Vacation rentals in Monmouth County, NJ cover more than a dozen beach towns, from the Victorian porches of Ocean Grove to the walkable boardwalk blocks of Belmar and the music-driven energy of Asbury Park, with nightly rates that typically run $150 to $800 depending on town, season, and property size. Endless Stays operates Endless Stays hand-kept homes in Ocean Grove, Belmar, and Bradley Beach, and this guide breaks down which town fits your trip, what a stay actually costs after fees, and how to book direct instead of paying marketplace markups.
Key Takeaways
- Monmouth County vacation rentals span towns like Asbury Park, Ocean Grove, Belmar, Spring Lake, Bradley Beach, and Long Branch, with Rent By Owner reporting more than 1,120 area listings in 2026 and Vrbo showing 1,418 house listings alone.
- Nightly rates in the county typically range from $150 for a small apartment to $800 or more for a five-bedroom beach house in peak summer weeks, based on current marketplace listings near Asbury Park.
- Monmouth County sits closest to New York City among Jersey Shore regions, making it a common pick for weekend trips that don’t require a full week off.
- New Jersey drew a record 123.7 million visitors in 2026 and is forecast to reach 126.7 million in 2026, according to the New Jersey Department of State, which keeps summer demand high and booking windows tight.
- Booking direct with a brand like Endless Stays avoids third-party service fees that marketplaces like Airbnb and Vrbo add at checkout, and gives you a direct line to a local host instead of a call center.
- Belmar, Ocean Grove, and Bradley Beach sit inside Monmouth County; if you’ve searched “is Belmar in Monmouth County,” the answer is yes, it’s one of the county’s most walkable oceanfront boroughs.
Table of Contents
- Which Monmouth County Town Should You Book?
- Is Belmar in Monmouth County, NJ?
- What Types of Vacation Rentals Are Available in Monmouth County?
- What Is the Most Affordable Town in Monmouth County, NJ?
- What Does a Stay Actually Cost After Fees?
- What Is the Best Site to Use for Vacation Rentals?
- Where Can I Find Last-Minute Rentals in Jersey Shore?
- What Are Good Long-Term Stay Options in Monmouth County, NJ?
- How Do You Get Around Without a Car?
- What Should Families and Accessibility-Focused Travelers Check?
- How Do You Book a Monmouth County Rental Step by Step?
- Frequently Asked Questions
Monmouth County stretches roughly 27 miles of coastline between Sandy Hook and the Manasquan Inlet, and it’s the section of Jersey Shore closest to New York City, a fact that shapes almost everything about how it books. Day-trippers from the city fill weekend slots fast, weeklong renters compete with weekenders for the same inventory, and towns like Asbury Park and Spring Lake carry different personalities entirely despite sitting a few miles apart.
This guide walks through the towns, the rental types, the real cost of a stay once fees and beach badges are added in, and the booking mechanics that most marketplace pages skip. As the team behind several hand-kept homes in Ocean Grove, Bradley Beach, and Belmar, Endless Stays has spent years learning which blocks actually deliver on their listing photos and which towns work best for which kind of trip.
Whether you’re planning a weekend for two, a family week at the beach, or a group getaway with friends, the differences between these towns matter more than most search results let on. We’ll cover that here, along with the New Jersey-specific booking details, tax rules, and logistics that marketplace listing pages routinely leave out.
Which Monmouth County Town Should You Book?
The right Monmouth County town depends on what you want from your trip: nightlife and energy point toward Asbury Park, quiet and walkable points toward Ocean Grove, and a boardwalk-and-bar balance points toward Belmar. Specifically, Shore Guide’s regional breakdown describes Asbury Park as trendy, Spring Lake as upscale, and Point Pleasant as family-friendly, and that framing holds up on the ground.
Ocean Grove is a dry town built around Victorian-era architecture and a historic camp meeting association, which makes it quiet at night and popular with couples and families who want beach access without bar noise. The Embury Hideaway, an Endless Stays property in Ocean Grove, sits a 12-minute walk from the sand and a five-minute drive from Asbury Park’s boardwalk, letting guests choose their pace night by night.
Belmar splits the difference: its downtown strip along F Street has bars like Anchor Tavern and restaurants like Marina Grille within a few blocks of the beach, and it draws a mix of families, groups, and couples. Bradley Beach, just north of Belmar, is quieter and more residential, with its boardwalk a five-minute walk from most rentals.
Spring Lake and Long Branch round out the county’s higher-end options, with larger homes and a slower pace, while Sea Bright and Atlantic Highlands lean toward marina and boating culture. If you’re deciding between towns, match the noise level and walkability to your group first, then filter by budget.
Is Belmar in Monmouth County, NJ?
