Travel Advice

Visit To The Long Beach Island: 6 Fun Things To Do

Do you visit beaches to get soaked under the warm sunshine? or love to watch how the ocean flips pages of its shores? (Read Top 10 Beaches in the World)

Well, you better not plan only for that when you are in the United States. Alongside the Atlantic ocean, the sea coast of Ocean County, New Jersey, Long Beach Island is now prepared to provide a package full of entertainment to its visitors. In this piece of writing, we’ll be talking about the things to do on Long Beach Island.

long beach island
By thisisbossi/Flickr.Copyright 2021

The beach island of the USA offers a wide range of services. Starting from summer retreat homes, high tide surfing, film events, casinos, traditional carousel, museums, recreational fishing, water parks, locally flavored restaurants there, and a lot more.

To sum up, the island is a premium summer package for people who want to spend some quality time with their family and have FUN mostly!

How to plan your vacation on Long Beach Island? Let’s get more into it so that you could plan your things on this beautiful beach island facing the majestic Atlantic Ocean.

How to reach LBI (Long Beach Island):

Long beach island has easy access from the city of Manhattan / New York. Just book an express bus or hire a car, drive through Garden State Parkway and get off in Manahawkin. Ship Bottom, the Gateway to Long beach island is just 15 minutes drive away from Manahawkin. You can easily take a bus or book a cab to enter the place.

Now, you are ready for the things on your travel list on Long Beach Island.

‘Feel’ it: Long Beach Island is Famous For…?

The long beach island of New Jersey is best known for its summer retreats and real estate empire. The center and southern tip of the place are very much popular among high-end vacationers. Towns of Ship Bottom, Surf City, Long Beach Township, Beach Haven are some of the most visited sites of the summer destination.

If you have some handsome amount to pay, then you could enjoy your exotic waterfront stay on LBI (Long Beach Island) and get a view of the gorgeous sundown in the Atlantic.

Otherwise, you could opt for food, shopping, amusement tours in Beach Haven; art & heritage tours in Barnegat Light and Loveladies or relax at the popular warm, white-sand beaches of Ship Bottom. At its peak, the island gets crowded with people coming from different ends of the world.

“It’s always better to make a plan before exploring.”

Beach Life:

Sandy beaches of long beach island offer lifetime memories for its visitors with their loved ones. The township of Harvey Cedars and Ship Bottom at the northern end and the center of LBI (Long Beach Island) is best known for everyone’s favorite ‘surf city bay beach’.

Modern beach architectures like the sunset park and traditional resorts, fine restaurants beside the shores catch the attention of every beach lover.

By Pedro Szekely/Flickr.Copyright 2021.

Apart from these, if you love offshore adventure, you can hit the tides or try jet skiing, windsurfing, surfing, or parasailing too. You could also enjoy playing basketball and volleyball amid the white warm sand of Bayview Park. It welcomes visitors for free weekly family activities along with some interesting events.

It is advisable to stay at Beach Haven and Ship Bottom Township as both are home to several hotels, motels, resorts, summer rentals, eateries, and other places to explore. People visiting the beach island often opt for staying there.

Fun and Recreation:

Once you get settled, you must head towards Beach Haven, the southern part of the place. Thundering Surf Water Park and Fantasy Island Amusement Park are two must-see locations for people looking for fun and events.

By IQRemix/Flickr.Copyright 2021.

Thundering Surf Water Park, i.e. the only water park on the LBI (Long beach island) offers numerous fun-filled activities like waterslides for both adults and children, a Flow House with board surfing.

If you are fond of golfing, two challenging miniature golf courses are inside the water park to keep you engaged. With caves, waterfalls, and antique obstacles, the golf courses are even voted the most to become “Best Golf Course in NJ”.

Just beside the next street, Fantasy Island Amusement Park is a space full of games. They have a family-styled casino arcade, a classic carousel, dozens of amusement rides, and boardwalk games to keep their visitors busy with their loved ones.

If you get bored, you will find an ice cream parlor, fresh-squeezed lemonade, or anything like Chicken and Waffle Cone too.

History, Art and Heritage:

This summer staycation of New Jersey State of USA has a rich history on its shores. Early colonists on the island used the shore area to catch fish, whales, gather salt hay, bayberry, beach plum, and make sea salt. Want to know how LBI looked in its early days? The island has five historical museums on its shores.

Start at Long Beach Island Historical Museum at Beach Haven. The museum exhibits how early settlements on the island have transformed with time. You will find visuals on the establishment of Beach Haven Township, the lost railroad from ‘long gone’ Tuckerton, and transportation of locals to their new settlements!

The Museum of New Jersey Maritime at Beach Haven exhibits the coastal history of New Jersey all around the year. You might get amazed when you sight those shipwreck files, photographs, pre-historic fossils collected by the marines, navigational equipment of bygone days.

