Yes, it was tacky 50 years ago when I was a kid (way before the casinos were there) and it's still pretty tacky today. Go if you like the glitter of casinos, like to gamble, attend typical Vegas style shows, spend time in drinking lounges, eating at buffets and plan to stay indoors - once you venture outside and walk the boardwalk you'll find all the tackiness you'll ever want. - games of chance, wheels of fortune, salt water taffy stores, frozen custard stands, t-shirt vendors, and trinket shops selling the ubiquitous shot glasses. Venture off the boardwalk and a few blocks from the casinos and you'll find lots of parking lots and some pretty decrepit areas.

The only reason to go to Atlantic City is if you like to gamble. RoamsAround gives a pretty good description. And to add, it can be dangerous.

If you want to go to a beach then there are many nice places along New Jersey's 125+ coastline.

Tell us what you are interested in and we can make suggestions.

I don't gamble but I still go to Atlantic City 1-2x a year and actually enjoy it.

I don't eat in buffets but I've had meals at Buddakan, Georges Perrier's Mia, Bobby Flay Steak, etc. I don't buy tchotches but I bought a cute dress at Michael Kors at the Pier Shops at Caesers. I've never felt in danger so I brought my 50ish girlfriends to A/C for the evening.

A lot of what RoamsAround says is true but there is another newer, nicer side to the town too. You may not like Atlantic City but don't completely write off a visit.

If you are just looking for a Jersey Shore beach experience, SusieQQ is correct, we can make suggestions. The southern New Jersey coast offers several unique towns, all offering a different experience. There is the quaint Victorian charm of Cape May, the Doo-Wop retro appeal of the Wildwoods, the Main Line chic towns of Avalon and Cape May, and the bone-dry family atmosphere of Ocean City.

Sorry, my preview button is posting my previews.

Anyway to close: Atlantic City is like no other place on the Jersey shore. It has it's critics but also it's fans. There is tackiness but I don't know a boardwalk without it. That includes boardwalks with nice reputations like Rehoboth, De and popular boardwalks such as Ocean City, MD (which you couldn't pay me to return to),

I think the big difference between Atlantic City and other beach towns is that it is a city not a town. It has a convention center, an airport, a baseball stadium. It has many of the same problems that other cities have. It has it's own unique tone that combines a little of the glitz of Las Vegas with the sun, sand, and surf of a beach town and, yes, some of the less-desirable elements of any city.

I think the opening of the Revel is only going to help Atlantic City's reputation. If you do go, make sure you take a look. I've heard it's amazing.

(the Main Line chic towns of Avalon and STONE HARBOR...)

Sorry, Birdie, but this statement is just not true:
>>>There is tackiness but I don't know a boardwalk without it<<<

You obviously have never been to the boardwalks in Monmouth County. Please don't make statements that are incorrect.

As you said, AC is a city and that being said has the criminal elements associated with a city that has undesirable areas. Those of us who know this use extra precautions when we are in AC and I suggest that you do also.

"You obviously have never been to the boardwalks in Monmouth County. Please don't make statements that are incorrect."

That's absolutely true, SusieQQ. I have not been to boardwalks in Monmouth County. Read my sentence again.

"I don't know a boardwalk without it" There is nothing incorrect about that statement.

"Those of us who know this use extra precautions when we are in AC and I suggest that you do also."

I do just as I do when I visit NYC, Philadelphia, Richmond, VA, Las Vegas, etc., all cities with criminal elements associated with a city that has undesirable areas.

I only expressed a different opinion than you about a travel destination. It happens all the time on these boards. It appears that you took it personally. I'm sorry about that.

>>>"I don't know a boardwalk without it" There is nothing incorrect about that statement<<<

but you didn't say that you didn't know about other boardwalks.... you implied that you know about all the other boardwalks in NJ and that there are no boardwalks without tackiness.

The muggings, stabbings, killings,etc. in AC are a fact and since AC is much smaller than the cities you have mentioned and the crimes take place in a relatively small area, it should make people take extra care....

Not to worry, if I took personally all the comments from people who disagree with me on the internet,I would be in some kind of sorry state..., I just wanted to correct an impression that you have left by your posting.

What are the boardwalks of Monmouth County like? Refined restaurants and shops?

Most of the boardwalks in Monmouth County have nothing on them, some have a restaurant or two. Asbury Park is the exception:

http://apboardwalk.com

The nearest commercial boardwalk is across the Manasquan River in Ocean County, Pt.Pleasant.

I agree with Birdie's description of AC and the rest of the South Jersey shore. If one wants a non-commercial boardwalk and a purely residential setting, this is not the area for you. The area to avoid in AC is not where the typical visitor would go walking unless you are staying in a cheap motel, pawning your jewelry or looking for something illegal at night. Generally, if you dont want tacky, i'd probably skip any casino, whether it is in AC or Vegas, Philadelphia or someplace else.

Nothing on them? I think of those more as promenades by the sea or something. To me, and most others I think, going to the boardwalk connotes games, and cotton candy, kiddie rides and t-shirt shops. That's true from Santa Cruz, CA to Ocean City, NJ. Monmouth County sounds lovely and quiet.

Well, Suki, we call them boardwalks and they have been called boardwalks since they were first built in the late 1800's!

As far as being quiet....I wish! Lovely, yes! This time of year our beach communities are over-run with summer people In my particular town, there are many, many New Yorkers who own summer homes...one good thing is that they are here for two months!

If you want a Las Vegas type experience, stay a night at the Borgata Hotel & Casino. It's a top flight hotel and is located in the marina area of Atlantic City, away from the tackiness. The marina is about a half mile from the boardwalk and you can get there to check it out via taxi or even less expensive the Jitney. The Jitney stops right at the Borgata and will drop you off one block from the boardwalk. You can spend a few hours checking out the other hotels and casinos and then take the Jitney back to the Borgata. You can also visit the other marina hotels/casions (Harrah's and the Golden Nugget) via Jitney.

You can get to Atlantic City by bus from the Port Authority building on 42nd St. and 8th Ave. Academy Bus is very reliable and runs every half hour, costs about $32 round trip and you will get $25 in gambling credits at the casino you get off at. If you have any other questions, let me know.

This is, I hope, an innocent question. If Atlantic City is basically a city (and a fairly downtrodden one, it seems) that happens to be on a nice beach, with an old-fashioned boardwalk and some (how many?) glitzy Las Vegas type hotels (is it really like Las Vegas, or more like Reno?), why would anyone choose Atlantic City if not for the hotel-casinos? It doesn't sound like there's anything to do or see there except for the hotels, beach and boardwalk, and the latter you can get elsewhere, in nicer environs. Really, I'm just curious.

Beats me,sf7307!

Haven't been to Atlantic City in decades, but there are apparently a couple attractions. Some are listed here:

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/atlanticcity/0894010029.html

and include

--Atlantic City Aquarium
--Absecon Lighthouse
--Atlantic City Historical Museum
--Steel Pier (amusement park)
--Lucy the Elephant (building, nearby in Margate)

No idea if this is enough to warrant a visit here in lieu of the casinos and boardwalk, of course.

No reason, sf. That's why they were very happy to have the casinos build there. In its heyday, of course, it had more entertainment options than other parts of the beach. Steel Pier comes to mind.

I think AC is a fine place to visit if you like gambling and/or shows, or want a "girls weekend away" without travelling too far, but it would not be on a list of "must sees" in the NY/DC area. So many things I'd pick before that.

You mean its heyday like 1925?

Why are 99% of travel blogs so insipid?

Thumbs down on AC. You really must find reasons to go there. And if you gamble, they do not control the low lives like they do at the Connecticut casinos.