Hey Philly! Take A Beach Day!!!

A Day Tripper's Guide To The Beaches of Philadelphia

Everyone loves a day at the beach, right? Of course! I know I do. However, many residents here, in the City of Brotherly Love, do not seem to get to the sand and sun as often as others. A few days ago, I had a heartfelt conversation with a close and personal friend of mine, her name is Lisa. She works as a social worker here in Philadelphia. Lisa told me about a conversation she had with a young mother. This young mother was inquiring about activities she can do with her children during their summer break. Lisa likes to display many family pictures in her office and on this particular day the young mother noticed a picture Lisa had taken during a day trip to a local beach. The young mother then went on to tell Lisa that she had never been to the beach a day in her life! Lisa found this utterly shocking.

Without getting into the socio-economic mumbo jumbo that makes a situation like this possible, Lisa and I realized that people like this mother may not know how to do a beach day trip from Philly properly. Philadelphia is surrounded by some of the best beaches on the east coast. So with that in mind, we decided to put our heads together for the greater good of families all over Philadelphia. We came up with this pocket guide to a day at  the beach for the everyday Philadelphian. We did research on everything, from travel methods to where to buy the best quality and most affordable products to enhance your day at the beach.

Shore Transit

Philadelphia is situated right in the middle wall of beach destinations. Most of the “local” beaches are located east of the city  in the Garden State of New Jersey, with a few sandy gems to the south in Sussex County, the southernmost county in the great state of Delaware. These shoreside oases may sound close but they are a few dozen or more miles away from center city. If you have access to a vehicle then that’s not a major issue for you. If you plan on driving then I would suggest leaving as early as possible. Beach traffic can be stressful. If you don’t have a car or you don’t want to deal with the hassles of traffic navigation, we got you covered there too. There are great public transit options available to both the New Jersey and Delaware beaches.

The Delaware beaches are some of the best quality beaches in the country. Most Delaware beaches are not as crowded as the Jersey beaches. The best way to get there is in a car. I recommend signing up for Zipcar Car Share service. You can rent locally parked new cars by the hour or for the day for a nominal fee.

No driver’s license to get a rental, no worries. SEPTA has a regional rail line that stops in Wilmington, Delaware. Once in Wilmington, you can catch the route 305 Bus from Wilmington to Rehoboth. Once in Rehoboth you can take the DART Resort Transit lines to the different beaches and attractions in southern Delaware.  For more detailed pricing information please contact DART First State at (800) 652-DART(3278) or online at www.dartfirststate.com.

Most folks in Philly are pretty familiar with the New Jersey Transit bus service lines to the shore. You’ve got the 317 Bus that will take you to Asbury Park Beach, the 316 bus that takes you to the Wildwood Beaches and Cape May Beaches, and finally the 551 that takes you to Atlantic City. All those busses depart from the Philadelphia Greyhound Bus Terminal downtown at 15th and Filbert Streets. You can buy tickets for you and your family from the NJ Transit Kiosk in the bus boarding area. You can also take the NJ Transit train from Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station to Atlantic City as well. Tickets for the train can be purchased in the main concourse area from the NJ transit Kiosk near the Amtrak ticket counters.  Once at the Jersey Shore there are many ways to get around locally, from cabs, to push-carts on the boardwalk, and the world famous Jitney buses. For ticket details and schedule information please contact NJ Transit at 1-973-275-5555 or online at www.njtransit.com.

Let’s Get Comfortable

Now that we made it to the beach and found our perfect patch of sand, we are going to need some comfy seating options. If you're like my friend, sunbathing is the best part of a beach trip. Sand can be a welcomed sight upon arrival to your favorite beach location, but soon after settling into you spot, the sand begins to invade. It gets into your shoes, hair, towels, and even your plate of grub. There are many trendy and “different” looking seating options available, and they are affordable as well.

One way to avoid the sand invasion is to set up your beach oasis by laying down the CGear Sand Free Mat. The CGear Sand-Free "Quicksand Mat" is designed for the beach and other outdoor activities. Sand falls straight through the Quicksand Mat and doesn’t come back up. This square mat comes in three sizes; 6ft, 8ft and 10ft. The patented multi weave layers trap the sand underneath the mat ensuring a sand free day at the beach. The MAT has a dual layer weave which is resilient and developed to place picnic chairs and tables on a solid ground. We recommend that you lay on top of a towel or blanket should you wish to lay directly on the mat to add more comfort.

For those who like a little more pop and pizzazz, there is the trendy Islander LED Light Up Outdoor Beach/Camping Blanket by Eagles Nest Outfitters. This 6ft square beach blanket is traveling party! The Islander is trimmed with a string of bright, fun LED lights to make a statement at any of the local beaches. This blanket sets up in a pinch and packs down into a convenient stuff sack for efficient portability. You can sit on it, dance on it, sleep on it, or sleep under it! This item is sure to make your beach trip awesome well into the night. Both of these items can be found at www.thewarmingstore.com starting at $59.

