We%26#39;re planning to visit New York City in the summer, 2 adults and a 10yo boy.
Where are the best beaches we could get to on a day out by public transport, not too long a journey say up to 1-1.5 hours ?
I%26#39;ve heard mention of
Staten Island
Long Island
Long Beach (is that the same as Long Island ?)
Coney Island
Atlantic City
Hamptons
Sandy Hook
But while I know where some of these are I%26#39;m not sure what their beaches are like nor how easy they are to get to by public transport. Some sand and some water to swim in would be good !
NYC beaches within striking distanceI would try COney Island and this is why:
The beach is very clean and large, and the boardwalk has recently been renovated. About an hour trip via subway takes you right there. There are restroom facilities, pretty clean, and you can have a hot dog and some other food at Nathans, a NY institution.I think the dogs are pretty good, some think they are bad, but maybe it is because they evoke fond childhood memories for me. You could then go on the cyclone roller coaster and some of the other rides, visit the only aquarium in NYC, which is pretty good, and then walk the boardwalk into Brighton Beach for some Russian flavor. To me, it would be a unique NY experience. The Mets, one of our major league baseball teams, has a minor league team that plays in a stadium there, and it might be fun to see a game, also. Long Beach is in Long Island, accessible via the Long Island Railroad, very pretty area.
Hamptons %26amp; Atlantic CIty are far, Staten Island is a hassle. There are also beaches in the Bronx, and Riis Park %26amp; Rockaway Parks in Queens.
NYC beaches within striking distanceWe spent a couple of nights of our honeymoon on Long Island...Southampton.
The beaches were amazing and sea sparkling.
It felt we were a thousand miles from where we got married in Central Park....it was in fact just a couple of hours by train.
Best bet would be Long Beach, Long Island. It%26#39;s accessible by the commuter railroad, the Long Island Rail Road, which leaves from Penn Station at 33rd St. It%26#39;s about an hour%26#39;s ride...on the south shore of Nassau County. (Check a map and train timetable on MTA Long Island Rail Road.) The train station is a short walk straight to a beautiful beach and boardwalk and the Atlantic Ocean.(A one-day family pass costs about $10 US.) Attractive apartment houses and townhouses overlook the boardwalk, and the beach is well tended to. Walking from the station, you pass a street with many restaurants, fast food places and a great Korean deli where you can buy lunch and take it to the beach. Long Beach is less crowded than the more famous sister beach to the east, Jones Beach, and that%26#39;s it%26#39;s charm.
Coney Island is a long subway ride from midtown Manhatan and is a big disappointment--it%26#39;s a shadow of itself from decades ago--and is now basically a playground for the poor. Other places you mention are also too far away from midtown; the fashionable and chi-chi Hamptons are pretty, but without a car, you%26#39;re not likely to see or do much, and besides, it%26#39;s very hard for non-locals to get onto any decent beach.
Long Beach is the place! (On the north shore of Long Island, there%26#39;s a pretty park--Theodore Roosevelt Park--in Oyster Bay, which is reachable by Long Island Rail Road.. This is on the periphery of a very exclusive area--Oyster Bay is the site of Sagamore Hill, the home of US President Theodore Roosevelt--actually worth a trip itself!--but the beach is only so so, if you%26#39;re really interested in swimming. Remember, in Long Beach, you%26#39;re swimming in the Atlantic Ocean!)
First, Long Island and Long Beach are not the same. Long Beach is a city in Long Island, which is a geographic entity consisting of Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Long Beach, the Hamptons and Jones Beach are all on Long Island.
Long Beach is easily accessible by the Long Island Railroad from Penn Station. It%26#39;s a residential area with a pretty beach and places to eat. You can walk to the beach from the train.
Coney Island is a one-hour subway ride from midtown and it has a wonderful beach, rides (roller coaster, ferris wheel, bumper cars), an Aquarium, a minor league ballpark, the world famous Nathan%26#39;s for hot dogs, the boardwalk. After a number of years of deterioration, it is beginning to come back and would be lots of fun for a 10-year-old boy.
The Hamptons are simply too far away for a day trip. It will take about 2-1/2 hours to get there from midtown, and many of the beaches are private.