Yes, Belmar is in Monmouth County, New Jersey. It’s an oceanfront borough roughly midway down the county’s coastline, bordered by Avon-by-the-Sea to the north and Spring Lake to the south, and it’s one of the most searched towns for Jersey Shore vacation rentals.
Belmar’s Main Street and F Street corridor sit a short walk from the beach, and the town runs its own summer events calendar, which the Belmar Tourism Commission maintains along with an events calendar for concerts and festivals. Two Endless Stays properties, A Shore Thing and The Belmar Family Compound, sit 3.5 blocks from the beach and within walking distance of F Street’s restaurant row.
For readers weighing Belmar against neighboring towns: it’s louder and more social than Ocean Grove or Bradley Beach, but calmer and less commercialized than Seaside Heights further south in Ocean County. Belmar also has its own NJ Transit train station, which matters if you’re coming from New York City or North Jersey without a car.
What Types of Vacation Rentals Are Available in Monmouth County?
Monmouth County vacation rentals include apartments, single-family beach houses, multi-unit compounds, cottages, and waterfront homes, with inventory concentrated in Asbury Park, Ocean Grove, Belmar, Bradley Beach, and Spring Lake. Rent By Owner reported more than 1,120 properties across the Monmouth County area in 2026, and Vrbo’s category pages separately list 277 condo and apartment rentals and 1,418 house rentals, including 168 marked pet-friendly.
Smaller apartments like The Embury Retreat and The Embury Hideaway in Ocean Grove sleep four guests across two bedrooms, which suits couples or small families who don’t need a full house. Larger properties, like the five-bedroom Belmar Family Compound that sleeps up to nine across two separate units with two kitchens, work better for multi-family trips or groups that want privacy within a shared property.
Waterfront listings tend to command the highest rates in the county; Houfy’s Rumson-area listing “Elegant Waterfront Stay | Bay + Sunset Views” lists five bedrooms and six bathrooms at $1,620 to $4,875 per night, which shows how much premium bay and ocean frontage adds. Mid-range houses with three to four bedrooms, like Houfy’s “Bayview Coastal 4BR” at $279 to $931 per night, represent the bulk of what most families end up booking.
| Rental Type | Typical Bedrooms | Typical Nightly Range | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apartment / condo | 1 to 2 | $130 to $450 | Couples, small families |
| Mid-size house | 3 to 4 | $279 to $850 | Families, small groups |
| Large group house | 5+ | $450 to $1,532 | Multi-family trips, bachelorette groups |
| Waterfront / luxury | 4 to 6 | $1,000 to $4,875 | Special occasions, larger budgets |
Ranges reflect current listings from Houfy and Vrbo near Asbury Park and Rumson as of 2026; actual pricing shifts by season and specific block.
What Is the Most Affordable Town in Monmouth County, NJ?
Bradley Beach and Ocean Grove tend to offer the most affordable nightly rates among Monmouth County’s beach towns, largely because they have fewer bars, smaller footprints, and less late-night foot traffic than Belmar or Asbury Park. Neither town has the boutique-hotel density of Spring Lake or Long Branch, which keeps comparable apartment and small-house rates lower.
Bradley Beach sits a five-minute walk from its own boardwalk and beach, and it borders Ocean Grove to the south and Avon-by-the-Sea to the north, giving renters beach access without Asbury Park’s premium pricing. The Bradley Breeze, a three-bedroom Endless Stays apartment that sleeps six, sits a five-minute walk from the boardwalk, a setup that typically prices lower per night than comparable Belmar listings closer to the bar district.
Keansburg, on the county’s bay side rather than the ocean side, generally runs cheaper still, though it trades ocean beach access for a more low-key, family-oriented bay atmosphere. If budget is the top priority, compare a Bradley Beach or Ocean Grove apartment against a similarly sized unit in Belmar or Spring Lake before booking; the location premium in Monmouth County is real and it shows up fast once you’re within a block or two of the water.
What Does a Stay Actually Cost After Fees?
The advertised nightly rate on a Monmouth County vacation rental listing is rarely the final price; cleaning fees, service fees, taxes, beach badges, and sometimes parking or damage deposits typically add 15% to 30% on top of the base rate. This is one of the biggest gaps in most marketplace listing pages, which show a nightly range but rarely explain the full checkout total.
Airbnb and Vrbo both charge guest-side service fees on top of the nightly rate, and New Jersey applies state sales tax to short-term rental stays under general New Jersey sales and use tax rules for short-term rentals; check the current rate directly with the state before booking, since these figures are updated periodically. Some towns also require beach badges purchased separately unless the rental includes them.
