Shore vacationers know to pack before heading down the Parkway: sunscreen, beach chairs, a cooler, maybe a stack of towels and, depending on the rental, much more.
Philadelphia-area influencer Cait Carr Vogel recently put that familiar ritual under a social media microscope when a video documenting her family’s annual Sea Isle City vacation went viral.
“Every year we pay $10,000 to come down to the Jersey Shore [and rent] houses,” Vogel said in the video, according to the New York Post. She went on to list some of the things the family still needed to provide themselves — sheets, paper products, food and coffee — before joking that they were essentially paying thousands of dollars “to camp.”
The video surpassed 600,000 views and landed Vogel in national headlines while she was still vacationing in Sea Isle with her parents.
Some commenters were bewildered by the price tag. For $10,000, they argued, a family could fly to Europe, stay at a Caribbean resort or choose any number of destinations where linens, housekeeping and perhaps a breakfast buffet come standard.
But comparing a week down the Shore to a traditional resort vacation may miss part of the point.
For generations of families, a Jersey Shore rental isn’t simply somewhere to sleep. It’s temporary ownership of a summer routine.
It’s waking up in a house crowded with cousins and sandy flip-flops. It’s walking the same route to the ocean every morning with a locally-brewed cup of iced coffee. It’s pizza on the first night, miniature golf later in the week and ice cream after dinner even though everyone said they were too full.
One commenter highlighted by the Post summed up the defense of the Shore experience: Families often return to the same town, sometimes the same house, reconnecting with friends they may see only during that particular week each summer and repeating traditions that become part of their family calendar.
That nostalgia is difficult to price.
What should renters expect?
Vogel’s video also highlights something that can surprise visitors accustomed to hotels and vacation resorts: Jersey Shore rentals often operate differently.
Bringing linens and towels, for example, isn’t necessarily an indication that something is wrong with a rental. Some professionally marketed Sea Isle properties explicitly tell tenants to bring their own towels and linens even when the units include amenities such as Wi-Fi, cable, parking and coffee makers.
That’s why renters should pay careful attention to the listing and lease before booking. A week at the Shore can require more preparation than checking into a hotel. Depending on the property, vacationers may need beach towels, paper goods, pantry basics, outdoor equipment and other household necessities.
At the same time, a five-figure weekly rental understandably raises expectations.
The Shore rental market has changed considerably in recent years, with property values and rental prices rising in many beach communities.
The Inquirer reported in 2024 that some property owners were already encountering resistance to high weekly prices and were being encouraged by real estate professionals to become more competitive by adding amenities or adjusting rates.
Sea Isle’s current rental inventory spans everything from traditional family properties to large, amenity-heavy homes. One current listing advertises a four-bedroom beach-block property sleeping 10 with a private heated pool and ocean views for an average of more than $1,000 per night.
Beach rentals have not escaped the rising cost of a Jersey Shore summer. Over the past several years, higher property values, insurance premiums, taxes, maintenance costs and general inflation have pushed expenses upward for homeowners, with many of those increases reflected in weekly rental rates.
For vacationers, that can mean paying significantly more for the same traditions their families have enjoyed for years — making expectations around cleanliness, amenities and overall value even more important when booking a Shore getaway.
This means that reading the fine print is more important than ever. Parking, distance from the beach, linens, beach tags, grills, cleaning responsibilities and check-in procedures can vary dramatically from property to property.
There are other ways to do the Shore
A weeklong house rental is hardly the only way to enjoy the Jersey Shore. Hotels and motels can offer a simpler experience for couples, smaller families or travelers who would rather skip the Saturday-to-Saturday commitment — often with linens, housekeeping and other amenities included. Campgrounds provide another option for vacationers willing to trade some comforts for a more affordable, outdoorsy getaway, with tent sites, cabins and RV accommodations available throughout South Jersey.
And for those within driving distance, there is always the classic day trip. Packing the car in the morning for a few hours on the beach, a boardwalk dinner and an ice cream cone can deliver plenty of Shore nostalgia without the cost of overnight accommodations.
It may mean sitting in a little Parkway traffic on the way home, but for many families, a day of sand, salt air and boardwalk fun is enough to make it feel like summer.
More than a house
Perhaps the reason Vogel’s video traveled so far online is that both sides of the argument make sense.
Inherently, vacationing can be quite stressful. A new routine in a new space would leave anyone a little frazzled. When staying in a hotel or motel or rental, you won’t have the same comforts from home, and if your standards are high, this can lead to a break in expectations.
Vogel compels us to ask, “Is it worth it?”
But the answer may be something a real estate listing can’t photograph. It’s buying proximity to the ocean. But for many families, it’s also buying one week when everyone is finally in the same place.
Families squeeze into rentals larger than their own homes, grandparents share breakfast with grandchildren, cousins reconnect and teenagers disappear toward the Boardwalk before returning sunburned and hungry.
The houses themselves can become part of the memories — even the imperfect ones. Today’s beach houses may be considerably more expensive, but the emotional pull is recognizable.
And then, somewhere between the first morning coffee and the last sunset of the week, those inconveniences have a way of becoming part of the story.
