Travel With Teens and Tweens

     The northern reaches of the Jersey Shore in Monmouth and Ocean counties are well connected to New York City via trains, buses, highways and ferries.  If your tribe is ready for a break from the beach (or the weather is not cooperating) consider heading north to the high speen catamaran  Seastreak ferry from Highlands, NJ  for the 40 minute ride to Pier 11 at Wall Street near the South Street Seaport.  Our teen and tween had never visited New York so the trip to South Street Seaport , on the site of the former Fulton Fish Market, was a big thrill.

Learn about America’s Maritime History at South Street Seaport

     Within walking distance of the Wall Street ferry terminal, you will find the South Street Seaport Museum which hosts a variety of exhibits related to 19th century maritime history.  The museum contains more than 1,000 ship models, an extensive collection of ocean liner memorabilia, and many wonderful maritime paintings and scrimshaw.   Outside, you can tour the Museum’s fleet of privately maintained historic sailing vessels representing the types of working and cargo ships that once filled New York Harbor in the 19th and early 20th century.  The ships names Peking and Ambrose are currently open for public visitation.  Several others can be viewed from the docks and are currently under active restoration.

Touring the Peking at South Street Seaport

     If you go to South Street Seaport be sure to visit the  four-masted barque Peking which was one of the last grand wind-powered merchant ships ever built. Launched in Hamburg, Germany in 1911, she was used to carry goods to South America.  In 1932, she was retired and moored in England’s Medway River where she served for over 40 years as a boys’ school named Arethusa. In 1975, Peking was purchased by the museum and towed to New York. The ship’s steel hull is as long as a football field and the masts are as tall as an 18-story building.  Peking is one of the largest sailing vessels ever built and the largest preserved by a museum.  You can also visit the Ambrose, which is  a lighthouse ship built in 1908 that was anchored in several locations off the coast of Sandy Hook until 1963. She was given to the museum by the U.S. Coast Guard in 1968.

Teens and tweens on board the ZEPHYR tour of the New York City Skyline

     From there, you can grab lunch at one of a number of restaurants in the market area or join a harbor cruise such as the 75-minute New York Harbor  ZEPHYR cruise or the longer Circle Line Cruises.  We liked the ZEPHYR as it covered a lot of ground and gave us a great view of the New York City skyline fairly quickly.  Depending on when you arrive and how energetic you are, you can move on from the Seaport to Times Square, the Empire State Building or wherever else you want to go in the city.  Our teen and tween enjoyed their maritime history day and we never got beyond the seaport, the river and the ferry.

Check out Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty Departing from Jersey City

       Another option for a New York day trip is to catch the ferry to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty from Liberty State Park in Jersey City.  You can learn more about Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty on our New York City actvities page.  Be warned that both the museum and the Statue get crowded as the day goes on so leave early.  If you arrive at Ellis Island on the first boat you can see most of the exhibits before the crowds descend.

View of Ellis Island

Want to Learn More About Great Activities for Teens and Tweens at the Jersey Shore?

     This is one in a series on Top 10 actvities for family vacations with teens and tweens on the Jersey Shore.  Click the link to see the full list or visit our Travel with Teens and Tweens  Jersey Shore archives to see the posts in chronological order.