Endless Stays properties like The Embury Hideaway and The Belmar Family Compound include beach badges in the stay (four badges at the Embury properties, nine at the Compound), which removes one line item that surprises a lot of first-time Jersey Shore renters. Before booking anywhere, ask specifically: are badges included, is there a cleaning fee, and is there a minimum-stay requirement for the dates you want, since many shore towns require a full week during peak summer weekends.
Common Add-On Costs to Ask About
- Cleaning fee, typically a flat charge added at checkout regardless of trip length
- Platform service fee, charged by Airbnb or Vrbo as a percentage of the booking
- New Jersey state sales tax on the rental total
- Beach badges, either included or purchased separately per person per day
- Refundable damage deposit, held and released after checkout inspection
- Parking fees, especially in Belmar and Asbury Park during peak weekends
What Is the Best Site to Use for Vacation Rentals?
The best site to use for a Monmouth County vacation rental depends on what you value most: Airbnb and Vrbo offer the widest inventory and review systems, Houfy lists properties with lower service fees since it connects renters directly with owners, and booking straight through a management brand’s own website, like Endless Stays, cuts out marketplace fees entirely while giving you a direct contact for questions.
Vrbo tends to work best for whole-house rentals and larger groups, since its category filters separate houses, condos, and pet-friendly listings clearly, as shown by its 1,418 house listings and 168 pet-friendly options in Monmouth County. Airbnb’s strength is its review volume and search filters, useful if you want to compare ratings across dozens of similar apartments quickly.
Houfy positions itself as a fee-light alternative, and several Monmouth County listings there, like the “Chic Boutique Cottage” with a 5.0 rating from 64 reviews at $380 to $710 per night, show that direct-owner marketplaces carry legitimate, well-reviewed inventory too. That said, once you know which town and property type you want, booking direct removes the guesswork; you deal with one host directly instead of routing every question through a platform’s messaging system, and you skip the guest-side service fee that Airbnb and Vrbo both add at checkout.
Where Can I Find Last-Minute Rentals in Jersey Shore?
Last-minute Jersey Shore rentals are easiest to find on Airbnb and Vrbo using flexible date filters, since both platforms show real-time availability and let you sort by “available now” rather than fixed weekly blocks. Monmouth County’s summer weekends book fastest, so last-minute availability tends to concentrate on weekday stays or shoulder-season dates in May, June, and September.
According to The Host Report’s 2026 data, the average booking window for U.S. vacation rentals shrank to 22.3 days while average length of stay grew to 4.42 nights, which means more travelers are booking closer to their trip dates and staying slightly longer once they arrive. That trend favors last-minute searchers, since more inventory now opens up in shorter windows than it did a few years ago.
Direct-booking sites often show live calendars too; checking a property’s own booking page, rather than only a marketplace, sometimes surfaces open dates that haven’t synced across every platform yet. If you’re flexible on town, checking Bradley Beach or Ocean Grove alongside Belmar and Asbury Park widens your last-minute options considerably, since demand isn’t evenly distributed across the county.
What Are Good Long-Term Stay Options in Monmouth County, NJ?
Long-term stay options in Monmouth County include extended-stay hotels, monthly furnished apartment rentals, and some vacation rental hosts who offer discounted weekly or monthly rates during shoulder season. The 2026 Monmouth County travel guide names Homewood Suites by Hilton in Eatontown as a branded extended-stay option, alongside hotels like The Molly Pitcher Inn in Red Bank and The Asbury Hotel in Asbury Park for those who want hotel-style amenities over a longer visit.
For travelers who want a home rather than a hotel room, some vacation rental owners will negotiate reduced nightly rates for stays of two weeks or longer, particularly in the fall and spring when weekly summer minimums don’t apply. New Jersey’s rental vacancy rate sat at 4.9% in 2026 according to Federal Reserve data, and Monmouth County’s average long-term rent reached $2,650 per month as of a February 2026 market report, both of which shape how competitive the traditional long-term rental market is compared to booking an extended vacation rental stay instead.
If your trip involves travel sports, a work relocation, or a seasonal stay, reach out to a vacation rental host directly and ask about month-long rates before booking through a marketplace at the standard nightly price; most owners would rather fill a slow month at a discount than leave a property empty.
How Do You Get Around Without a Car?
Getting around Monmouth County without a car is realistic in towns like Belmar and Asbury Park, both of which have their own NJ Transit rail stations connecting to New York City and North Jersey, but it gets harder in smaller towns like Ocean Grove and Bradley Beach that rely more on walking and rideshare. Belmar’s train station sits within walking distance of downtown and the beach, which is one reason it’s popular with car-free weekend travelers.
Ocean Grove doesn’t have its own station, but The Embury Hideaway and The Embury Retreat sit a five-minute drive, or a longer walk, from Asbury Park’s downtown and transit access, and Uber between the two towns runs quickly given the short distance. A Shore Thing and The Beach Bum, both in Belmar, are walkable to F Street’s restaurants and a quick Uber to Asbury Park, Spring Lake, and Ocean Grove, which covers most of what a car-free weekend needs.
