planning my first trip to Ocean City NJ and wondering...

[Anonymous]

All the Ocean City NJ boosters on this site have convinced me to give it a try for a late May vacation with DH & my 2 year old. I've read a lot of the prior threads referencing NJ beaches, but still have a couple of questions and I hope some of you OCNJ veterans can help.

First-- to find a renovated/updated rental for a long weekend trip, do you typically find the most options on vrbo, through a realtor, airbnb or some other source? I've been scouring vrbo and have found a couple of rentals but it's overwhelming and the vast majority of the properties are outdated. I realize it's the last minute, so it's possible that the nicer vrbo properties are already booked, but I'm starting to wonder if there's a more efficient way to do this.

Second-- what are the pros/cons of the different parts of the town? There are a few 'south end' properties that look nice but I read a comment that the south end is not very walkable to much other than a few restaurants. Is it better to be somewhere in the middle if we want to park our car at the rental and walk to the beach and activities most of the time we're there?

Finally--is traffic insane driving back to the DC area from OCNJ on Sundays, or driving to the area on Fridays?

Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

Just a suggestion, the Cape May ferry is pretty nice to use, and will save on tolls.

[Anonymous]

We are giving it a try this summer too. I spent a lot of time on VRBO looking for units to rent, but eventually I just booked Concord Suites in Avalon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just a suggestion, the Cape May ferry is pretty nice to use, and will save on tolls.

+1 Lewis/Cape May ferry's a lot of fun and relaxing. Highly recommend.

[Anonymous]

We always book through one of the local real estate agencies. Try Berger or Fox--they're 2 of the main ones. (we usually use Berger).
There's pros and cons to different parts of the island. The beaches on the south end are quieter but you're farther from the boardwalk. If you stay closer to the boardwalk then the beaches will be busier. We usually stay between 20th and 30th which is a very short bike ride or drive to the board walk but the beaches are nice and the island begins to narrow so the number of houses each beach serves is much less.
For us, being within walking distance to the boardwalk is not a concern. We usually only go one night and we drive and park. The rest of the week we spend at the house, walking to and from the beach and walking to things like ice cream in the evenings. There are enough ice cream parlors, etc. sprinkled throughout the island that you'll always be walking distance to one.

[Anonymous]

Also, rental are usually Sat to Sat with a 2pm check-in and a 10am check-out.
If you're arriving on Fri you'll be set regarding traffic. It's the noon to 2pm Sat arrival time that can be nuts---not so much on the island but on some of the back-roads leading to the island. They can get pretty slow between the hours of 12 and 3pm.

[Anonymous]

Be prepared for it not to be warm at the end of May. We went at the end of June, and i was still wearing a sweatshirt on the beach.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll definitely look into the ferry, and I'm relieved that Friday/Sundays aren't the peak driving times. It also sounds like it's hard to go wrong with location, which will help quite a bit.