Rainy Days at the New Jersey Shore

If you’re lucky, you’ll have warm sunshine and clear skies every day you spend at the Jersey shore. But there’s always a chance you might encounter a summer storm. So what do you do with the family if you can’t hit the beach?

  1. See a movie. Aside from the IMAX at the Tropicana in Atlantic City, you can catch a movie at the Ventnor Twin, just ten minutes outside Atlantic City. Other theaters in the area are the Tilton Nine in Northfield, Hoyt’s Cinema at the Shore Mall in Cardiff, and the Point Four Theater in Somers Point.
  2. Go shopping! Run between the raindrops as you pass from store to store at Cape May’s Washington Street Mall. All the shops here are privately or family owned, and have been in business for generations.
  3. Spend an afternoon at the nearest library — you’ve got tons of books, magazines, and newspapers, plus free internet access.
  4. Have a hotel-room beach party! Everyone can frolic in their swimsuits and enjoy a picnic lunch or dinner on the floor. Take pictures of the kids in their best bed-surfing poses, and if you can’t live without a swim, there’s always the bathtub.
  5. Give everyone a small notebook to record their own travel journal. It doesn’t hurt to update daily, so you don’t forget the best parts of your trip… but a rainy afternoon may be the perfect time to recall the best parts of the past few days.
  6. You don’t need good weather for fishing! If it’s not a thunderstorm, it won’t hurt to get a little wet while you try to reel in the big one. Lots of charter boats offer four and eight hour trips — so you can spend a whole day fishing if you want, or compromise with a four hour tour.
  7. Hit the casinos! You may not even have to go outside to switch venues… a lot of the casinos are connected by elevated walkways. You’ll never even know it’s raining!
  8. Rainy days often mean good waves, so you may want to hit the beach and watch the surfers. Pick any beach at random; chances are you’ll find somebody with a board who won’t even know they’re putting on a show.
  9. Visit the Cape May Aquarium, or if you’re up to the drive, hit Jenkinson’s Aquarium on the boardwalk in Point Pleasant Beach or the State Aquarium in Camden.
  10. Catch a show or concert at one of the casinos.
  11. Spend the day at the arcade!
  12. Write postcards to your friends and family back home.
  13. Hopefully, you’ve packed a book or magazine… when all else fails, curl up in the hotel room and read. Or take your book to the nearest coffee house and enjoy a beverage and some people watching with your story.
  14. Go bowling!

Hopefully, you won’t encounter too many rainy days during your Jersey shore vacation. But if it does happen, at least you’ve got a few ideas to keep everyone entertained!

Last but not least, keep anyone who has been drinking alcohol out of the water. Yes, you’re on vacation. Yes, you’re there to unwind. But don’t drink and swim.