Interestingly, they have original video footage of a disaster too. If you admire collecting postcards, there are some rare post-card collections too to keep you busy.

The Present lighthouse at Barnegat Light carries its stories from the 1800s. In LBI (Long beach island), Barnegat Lighthouse is the primary attraction for visitors. People recommend the lighthouse for its breathtaking panoramic view of the island and Barnegat State Park from the top of it.

By Mim/Flickr. Copyright 2021.

If you feel lazy to climb 217 steps to the top, you need not worry. In the nearby Interpretive Center, you can catch live images of the view without reaching the top! (How? It’s a secret!)

Heading south, the famous Viking Village should be on your list to explore on Long Beach Island. In the early days, the village was heaven for the fishermen. Today, visitors are welcome to try their luck and participate in fishing responsibly.

Dock tours, seafood, freshest “catch of the day” in the fish market, shops with fishing gear, clothes, jewelry, and home decor are some of the things that make Historic Viking Village itself a complete tour package.

Do you admire art, nature, and science? Explore LBI Foundation of Arts and Sciences in Loveladies. Each year, the foundation hosts hundreds of performing arts, visual arts, and science events.

Apart from art exhibitions year-round, there is a wide range of outdoor activities like forest bathing, lessons on the island’s landscape, guided eco-tours (kayaking and paddleboarding). Or else, you can enjoy the screening of films, music, theatre performances or learn to craft, and how to paint while staying indoor.

Seasonal Festivals:

August to October:

Every year, the beach island holds the Festival of Sea Carnival in August for an entire week. The festival welcomes tourists of all ages and features carnival rides, games, lots of delicious food, hourly and super 50/50 raffles, and a lot more!

Are you a food freak? Your chances to be a traveling taster at Beach Haven Township are very much high then. Every year, beginning from September to October, ChowderMonth is organized in LBI (Long Beach Island) to support the local vendors. Restaurants from all over the island compete in making traditional Chowder.

As a visitor, you can go directly to restaurants to experience the classic chowders of the island (slurp!) From labor day weekend to October 2nd, the festival is celebrated with all hustles and bustles, beers, and live music.

The month of October also celebrates LBI International Kite Festival on the beach island. At the shores of Ship Bottom Town, you can have fun with lots of artist-designed kites, and giant inflatable kites dancing in the sky. Hundreds of Giant inflatable sharks, jellyfish, sea horses touch the high blue sky for two long days.

October to December:

All along October to December, Annual Long Beach Island Surf Fishing Classic has been a delight for every surfcasting lover. The opening day of the festival starts with the basics and finer points of surf fishing.

If you are a beginner then, attending the first day would be a great help too. Try your luck and explore the shore.

Shopping Spots:

Beach Haven Township is the most recommended shopping stop for travelers on LBI (Long Beach Island). All mainstream shops and restaurants are at the center of Bay Village. If you are visiting with your family, your spouse and children won’t be disappointed here, I can guarantee you.

In the bay village, you could sight a reconstructed tall ship and find lots of shops. That’s ‘Schooner’s Warf. While shopping you could also grab an ice cream or frappuccino, or visit a nearby book or toy store.

Buy a little bit extra at the exotic Surf City. SwellColors Glass Studio & Gallery sells some amazing stuff made from glass. Right from custom stained glass windows to suncatcher or pendant beads ‘SwellColors Glass Studio & Gallery’ has 100% handmade products on their list.

Their other campus is at Viking Village of Barnegat Light. The shop is very much recommended by travelers if you want to shop for some unusual and unique treasures to take home.

Food and Dining :

No one can deny a perfect breakfast of deep-dish pancakes with fresh fruit and cream cheese at Sandbox Cafe in Surf City. Then, turn left towards Beach Haven Township and find plenty of restaurants like The Gables Inn Restaurant, Boat House Restaurant, The Sea Shell Resort, and Beach Club.

Among many, CHEEG (Chicken or/with Egg) and Uncle Will’s are two special mentions.

Oh! Yes, do not forget to enter ‘Oh Fudge’ when you are in Beach Haven. They have varieties of fudge, saltwater candy, roasted nuts, and lots of souvenirs too. Visiting with families could double up your experience as you can watch the making of Candies with your children and have fun.

To note, the shop is well known for making the first candy ever in Atlantic City.

“Make a travel list, relax a little bit”

Honestly, LBI (Long Beach Island) is not only a summer getaway. This 18-mile-long island is full of all kinds of touristic activities like eco-tours, a food competition, a fishing competition in the Fall season too.

Another good thing about LBI is that it does not limit its service to people of a particular age. Be it a child, teenager, adult, or an elder one, the island of New Jersey has all kinds of exotic things for them.

This beach island of the USA has gone far ahead of the monotonous activities offered in a typical beach island. So, let’s pack our bags, shall we?

Was the article helpful to know what kind of things to do on Long Beach Island?

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Published by
Monisha Chetia