There is a plethora of sights, sounds, and activities to take in while visiting the five boroughs of New York City -- but if you’re in town for more than a day or two, you’d be remiss if you neglected some of the exciting destinations located just an hour or two outside of the city limits, including Atlantic City, nearby Pennsylvania, New Jersey shopping outlets, and more.
Located just two hours away, with easy access to transportation, the Tropicana (888-275-1212; tropicana.net) in Atlantic City is one of the country’s top casinos and resorts, with luxury ocean-view hotel rooms and suites, around-the-clock gaming, gourmet dining, live entertainment, and more. Perhaps their biggest attraction is The Quarter, home to an array of world-class restaurants, entertainment and nightlife venues, chic shopping, and a luxuriant spa. Resembling Old Havana, The Quarter is utterly unique: A sprawling, three-story “streetscape,” it features over 40 different dining, shopping, and entertainment options including bluemercury apothecary and resort spa, The Comedy Stop Café & Cabaret and an IMAX Theater.
Located just a mile away at the foot of the Atlantic City Expressway is Atlantic City Outlets - The Walk (609-872-7002; acoutlets.com), Atlantic City’s premier retail destination featuring national name-brand outlet stores such as Harley Davidson, DKNY, Guess, Calvin Klein, and others. There’s also an array of restaurants, special events, and more.
Atlantic City is home to many other resorts, including: Harrah’s (777 Harrah’s Blvd., 609-441-5000; harrahs.com), home to beautiful bayside vistas, accommodations in four hotel towers, entertainment, and gaming thrills in their newly expanded casino; Bally’s Atlantic City (Park Pl. & Boardwalk, 609-340-2000; ballysac.com) features a spa, nightlife, golf, a fitness center, and themed casinos; Caesars Atlantic City (2100 Pacific Ave., 800-223-7277; caesarsac.com), where the glory and opulence of Ancient Rome comes alive with non-stop casino action, luxurious accommodations, gourmet and casual dining, shopping, tennis courts, and 24-hour room service; and Showboat - The Mardi Gras Casino (801 Boardwalk, 609-343-4000; showboatac.com) features the Atlantic City House of Blues, suites with ocean views, and restaurants that tempt your palate with the flavors of New Orleans. For information on bus or train transportation to any of these resorts, visit atlanticcitynj.com.
Hampton Luxury Liner offers daily round-trip service between NYC and Harrah’s & Caesar’s for $50 ($75 for overnight trips; overnight customers recieve a free room at Harrah’s, Sun.-Fri.) with live DirecTV, snack bar, free WiFi, personal power outlets, and a free coupon book from AC Outlets and a coupon book from the casino. Reservations required; call 631-537-5800 or visit hamptonluxuryliner.com.
The natural beauty of the region is just an hour or two away in northeastern Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains (800poconos.com) region, popular for water sports such as whitewater rafting and camping and hiking in its seven state parks and one national park. Gray Line NY Sightseeing Tours (newyorksightseeing.com) offers a wide variety of day trips, including jaunts to Philadelphia and Amish Country, which stops at all of the City of Brotherly Love’s historic sights before continuing to Lancaster county, for a tour an Amish farmhouse and more. (Trips depart Mon. & Wed. at 7am, returning at 8pm.) They also offer trips to Boston,Washington, D.C., and other destinations; call 212-445-0848 for more information.
If those destinations are just a little too far away, how about a day-trip shopping spree to one New Jersey’s nearby outlet malls? Accessible from Port Authority via NJ Transit bus #111, Jersey Gardens (877-SAY-VALU; jerseygardens.com) is just 30 minutes away and features tax-free clothing & shoes from over 200 stores, including Calvin Klein, Cole Haan, Juicy Couture, Neiman Marcus Last Call, Kenneth Cole, and many others. Hampton Luxury Liner offers daily service to Woodbury Common Premium Outlets, where you can enjoy several hours of shopping at 220 stores, including Judith Ripka, Kate Spade, Gucci, and many others. The Luxury Liner offers plush leather seating, WiFi, and each $50 roundtrip ticket comes with a free coupon book. Reservations required; call 631-537-5800 or visit hamptonluxuryliner.com.
Day-Tripping - Excursions to Atlantic City, Outlet Shopping & More
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