Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The
Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Bureau
( 609-348-7100;
www.atlanticcitynj.com
; 2314 Pacific Ave; 9am-5pm)
has a location in the middle of the At-
lantic City Expwy and another right on the boardwalk at Mississippi Ave.
Atlantic City
Getting There & Away
Air Tran and Spirit Airlines fly into the small
Atlantic City International Airport
(ACY;
609-645-7895;
www.acairport.com
)
, a 20-minute drive from the center of Atlantic City
and a great option for reaching any part of South Jersey or Philadelphia.
There are many bus options to AC, including NJ Transit (one way $36, 2½ hours) and
Greyhound (one way $25, 2½ hours), both leaving from New York's Port Authority
(
Click here
)
. A casino will often refund much of the fare (in chips, coins or coupons) if
you get a bus directly to its door. Take note that when leaving AC, buses first stop at
various casinos and only stop at the bus station when not full.
from Philadelphia (one way $10, 1½ hours).
Ocean City & The Wildwoods
South of Atlantic City,
Ocean City
is an old-fashioned family-holiday spot, home to
dune-swept beaches and a number of child-centric arcades, a small waterpark, mini-golf
courses and themed playlands along its lively boardwalk. Motels are plentiful, relatively
cheap and old-fashioned, as are the myriad crab shacks and seafood joints.
Further south on the way to Cape May, the three towns of
North Wildwood
,
Wild-
wood
and
Wildwood Crest
are an archaeological find - whitewashed motels with flash-
ing neon signs, turquoise curtains and pink doors, especially in Wildwood Crest, a kitsch
slice of 1950s Americana. Check out eye-catching motel signs like the
Lollipop
at 23rd
and Atlantic Aves. Wildwood, a party town popular with teens, twenty-somethings and
the young people who staff the restaurants and shops, is the main social focus. The width
of the beach, more than 1000ft in parts, makes it the widest in NJ and means there's al-
ways space. Several massive piers are host to
water parks
and
amusement parks
- eas-
ily the rival of any Six Flags Great Adventure - with roller coasters and rides best suited
to aspiring astronauts anchoring the 2-mile-long Grand Daddy of Jersey Shore board-
walks. Glow-in-the-dark 3D mini-golf is a good example of the Wildwood boardwalk
ethos - take it to the limit, then one step further. Maybe the best ride of all, and one that
doesn't induce nausea, is the
tram
(one-way $2.50; 9am-1am)
running the length of the
boardwalk from Wildwood Crest to North Wildwood. There's always a line for a table at