Atlantic City is also far (about a 2-hour bus ride) but since buses leave Manhattan for the various hotels, this might be an option. Get a room for the day at a casino/hotel on the beach. Spend the day on the beach, have dinner at the hotel, maybe do a little gambling and take the bus back at night.
Sandy Hook is a state park. Never been there and have no idea what%26#39;s there. Staten Island is too inaccessible. There are also beaches in the Bronx, in Rockaway, Queens and along the New Jersey shore.
All in all, with a 10-year-old, I%26#39;d say Coney Island.
One option yet to be mentioned is Rye Beach in Rye, New York.
There are several advantages to this park.
It%26#39;s roughly within your desired travel time (a bit more than 90 minutes from Grand Central on the Metro North).
Second, like Coney Island, it has an amusement park--the differance being Rye Playland is an award winner for its facilities.
Third, there is a pool as well as the beach available to visitors (Jones Beach has this option but does not have an amusement park, per se.) There is not a pool at Long Beach or Coney island
Fourth, on Wednesdays and Fridays there are fireworks displays at Rye Beach a bonus unavailable at Jones Beach, Long Beach, and Coney Island except on the fourth of July.
Fifth, in addition to the beach, I believe Rye Beach also has a park of sorts where one can simply lie in the shade. There are also exhibits and a museum on the grounds.
The main disadvantage is that Rye is on the Long Island Sound so there is no discernible surf. The waters are pretty calm and if you enjoy the rumble of crashing waves you won%26#39;t get that.
There are trains that go to Long Beach and Freeport (the station closest to Jones Beach but from there you hop a bus for about a 15-minute commute.
The station at Long Beach is similarly a 10 or 15-minute walk from the beach.
(I%26#39;m not really thrilled with the rest room facilities for visitors to Long Beach. If I were going that route I would grab a cab and head for Point Lookout which is two or three miles East of Long Beach.)
If I were a tourist, I%26#39;d probably opt for Rye because of the pool, park, amusement park, and fireworks.
A few links relative to Rye:
鈥yc.ny.us/mnr/鈥utbound_ryeplayland.htm
http://www.ryeplayland.org/
(Here%26#39;s an account of the park from a visitor.)
My wife and I have lived in Westchester County, NY for over 20 years and have been toRye Park Playland numerous times with our children and grandchildren. Playland is located on Playland Parkway in Rye, New York and is easily accessible from I-95. Admission is free, but we do pay for parking and ride tickets.
The amusement park itself is beautiful, still standing in most of its original Art Deco form for over 70 years. Playland is not only an amusement park, it also includes a beach and pool, a small lake for boating and picnicking, an ice skating rink and a boardwalk that encompasses most of the attractions. During the summer they have fireworks, clowns, strolling bands, live shows and concerts.
While my wife and I are really not ride seekers, our children have enjoyed the many rides over the years. The wooden and legendary Dragon Coaster was always one of their favorite roller coasters. The Spider, the Whip and the Bumper Cars were also big favorites. Our grandchildren (and us) now enjoy riding the train in the Kiddyland part of the park.
When our family is off enjoying themselves on the rides, my wife and I usually take a nice quiet walk on the boardwalk and gaze out over the beach and Long Island Sound. We also like to play on the Miniature Golf course or rent a paddleboat on the lake.
We have noticed the prices for the games have gone up in recent times, (3 chances for $2) so we take the kids to the arcade instead. There they can still play some games with quarters.
In recent years, we would bring a cooler with snacks and drinks because the food was really inadequate there. Thankfully, they have introduced Nathan锟斤拷锟絪, Burger King, Carvel and Ranch #1 as some new food venders.
We enjoy going to Playland to spend the day with our family or by ourselves. It is a small amusement park but includes everything that we enjoy all in one place.
Rye is good for the amusement park, not a great beach. For easy access, Coney Island. For great beach, Jones Beach on the south shore of Nassau County (about one hour from Midtown). Jones Beach is tougher to get to. Long Island Rail Road and a bus ride. However, during the summer, the Long Island Rail Road has package rates for the train and bus. If you can rent a car, go to Jones or Robert Moses.
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