If She Can Make It There : Longing to spend longer at Long Beach

Hailing from England the land of unpredictable summer weather, means we love planning weekend trips to the beach in New York’s guaranteed sunshine. And honestly the sea breeze and being able to take a dip in the sea is a welcome break from the city heat.

The past couple of weekends we have been going to Long Beach. Not just a beach, its actually a city by the sea, meaning there is something to keep family members of all ages happy.

The more adventurous may like to cycle along the newly refurbished boardwalk, visit the surf school or try kite flying. You’ll also find some playgrounds for the little ones if they want a break from the sand.

There is always something happening during the summer months, the first time we visited it was New York Surf Week. They even screen movies on the beach which sounds awesome, its just not quite practical for us with a four year old as its in the evenings!

Hungry? Downtown there are lots of side streets with a range of restaurants to choose from. On the beachfront you have a range of fast-food style places such as Riptides.

There is a charge to get onto the beach. They tell us the area needs the boost as it took quite a battering during Hurricane Sandy back in 2012 and repairs (or rather paying for them) are still on-going.

We took an Uber across to Jamaica then joined the Long Island Railroad for a train directly to the station near the beach. For aroud $20 our ticket also included access to the beach making it feel very reasonable for such a good day out.

We like to take our own mini tent and blanket, but if you can hire umbrellas and chairs for the day quite reasonably.

It’s amazing to think this paradise is less than an hour by train from New York City – we’ll be back!