THE RACE TO THE SHORE
What’s the fastest route from Philly to Ocean City? Five reporters raced to find out.
Everyone has their own weird trick to get the jump on fellow beachgoers. But what is the best way to get to the Jersey Shore? There’s only one way to settle that age-old question: a race.
At 4 p.m. on Friday, July 7, four staffers raced from The Inquirer’s newsroom at 100 Independence Mall West to Manco & Manco Pizza on the Ocean City boardwalk. The winner would be the first to have a slice in their hands.
Meet our contestants and their routes:
Tommy Rowan took the Commodore Barry Bridge, followed Route 322 to Route 55, then Route 40 to Mays Landing, and local roads to Ocean City.
Aubrey Whelan and her husband, Andy, used a variation of an old family back route: across the Ben Franklin Bridge, then to Routes 55, then 49, then 50.
Jason Nark took the Atlantic City Expressway with his 16-year-old son, Zenon. The route’s a classic, but you never know when a traffic jam or a car crash will ruin the trip.
Felicia Gans Sobey took a car-less journey: SEPTA to 30th Street Station, NJ Transit to Atlantic City, and then a rideshare to Ocean City.
And then we have our surprise fifth entrant…
Jasen Lo, the adventure-seeker who took PATCO to Lindenwold, N.J. and then biked the rest of the way.
Before you attempt this yourself, please know: This is not for the faint of heart. Jasen biked with two experienced cyclists — and many snacks. Also, it felt only fair to give them a two-hour head start.
Now you know the field.
Who do you think will win?
Keep scrolling to see who got there first…
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Jasen Lo
Cycling
My bike friends, Eva DiNino and Fern Bernal, and I set off equipped with a copious amount of snacks and bike tools. After lugging our bikes down the stairs at 8th and Market, we boarded the eastbound PATCO toward Lindenwold.
Boarding the eastbound PATCO toward LindenwoldJasen Lo Jasen Lo
Cycling
Arriving at Lindenwold, we left the station and started pedaling east on Egg Harbor Road. The weather forecast predicted scattered showers, but so far, we had clear skies dappled with shade-providing clouds — perfect biking conditions.
Jasen Lo
Cycling
One hour and ten minutes cycling later, and we were keeping a good pace through the quiet tree-lined roads of Berlin Park on Park Drive. Ominous gray clouds loom on the horizon.
At 4 on the dot, the other four travelers left The Inquirer’s newsroom. The three drivers, Jason Nark, Aubrey Whelan, and Tommy Rowan walked to a parking lot at 7th and Market, where they had all agreed to park. Felicia Gans Sobey walked to 8th and Market to catch the El train.
Jasen Lo
Cycling
The rain clouds caught up to us around Hammonton, N.J. We staggered into a pizza shop on South Egg Harbor Road for shelter, asking to replenish our water bottles and for supplies to waterproof Eva’s bike navigator. The lady at the register understandably rolled her eyes at us, but still helped us out. Shout out to the good folks at Danny’s Pizza Pizzazz in Hammonton.
Aubrey Whelan
Back roads
We crossed the Ben Franklin Bridge smoothly and without incident, admiring the lovely Delaware River.
Driving across the Ben Franklin BridgeAndy Whelan Felicia Gans Sobey
Train + Rideshare
I arrived at 30th Street Station with 21 minutes to spare — just enough time for me to stare at the digital information board and remember how much I miss the black-and-white, analog split-flap sign. I had planned to get an iced coffee before I boarded the train, but I spent too much time being nostalgic.
Jasen Lo
Cycling
Knowing the others were gaining on us, we continued in light rain once the showers subsided. Eva pointed out the storm clouds to our left. “Think we managed to get ahead of that storm,” she said.
Eva pointing out storm cloudsJasen Lo Tommy Rowan
Back roads
I’ve made a terrible mistake. I almost immediately ran into traffic on I-95 south, well before the bridge’s on-ramp. And it’s drizzling. I’m totally not winning this thing.
Stuck in traffic on I-95 SouthTommy Rowan Felicia Gans Sobey
Train + Rideshare
The train departed — exactly on time. Across the aisle, a couple rows behind me, a woman unwrapped a sandwich from Dunkin. I really regretted not getting that iced coffee.
Jason Nark
Expressway
We only hit a little bit of rain as we headed into South Jersey’s blueberry country on the Atlantic City Expressway. Making good time. “I think we’re gonna win,” I told my son. “What do you win?” he replied. “Nothing.” “Sounds dumb to me,” he said.
Jasen Lo
Cycling
Unbeknownst to us, Jason Nark passed us on the Atlantic City Expressway moments after we passed the Expressway heading south on Weymouth Road. Weymouth had a narrow shoulder, and cars sped right by us at frightening speeds.
