New Jersey sits between New York and Philadelphia and works best as a two-night trip, not a state tour. Pick a Shore town, a Hudson waterfront, or a river town — then stop.
Trains reach the northern Shore and Princeton. A car reaches Cape May and the hills. This site tells you which.
Princeton is a walkable town with a university in the middle of it, not a theme park version of college. The Northeast Corridor drops you at Princeton Junction. A short shuttle train — the Dinky — finishes the job. You can do this as a long day from New York
This is the New Jersey weekend that is not the Shore. You sleep on the Hudson, walk a waterfront that faces Manhattan, and take PATH or a ferry when you want the other side of the river. No beach badge. No Parkway. The skyline is the point. This is an
Cape May sits at the bottom of New Jersey, where the Parkway runs out and the Victorian porches begin. It is a beach town you walk, not a boardwalk you ride. Philadelphia is the honest origin city. New York is possible if you treat the drive as part of the
You need a car for Cape May from North Jersey, for Long Beach Island, and for the Water Gap. You do not need one for Asbury Park, Hoboken, Jersey City, or Princeton.
NJ Transit’s Coast Line is the Shore railroad as far as Bay Head. PATH is the Hudson crossing into Manhattan — a different ticket from NJ Transit. The Parkway on a summer Sunday is the thing you plan around.
The Shore is a hundred and thirty miles of different towns. Asbury is a city with bands. Cape May is a historic grid. Atlantic City is a boardwalk with casinos. Long Beach Island is a bridge and a rental. Choose a stretch before you choose a hotel.
Sleep in the town you will still be in after dinner. A cheaper motel two exits away is a parking weekend. Inns in Cape May, boardwalk hotels in Asbury, casinos in Atlantic City, and a cabin in the Skylands are four different products.
Boardwalk food is lunch. Dinner is a table a block inland. Pork roll is a state argument. Seafood gets better in towns that still land fish.
Independent travel guide to New Jersey. Not affiliated with the State of New Jersey or VisitNJ.org. We may earn a commission if you book lodging through links on this site. That does not change the price you pay.