9th Street Music Pier
The 9th Street Music Pier is host to many concerts and other events.
Boardwalk
The boardwalk is the most popular attraction, where there is something for people of all ages to do. activities include theme parks, a water park, shopping, mini-golf, and a variety of dining options. join walkers, joggers and bike riders who flock to the boardwalk during the early morning hours for their daily exercise in the fresh ocean air. if you are not a morning person, you can also shop til you drop mid afternoon to nighttime. the boardwalk isn't just for summer anymore...experience a wide variety of yearlong special events. there are parades, car shows, seafood festival, art festivals, and the miss new jersey pageant. the boardwalk closes at 11:00pm. on a typical night, all is quiet by about midnight. there are 2 movie theaters on the boardwalk as well as several arcades.
Beach Tags
Most shore towns in southern NJ require tags to be on the beaches during the regular season. The money goes toward lifeguard fees, lifeguard equipment, and also helps pay for beach replenishment. You'll see them in most shore towns except for Atlantic City and Wildwood check and make sure!, which have their own ways of raising money. For Ocean City in 2009, tags cost...
5$ / Day
10$ / Week new ones every Thursday
20$ / Seasonal. They can be bought at a discount if you buy them early enough.
If you're lucky enough to sneak past the beach taggers and get onto the beach, simply pretend to be asleep or go for a swim in the ocean to avoid them asking to see your tags on the beach!
During the day, the beach is your best option weather permitting. You will need beach tags, which can be purchased upon entering the beach. Most house rentals will provide beach tags. In the mornings, the boardwalk is packed with bicycles and surreys, which can be rented from a variety of places including Ove's and Bob's. However, make sure you go early because after 12:00PM, bicycles are not permitted.
jet ski and kayak rentals
Take a ride down Bay Avenue and you will find jet ski and kayak rentals in addition to charter fishing boats, parasailing, and even speed boat rides.
rent a bike or surrey
Another fun family activity is to rent a bike or surrey for a few hours! Ocean City offers a ton of bike rental companies that all offer different rates, so make sure you compare them to get the best! During the summer,you can ride bikes and surreys on the boardwalk from 5AM to 12PM. The boardwalk accomodates all of the activities by having designated lanes for runners, walkers, surreys and bicycles. Both are a fun activity that take place on the boardwalk in the middle of all the fun! The staff are very accommodating and are always there for your service!
Ecotourism
For those of you who are interested in Ecotourism, Ocean City is a perfect destination of choice. It has beautiful nature, scenery and wildlife on a perfect little island. Many Ecotourism activities are available in Ocean City incuding: Atlantic Flyaway, a bird watching facility with a view of shore birds, wading birds, and water animals like whales, dolphins and seals. Also, along the beaches there are areas that are barracaded for more protected species such as piper plovers, black skimmers and northern diamondback terrapins. Along with all of the animal sites, there are several locations in Ocean City that are great for Ecotourism! These areas include: Corson's Inlet State Park, Howard Stainton Wildlife Refuge, Cape May Coastal Wetlands Wildlife Area, and the open waters of Peck Bay and Great Egg Harbor. For tourists who are "green", there is hiking trails, bike trails, boating, photography and sun bathing available for everyone.
There is not much in the way of nightlife, being that it is a very family oriented town.