Long Beach: An Insider's Guide

Located across the beautiful south shore of Long Island, Long Beach, NY is one of Long Island's most desired destinations in the summer. Explore this beautiful "City By The Sea" with 3.5 miles of a beautiful beach to walk along the shore, relax in the sun, surf, swim and play in the softest sand ever! There are entrances to get on the beach between Nevada Avenue and Pacific Boulevard, a beach pass is required or it is $12 a day. Parking sometimes can be a tad hectic, but my advice is to drop off someone at whichever beach you are going to, leave them with everything and then go find a spot, unless you come prepared with strong friends willing to carry all of your beach necessities! Try to stay until after dusk, the golden hour on the beach is the best time of the day. Stay, order dinner and just relax, the beach is usually pretty empty by then and it is perfect for a romantic evening with your loved one or your girlfriends!

Aside from the Beach, another one of Long Beach's most popular attractions is the boardwalk, located along 2.2 miles across the beautiful beach. After hurricane sandy the boardwalk was destroyed, but in true "strong island" fashion, it was rebuilt and is stronger and better than ever! The boardwalk has tropical hardwood that is not only beautiful but it is said to last forever! Add watching the sunset and the sunrise from the boardwalk to your LB bucket list, trust me! Check out these two shots taken from a sunset and a sunrise, it’s truly breathtaking.

Long Beach has much more to offer than the beach. From restaurants to bars, to the cute shops located throughout town, there is so much to do and see, which is why it becomes a zoo in the summer! Being that I am a local, I wanted to share some tips and places to go to get the most of your experience when visiting Long Beach this summer without dealing with crazy crowds. Hope you enjoy your trip!

Getting around Long Beach is easy. You can easily walk from one place to the next. In total, Long Beach is about four miles long, give or take. Another fun way to get around town is by bike. If you need to rent, you can visit Sobi Long Beach to reserve a bike, pick it up at one of a few locations and away you go! It is $5 an hour to rent, and once you are done you can just return it. How easy is that?

Wine & Dine:

For lunch, try Brands Deli located on right across from train station in the center of town. They make delicious specialty sandwiches, salads, and so much more! To avoid long lines at the deli, they deliver to the beach! If you love pizza, Gino's is located on the same block of Brands Deli. Hands down the best pizza ever. It is a must!

The west end of Long Beach is where all the fun restaurants and bars are located, right on Beech Street, starting on New York Avenue, ending in East Atlantic Beach. Walking down Beech Street is like being on vacation - the crowds, the live music coming from the bars, the outdoor seating. It can be very hard to choose just one place, which is why walking down Beech Street sometimes turns into a mini bar crawl!

If you are looking to sit outside, have good food, listen to music and have fun, go to The Inn.

If you are a foodie, try Lost & Found for dinner. Recently opened in February 2015, it is gourmet American food at its finest. It’s hard to get a reservation so definitely call in advance, it is so worth it!

When shopping around LB, it is a must to stop in to Ooh la la located on 134 East Park Avenue and do some retail therapy with Ooh!

If you are in LB on a Wednesday or a Saturday there is a farmer's market at Kennedy Plaza, located on 1 West Chester Street, right in front of city hall, in the middle of town. Here you will find organic vegetables and greens, fresh corn, potatoes, fruit, dairy products, pickles (THE BEST!), Italian food, soaps, preserves, bread and SO much more. If you are in town on a Wednesday or Saturday, I highly suggest visiting here. The hours are Saturday from 9 AM - 2 PM and Wednesday 10 AM - 7 PM.

If you want to extend your stay in Long Beach, you can stay at the Long Beach Hotel, which is a newly renovated hotel conveniently located a block away from the boardwalk and beach. If you are looking to rent an apartment or house during the summer season, check out RentInLongBeach.Com. They have some great deals on apartments, houses and more!

Fun upcoming events in Long Beach:

-The Long Beach International Film Festival (LBIFF) will celebrate its 4th anniversary with an action-packed line up of independent and studio films from around the globe. Scheduled to take place from September 24^th-27^th, it will feature an array of nightly special events including red carpet premieres, gala celebrations, and more! Visit www.longbeachfilm.com for more details.

- The 2015 unsOund Surf Pro September 1st - 5th, Lincoln Blvd. Long Beach, NY includes a Men’s pro surf contest (hello hot surfers!), a vendor village on the boardwalk featuring sales on sponsor products, athlete meet and greets, parties and more! Visit http://www.unsoundsurf.com/unsound-surf-pro for more details.

- Michelle O’Neill XIX Volleyball Tournament: Guinness World Records has accepted the Michelle O'Neill Foundation's application to compete for the record of "World's Largest Volleyball Tournament." It’s a day of fun, for a great foundation. For more details, visit http://monfoundation.org/

Hopefully this little guide comes in handy when planning your next trip to Long Beach!