Vehicles drive past cyclists on a narrow shoulderJasen Lo Tommy Rowan
Back roads
At this point I remembered thinking “well, at least I’ll enjoy the ride.” The trek through the back roads did present a wonderful, green landscape. The best part of the route so far was winding through the streets of Mays Landing and Somers Point. What this route lacks in expediency it definitely gains in scenery.
Driving by green fields on back roads to Ocean CityTommy Rowan Jason Nark
Expressway
I used my hack — the Triple Loop — to get on Garden State Parkway south, mostly because I promised my colleagues I would. But I didn’t really need it. The Triple Loop consists of skipping the Parkway south exit and taking Parkway north instead. Then you immediately take the AC Expressway west exit and Parkway southwest exit immediately after that. Three exits in about 30 seconds.
Aubrey Whelan
Back roads
We hit another spot of traffic at the exit to Route 49 near Tuckahoe, where it became clear that more than a few people also took this route to the Shore. Still, we were off the exit ramp in just a few minutes.
Jason Nark
Expressway
We crossed the first salt marshes on Parkway south. I’m not sure if the Jersey Shore’s marshes smell “good,” but they’ve always been a marker for me. They let me know I’m almost there.
TK TKZenon Nark Felicia Gans Sobey
Train + Rideshare
We made it to Lindenwold, the stop I would’ve gotten on if I departed from my home in Jersey. There were about 40 people in my train car at this point — busy, but not too crowded to have your own seat. A handful of suitcases were on the overhead racks above our heads. One woman a few rows ahead of me wore a sun hat.
Tommy Rowan
Back roads
The approach to the Ocean City bridge is always a treat. I was raised on visits to the Ocean City boardwalk. I spent my teenage years on the Wildwood boardwalk, my twenties in Sea Isle City, and nowadays I have family in North Wildwood. But the older I get, the more joy I get from the nostalgia bath of entering Ocean City. It’s a bittersweet reminder, if anything.
Aubrey Whelan
Back roads
Per Google Maps’ suggestion, to save some time, we veered onto Head of River Road, which runs parallel to 49 and winds past a sprawling Methodist cemetery and a riverside community where a few families were having a picnic by the dock. I was charmed but did not stop: We were some 15 miles from Ocean City, and time was of the essence.
Jasen Lo
Cycling
Passing blueberry fields, farm stands, and emerging from treacherous roads with narrow shoulders, we saw water for the first time since the Delaware River when we arrived at Mays Landing and continued onto the wonderfully car-free Atlantic County Bikeway.
- 1st
Jason Nark
Expressway in 1 hour 40 minutes
After paying $25 to park, I made it to the boardwalk. I won, like I thought I would. Despite my ambivalence about Ocean City, I love Manco & Manco Pizza and am grateful to get two slices. It’s a top-five pizza slice for me. My son grabbed two slices and a Cherry Pepsi, then took off to hang with his girlfriend. “You got any money?” he asked, before we parted ways.
TK TKJason Nark Aubrey Whelan
Back roads
I received a text message informing me that Jason Nark beat me to Manco & Manco. Despair set in.
But a few minutes later, I realized I could still claim the title of “fastest back roads route” and vowed to press onward. I made a long speech to my husband about how highways are soulless and grim, and back roads might take longer, but have less traffic and are more scenic. We were passing rolling farmlands and charming small-town Main Streets, sleepy river canals and roadside stands luxuriant with produce. Driving to the Shore is as much about the journey as the destination, isn’t it? Andy has heard this rant thousands of times and knows now to just smile and nod.
Felicia Gans Sobey
Train + Rideshare
We just left Hammonton, and it’s been smooth ... riding? ... so far. One little issue: We hit the part of the route where service is spotty. If you stream your music live rather than download it (like me), you’re going to be listening to silence for a while.
Aubrey Whelan
Back roads
I had never been more stressed in my life, and every single car on the road was personally out to ruin my second-place finish. Still, as we finally lumbered through several interminable red lights and across the bridge on Roosevelt Boulevard, the familiar, briny air from the bay seeped into the car, and I felt that same heady mix of anticipation, excitement, and release that I always do when I make it to the Shore. (It also, objectively, smelled a little gross. But that’s part of the appeal!)