Now that we have beaten back those sand demons, we can finally take a proper seat and enjoy the sun’s warm embrace. One thing that is a beach must is having somewhere to sit, lounge and soak up the sun. The folks at GoTeam have some great products that will keep you comfortable all day at the shore. The GoTeam Portable Reclining Pop Chair is the ideal portable comfort option for an incredible beach trip. This is portable recliner chair we all have been dreaming about. Available in blue, black, and red colors, each pop chair folds down to a flat ovular shape and includes an easy-carrying shoulder strap. Weighing in under 4.5 pounds, the pop chair offers a click-lock reclining system allowing you to set the perfect angle of the backrest. The Pop chair is the ultimate comfy beach chair. For those parents who want to chill and keep an eye on the kids, GoTeam developed a Portable Double Folding Chair. Each Double Folding Chair folds down to a compact size and fits into an included matching carrying case for easy . But that’s not all! GoTeam threw in a detachable umbrella to keep you shaded on those hot summer days and the Double Folding Chair features a center armrest which doubles as a cooler for storing your ice cold beverages. You never have to get up and go to a cooler again! Load it up with some ice and a 6 pack and call it a day! GoTeam’s Double Folding Chair is a complete beach oasis in a case and is backed up by a 3 year warranty as well. You can buy the GoTeam Portable Reclining Pop Chair on www.Walmart.com for $34 and the GoTeam Double Folding Chair at www.Vandue.com for $39.

Made in the Shade

Don’t get me wrong, I love having fun in the sun as much as the next guy. However, in addition to proper sunscreen use, having a good source of shade is essential to having safe and comfortable family beach outing. Rio Beach is an outstanding company that manufactures high quality beach accessories. Among the many different beach products they offer, their Portable Sun Shelters and Beach Cabana Tents are some of the best values on the market. They are constructed of durable 75-denier polyester shades and they also offer great sun protection with an SPF of 50. Other useful features include built in mesh windows to promote cooling airflow and interior pockets for storage purposes. These practical and novel beach accessories are available in various colors and sizes on www.Swimoutlet.com starting at $35.

Another shade option would be the Beach Canopy/Tent made by the Guide Gear company. This tent has lightweight and compact design making it easy to assemble, transport, and store. made of durable 170T polyester fabric with a Polyacrylate water-resistant coating. This canopy can block UV rays to help prevent sunburn. This canopy can even be zipped up to make a small privacy shelter too. This feature will come in handy for those families with small children or infants who will need a cool and shaded place to get a nap in. The Guide Gear Beach Canopy/Tent is an awesome product that will only enhance your day at the beach. This tent can be found at www.sportsmansguide.com, affordably priced at $19.99. What a steal!

Beach Treats

Having fun at the beach can work up a healthy appetite. When hunger strikes, you can go and explore local restaurants and eateries along the shores and boardwalks of our local beaches. For those beach visitors on a budget it best to pack some food to enjoy. Most families like to keep things simple and pack coolers with drinks and cold cuts for sandwich making. Having a good cooler is essential to keeping your family refreshed in between games of Frisbee and boogie boarding. If you in the market for the best quality and most affordable coolers available, the AlphaCool and Polar Bear brands are among the best.

AlphaCool’s Duffel coolers rank among the top coolers out there,  when it comes to value. This is your ideal cooler for a family trip to the park, a camping adventure, a day on the lake, or chilling like an alpha on the beach! Available in either 12 or 24 pack sizes and in five different colors, these fully insulated duffel coolers are dual-purposed. After you’ve had your fill of food and drink, you can easily remove the cooler liner from the waterproof main compartment for cleaning. The cooler liner can also be removed to convert this unit into a regular duffel bag for toting around the all those souvenirs you will buy from the many beach shops along the shore.  There is plenty of storage with the zippered pockets located on the front and sides. You'll have no problem carrying this cooler around thanks to the adjustable shoulder strap.

Polar Bear Coolers are known for their outstanding quality and excellent performance. Polar Bear Coolers makes coolers with a heavy duty luggage grade 1000 denier nylon outer shell. They are built with a 5-layer insulation system with Polar Bear’s patented specialized open cell foam designed to trap air in order to keep ice for at least 24 hours in 100-degree heat! These coolers come in 6 pack, 12 pack, 24 pack, and 48 pack sizes and a number of different colors. There may be different version like Soft Sided coolers, Backpack coolers, Solar/UV Resistant coolers, and others but they are all made the same. All Polar Bear Coolers are equipped with heavy duty #8 weatherized rubber-coated zippers, padded shoulder straps, sturdy side release buckles, leak proof/sweat proof Dura-Temp liners, side pockets with rubber coated zippers, Velcro wrap around handles, and a zipper pull-tab that doubles at a bottle opener. Polar Bear Coolers will be there to keep your snacks, meals and favorite beverages cold all day at the beach.

Both Polar Bear Coolers and AlphaCool Coolers are available for purchase online at www.mycoolingstore.com, with prices starting at $29.