Need advice for teens taking train to shore
I think my daughter did Long Branch. The train station is easy walking distance to the beach
There's also a shuttle from the Long Branch train station which stops at Pier Village and not too far from Seven Presidents (McKinley St. and Madison Ave.) It's $1.
http://www.monmouth.edu/uploadedFiles/Content/Global/News/LongBranchShuttleSchedule.pdf
If they go further south than Long Branch, they'll have to switch trains at Long Branch. The travel time from Penn Station Newark to Long Branch is around 80 minutes.
The train only goes as far as Bay Head, so Seaside Heights is out unless they want to take an expensive cab ride. Belmar or Point Pleasant Beach are the most likely options. You can take the Newark Light Rail from Broad St to Newark Penn without going all the way to NYC. I would not recommend Long Branch for a teens thing if they want boardwalk etc. Long Branch has a nice beach, but not much else for kids to do there. I commuted on that line from Little Silver and Red Bank for 10 years. Newark to Long Branch is about an hour on a rush hour express train, and longer on weekends when the trains all go local. From there you will have to change trains to get any further south.
For point pleasant, if you drop them off in Linden its only 1 transfer to get there....Linden is off parkway exit 136 about 5-10 minutes
Metropark is on the wrong train line. The North Jersey Coast Line diverges from the Northeast Corridor line just south of the Rahway Station.
is there a way to train to hoboken - path then ferry back over ? i know it seems convoluted but trains down the monmouth county line are horrible
http://traveltips.usatoday.com/new-jersey-shore-ferries-18737.html
Is thee a parent that wants to go to the beach? Maybe just sit somewhere else? Sounds really long and complicated via public transportation.
It's really not complicated if a parent drives the teens to Penn Station Newark, as mentioned by the OP. The teens will probably enjoy the train and have a lot of fun. It's part of the adventure.
eta - If they go further south than Long Branch, switching trains isn't a big deal. When the North Jersey Coast line was electrified years ago, it was only electrified to Long Branch. Passengers going south beyond Long Branch just step across the platform to board a diesel train that is waiting.
A train from South Orange to the shore would take close to three hours during the week and more on the weekend, so that seems unlikely. I thought I could drive them to Penn Station in Newark where the ride would be under two hours (depending on the town at the shore). Are there any other routes anyone recommends? And what beach would be good for a day trip and easily accesible from the train station? I am mostly familiar with Point Pleasant. TIA.