uncommon for inland areas even only one mile inland to be 15 degrees cooler than it is at the beach and boardwalk area. Rather than spending $50 on a tourist sweatshirt that you probably won’t wear again, just bring one along with you from home…you can always leave it in the car. Likewise, check the weather before you leave and have some alternative plans ready in the event of rain, such as deep sea fishing or visiting the arcades.
8. Remember, everything costs money at the Jersey Shore, so make sure you bring plenty of it! If you have a change cup at home, bring the change along with you for arcade games and parking meters.

Hopefully these tips will not only help you save money, but also ease the frustrations and stress of travelling. I hope your trip to the Point Pleasant Beach Boardwalk and Beach area will be a memorable and fun one!