TK TKAndy Whelan - 2nd
Aubrey Whelan
Back roads in 2 hours 11 minutes
We cruised down Central Avenue in Ocean City, and the full, terrible extent of exactly how much I wanted to win this race revealed itself at last. I turned down random side streets in an effort to avoid red lights and beeped in a panic at cars I felt were driving too slowly. Andy was horrified. We spent the last few blocks debating whether to park the car in the first available free spot we saw, or to try to get as close to the Boardwalk as possible. I solved this dilemma by dumping the car in a parking lot 20 feet from the Boardwalk and shoving $25 in small bills at the bemused attendant. “You need to chill out,” said Andy. No, I did not: My semi-victory was at hand. I power-walked away from him to the Boardwalk, confirmed that I had arrived second, and immediately got in line for a Manco & Manco slice. Then I texted my dad: The Whelan Route is now tried, tested, and sort-of award-winning. We’ll be bragging about this for years.
Felicia Gans Sobey
Train + Rideshare
The train was scheduled to arrive at 6:16 p.m., and it actually arrived a minute or two early! Did I already get texts that both Jason and Aubrey had beaten me to Ocean City? Yes. But did it also sound as though I’d had the least stressful ride of anyone so far? ALSO YES. As the train pulled into the station, I did the classic rideshare check: Which is less expensive, Uber or Lyft? Uber won out, but only slightly. After tip, the ride ended up being $57.54. My Uber driver, Frankie, arrived within 5 minutes.
- 3rd
Tommy Rowan
Back roads in 2 hours 35 minutes
Well, at least I didn’t lose to the bicycle. And at least there’s pizza. And you can’t just go with one slice at Manco & Manco, and you can’t go with plain. The white slice is the go-to, but the buffalo chicken is the real prize.
Felicia Gans Sobey
Train + Rideshare
Friends, let me introduce you to Frankie Melendez, the best Uber driver I’ve ever had. When I got in the car, I told him about our little competition here, and he scrolled through his navigational apps to assess the best route. The GPS wanted him to take a local drive — likely through Ventnor, then Margate, then Longport... but “Screw that,” Frankie said. “We’re taking the Expressway.” It was technically 2.5 miles longer, but significantly fewer traffic lights. I told Frankie about Jason, my lucky colleague who at this point had enjoyed his Manco & Manco pizza a full hour before. “Man, that guy was lucky,” Frankie said, when he heard Jason beat us all. Frankie, who lives in Atlantic City, works in Cherry Hill three days a week, and the Expressway is rarely the fastest way home, he said. He prefers the White Horse Pike. Frankie’s charisma softened the blow when I got the next text: Tommy had beaten me, too.
- 4th
Felicia Gans Sobey
Train + Rideshare in 2 hours 45 minutes
I MADE IT. I FINALLY MADE IT. Manco & Manco had never smelled so good. I’ll admit — this wasn’t the most productive route. But if you want a hands-off travel experience — and especially if you’re stopping in or near Atlantic City — the train is a great option.
Jasen Lo
Cycling
Five hours after we started from Philadelphia, we wearily reached the Stainton Memorial Causeway connecting Somers Point and Ocean City. We were thoroughly exhausted, but last-mile adrenaline kicked in as I munched on my very last energy bar.
TK TKJasen Lo - 5th
Jasen Lo
Cycling in 5 hours 24 minutes
A short ride through Ocean City, and we arrived to a round of sympathetic applause from our fellow contestants, who decisively defeated us in their various motorized ways. Sore and embattled, our left ears ringing from the rumble of passing cars, we shed our gear and jumped into the ocean.
In the end, as cliché as it is, the Expressway won the race. Jason Nark, with his signature Triple Loop hack, made it from Center City to Ocean City in an hour and 40 minutes — but only because traffic was light and there were no accidents or delays.
Historically speaking, the Expressway is best. According to data from HERE, a company that uses location data to calculate historical road speeds, the Expressway route was the fastest on average in 2022. That was true of any time, morning or night, on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays that year.
Aubrey Whelan completed her family’s route and got there in about 2 hours and 11 minutes. Tommy Rowan spent 2 hours and 35 minutes getting there via the back roads.
The combination of NJ Transit and Uber rides took Felicia Gans Sobey about 2 hours and 45 minutes from door to door.
An ambitious bike route took Jasen Lo a whopping 5 hours and 24 minutes.
When it comes to your next Shore trip, it’s all about your priorities — do you want to get there as quickly as possible, or would you prefer a scenic route? Do you want to let NJ Transit do the driving, or are you willing to put your biking legs to the test?
The choice is up to you.
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Staff Contributors
- Project Concept: John Duchneskie
- Reporting: Felicia Gans Sobey, Jasen Lo, Jason Nark, Tommy Rowan, Aubrey Whelan
- Design and Development: Dain Saint, Charmaine Runes, Sam Morris, Jasen Lo
- Digital Editing: Felicia Gans Sobey
- Project Editing: Sam Morris, Kate Dailey, Danese Kenon
- Additional Video: Tyger Williams
- Photo: Yong Kim
- Data: Aseem Shukla
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