Review: Vacation to Wildwood, NJ & Cape May, NJ

One of my favorite vacation spots in summer is Wildwood, NJ & Cape May, NJ. Both locations are only about 10-30 minutes away from one another, dependent on where you are going. With summer right around the corner I had to tell you all my hidden gems about these places so you can plan your vacations perfectly! I truly don’t think people realize how much there is to do in here so I’m happy to share my secrets!

I always stay in Wildwood over Cape May just because it is more affordable to be closer to the beach but Cape May definitely is a lot nicer. I live towards North Jersey so on my way from North Jersey to Wildwood there is a zoo called “The Popcorn Zoo” I use to always visit as a child. This is near Toms River, NJ (if you ever heard of the area). This zoo takes in injured animals that cannot survive in the wild and also is an animal shelter so if you’re looking for a new furry friend to add to your household this could be the place for you!

What is interesting about this place is you get an actual box of popcorn that the animals LOVE. You throw it into their pens for them to eat and it makes for a fun interactive experience. Pigs, horses, and even the bears love the popcorn!

They also have a ton of geese and peacocks so feel free to share with non penned animals as well!

Moving onto Wildwood now! Again there is just SO much to do. There’s lots of walking trails, bike rentals, and a boardwalk/Water park (Morey’s Piers). One of the biggest tourist things to do is take a picture in front of the “Wildwood Signage.”

Last summer, John and I went here and one of my biggest “to do” activities was the “Breakfast in the Sky.” Trust me you HAVE do this! You eat breakfast in an actual Ferris Wheel on the boardwalk. How cool is that?! They give you large portion sizes, the food is surprisingly good, and you have some amazing views.

There’s 7 different breakfast options to choose from and you can even make special requests. On top of your meal they will give you a few different juices and toast as well. The Ferris Wheel breakfast lasts about 45 minutes – an hour so make sure you pee before you go! Four people are allowed to a cart and the Ferris Wheel is 156 feet high from the beach.

The Ferris Wheel is not moving the whole breakfast, so don’t fret. It stops from different heights for about 15-20 minutes so you can experience views from up high and down low.

Besides the typical board walk food, games, and rides, they also have an aquarium and glow in the dark mini golf.

They also have regular mini golf off the boardwalk, which is more my speed but be prepared for long wait lines.

One of the best places to eat in Wildwood, in John’s and I opinion, was called “Captain Jacks.” Surprisingly they actually had smoking good burgers! We found out later the owner of “Captain Jacks” actually has a restaurant off the boardwalk that’s known for his burgers. No wonder they were so great! If you go here make sure to get a burger!

Additionally, they made this drink called the “fish bowl” which came in a literal fish bowl. The size, as you see in the picture above, is HUGE. Make sure to share it with someone unless you have a high tolerance.

If you’re a morning and active person like me, a great activity to do is renting bikes on the boardwalk before the boardwalk opens. The earlier the better because the boardwalk does become packed with bikers! There are a ton of bike rental places scattered around the area that are easy to find/google.

We rented a 2 person, but made it a 3, seated bike and it actually was a lot harder to pedal than I thought it would be. It’s also a lot wider than a regular bike so pedaling out of traffic of other bikers was not easy.

Another really fun activity to do is the “Old Fashion Photos.” There’s actually a mall on the boardwalk itself you can go inside with tons of shops such as clothing, fudge, and this photo opportunity! It was so funny to dress up as someone else and pose in these photos. We got to put fancy hats on and fish net stockings.

Even just walking around Wildwood has some great little statues/props (off the boardwalk and on) to pose with. Of course my girls and I had to do a cute few shots.

John and I also headed into Cape May for some additional fun activities. We went dolphin watching and it was one of the COOLEST experiences I have encountered. We booked with “Thundercat Dolphin Watch” and they were amazing! The dolphins got right next to the boat and were in arms reach, jumping the waves with us. Being a HUGE animal lover, this was one of my highlights of the trip.

If you’re into shopping at cute diverse stores like I am then you should also check out “The Washington Street Mall” in Cape May.

This was just the cutest downtown area that had a bunch of clothing spots, food, little dog stores, and so much more! I tried this place called “Crepe May” that had smoothies, waffle cones, and fun crepes (dessert and non dessert crepes).

We also went into a hat store and in this moment I realized, my boyfriend John, was the doppelganger of Ryan Gosling from the book/movie “The Notebook“.

After we checked out downtown we headed over to “Sunset Beach” which is known for their sunsets (If the name of the beach wasn’t obvious enough). The address is 502 Sunset Blvd, Cape May Point, NJ 08212.

Sadly we went on a cloudy day so no sunset for us but it was still a really nice beach. The beaches in Wildwood can get SO crowded so it was nice that this beach seemed to have less people. This could have also been due to the cloudy weather, but it was still relaxing!

One of the coolest facts about this beach is the “S. S. Atlantus.” The S. S. Atlantus is probably the most famous concrete ship. This ship sunk into the water and you can still see it from Sunset Beach. Being as John is in the Military this was a really cool site for him to see.

Speaking of history and being historic, Cape May is an EXTREMELY historic place. If history is up your alley I would check out “Historic Cold Spring Village.” This is a unique little stop where the workers stay in character and act as if they live “back in the day.” They’ll tell you all about the history of how tasks were completed before mankind made more advanced equipment and you’ll even get to go inside little shops and houses. To be honest, this wasn’t exactly up John and I’s alley but it might be for you if you love history so I wanted to include it.

One last recommendation I have would be to check out the “Cape May Zoo.” This zoo is HUGE and the best part about it is it’s FREE. That’s right, FREE. If you decide to try the Cape May area I would definitely add this to your to do list.

This really is just a great place to vacation with your friends, significant others, and/or family. I do think beaches are beautiful but I am NOT the kind of person who can sit on a beach all day and do nothing, so this vacation spot is perfect. There’s so much to do and the beaches are really nice too if that is your type of thing! It’s in the books for me to go back for a weekend this summer!

If you’re going longer than a long weekend I would definitely look for different nature trails, lighthouses, and activities because they do have a lot. There’s also a lot of great restaurants off the boardwalk to check out. If you end up going to Wildwood and Cape May this summer let me know if you found some cool other hidden gems I didn’t list because I’m sure there are plenty of them! Thanks for reading and I hope this helps plan out your upcoming summer vacations!