Tips from Our First Family Boardwalk Trip at the Jersey Shore

My sister and I grew up in a small South Jersey town, just twenty minutes from Ocean City. Every summer, we would stroll the boardwalk as a family, eat at the outdoor food court, and drive far from the crowds to an open stretch of sandy beach.

As we grew up and moved farther from our parents, we would still make daytrips to Ocean City, NJ whenever we were home for the summer. Now that we both have kids, this year’s annual trip to the OC was extra special. The stars somehow aligned and everyone was able to travel home without work for the weekend, plus the weather forecast was gorgeous.

In my typical fashion, I pre-planned some key things to make the daytrip as toddler-friendly and stress-free as possible.

🌄 Early Seagull Gets the Fry

To avoid crowds and the summer heat, we aimed to get to the Jersey shore by 10:30am. There was a perfect amount of people where we felt relaxed to walk leisurely, shops weren’t packed, and food stalls didn’t have long lines. Since we got there so early, we were able to walk from end to end of the boardwalk within 3 hours and leave before it was the hottest time of the day.

🚙 Pay to Park

We opted to pay for a parking lot spot. Your frugal self may be wondering why when there could be free spots, but we didn’t want to waste time circling for parking nor potentially park far from the boardwalk. This meant less time in the car seat and more time for activities. To put it into perspective, we paid $20, which is just the cost of one nice cocktail. Worth it. 🙂

👶 Use a Wagon for Travel Ease

With both Baby Bao and my nephew, bringing our wagon was an AMAZING decision. It carried them both with space to spare, as well as all the usuals from our diaper bag so we didn’t need to lug it around. We have one with a canopy too that provided extra shade for the babies.

😋 Bring & Buy Snacks

I think this is probably a given for any outing with kids, but we had a new container of puffs and bought more snacks along the boardwalk to keep our little foodie happy. Baby Bao enjoyed boardwalk fries from our favorite joint, pizza from the famous Manco & Manco, and Dippin’ Dots! It was so nostalgic to share these with her.

🖌 Brush on the Sunscreen

I don’t know who else needs to hear this hack, but USE A MAKEUP BRUSH TO APPLY SUNSCREEN! It’s such a gamechanger. No more sticky hands and a writhing baby for this oh-so-important task. We have a dedicated makeup brush and it makes applying (and re-applying) baby sunscreen so much easier and quicker.

Hope these tips help you too as you and your littles enjoy the rest of summer, whether you’re a boardwalk regular or a shoobie. Have any other tips to share? Tell me in the comments!

xo Kris