We arrived on July 3rd and headed straight for Ship Bottom Shellfish Ship Bottom Shellfish, Ship Bottom for a casual lunch. After checking into the Drifting Sands Oceanfront Hotel Drifting Sands Oceanfront Hotel, Ship Bottom, we spent the afternoon at Beach Haven Public Beach Beach Haven Public Beach, Beach Haven. It was crowded, as expected for the holiday weekend, but the water was clear. We finished the day walking through Bay Village Bay Village, Beach Haven before grabbing sunset cocktails at Buckalews Restaurant & Tavern Buckalews Restaurant & Tavern, Beach Haven and dinner at The Gables The Gables, Beach Haven.
July 4th started early with pancakes at Uncle Will's Pancake House Uncle Will's Pancake House, Beach Haven. We spent most of the day in the Entertainment District, splitting our time between the slides at Thundering Surf Waterpark Thundering Surf Waterpark, Beach Haven and the rides at Fantasy Island Amusement Park Fantasy Island Amusement Park, Beach Haven. We also squeezed in a quick round of mini golf at Island Golf Island Golf, Beach Haven. It was a high-energy day, so we kept dinner low-key at Tucker's Tavern Tucker's Tavern, Beach Haven.
“The transition from the busy amusement park rides to the quiet, working docks at Viking Village was the highlight of the trip.”
On July 5th, we drove north to Barnegat Lighthouse State Park Barnegat Lighthouse State Park, Barnegat Light. Climbing the Barnegat Lighthouse Barnegat Lighthouse, Barnegat Light takes a bit of stamina, but the wind at the top helps with the summer heat. Afterward, we walked through the fishing boats at Viking Village Viking Village, Barnegat Light. We headed back to Beach Haven for dinner at the Black Whale Bar & Fish House Black Whale Bar & Fish House, Beach Haven and caught the sunset from the Bay Beach Bay Beach, Beach Haven.
We checked out of the Drifting Sands Oceanfront Hotel Drifting Sands Oceanfront Hotel, Ship Bottom on the morning of July 6th. Before driving off the island, we made one final stop at Bay Village Bay Village, Beach Haven to pick up a few souvenirs. It was a busy stretch, but the layout of the island makes it easy to move between the beaches and the shops without much stress.