If you’re flying in, Newark Liberty International Airport is roughly an hour to 75 minutes from most Monmouth County beach towns depending on traffic, while Atlantic City International Airport runs about an hour from Bradley Beach. Renting a car for the airport transfer and then parking it for the rest of the trip is often the most practical setup if you’re staying somewhere walkable like Belmar or downtown Asbury Park.
What Should Families and Accessibility-Focused Travelers Check?
Families and accessibility-focused travelers booking a Monmouth County vacation rental should confirm step-free access, crib or pack-and-play availability, proximity to a grocery store, and whether beach equipment like chairs and umbrellas is included before booking, since most marketplace listing pages don’t surface these details clearly. Ground-floor units and single-story houses reduce mobility concerns significantly compared to walk-up apartments common in older shore towns.
Ocean Grove’s Victorian-era housing stock, while charming, often means older buildings with stairs; ask specifically about ground-floor access if that matters for your group. Properties like The Belmar Family Compound, with two separate units and ample parking, work well for multi-generational families who want proximity without sharing every room, and its included beach badges and chairs cut down on day-of logistics.
For families with young kids, check quiet hours, distance to the nearest pharmacy or grocery store, and whether the property has a full kitchen versus a kitchenette, since a week at the shore with toddlers usually means more home-cooked meals than restaurant trips. Always confirm these details directly with the host in writing before arrival rather than assuming from listing photos alone.
How Do You Book a Monmouth County Rental Step by Step?
Booking a Monmouth County vacation rental generally takes five steps: pick your town based on atmosphere and budget, confirm your dates against any minimum-stay rules, message the host or check the direct booking page for total cost including fees, review the cancellation policy, and confirm what’s included, such as beach badges, parking, or linens.
- Choose your town based on noise level, walkability, and budget, using the town comparisons above as a starting point.
- Check whether your dates fall within a peak-season minimum-stay window, common in July and August across most Jersey Shore towns.
- Request the full quoted total, including cleaning fee, taxes, and any service fee, before confirming.
- Read the cancellation policy carefully; peak summer weekends often carry stricter terms than shoulder-season bookings.
- Confirm inclusions in writing: beach badges, parking spots, linens, and check-in instructions.
Booking direct through a host’s own site, rather than exclusively through a marketplace, often simplifies steps three and five since you’re communicating with one person instead of routing questions through platform messaging. If you’re comparing a specific Endless Stays property against a marketplace listing, the direct booking page will always show the same total cost upfront with no added guest-side service fee.
What Else Is Worth Knowing Before You Book?
New Jersey’s tourism economy set records heading into 2026, and Monmouth County captures a meaningful share of that traffic given its proximity to New York City. The state welcomed 123.7 million visitors in 2026, a 2.7% increase year over year, with visitor spending hitting $50.6 billion, according to the New Jersey Department of State’s 2026 economic impact report.
That demand keeps pressure on summer availability across Monmouth County, and it’s part of why AirDNA’s 2026 outlook projects national short-term rental demand growing 2.7% alongside RevPAR gains of roughly 2.9%, driven more by stronger nightly rates than by new supply. Professionally managed listings also tend to outperform self-managed ones; Stay In TX, citing AirDNA and Hometime data, reported professionally managed rentals earned 43% higher average daily rates than self-managed listings in the same period.
For attractions beyond the beach, Asbury Park’s Stone Pony, which opened in 1974 and still runs a summer outdoor stage with national acts, remains one of the county’s most recognized venues. If you’re staying in Sea Bright or nearby, Eventide Grille at Navesink Marina is worth a dinner reservation for sunset views over the water, and boaters passing through often stop at the Atlantic Highlands Municipal Harbor. For general trip planning, the Monmouth County Division of Tourism maintains a resource on county beaches worth checking before you go.
If you’re weighing Monmouth County against nearby options, our guides on where to stay in Asbury Park and the broader where to stay in New Jersey both go deeper into specific neighborhoods, and our vacation rental New Jersey guide covers how hand-kept homes compare to standard marketplace listings statewide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there any vacation rentals available in Asbury Park, New Jersey?
Yes, Asbury Park has a wide range of vacation rentals, from studio and one-bedroom apartments near the boardwalk to larger multi-bedroom homes further from downtown. Houfy lists options like “Downtown Delight: 1BR Near Asbury Park Beach” at $147 to $442 per night, and nearby Ocean Grove properties, including Endless Stays’ Embury Hideaway and Embury Retreat, sit just a five-minute drive from Asbury Park’s beach and nightlife.
Are there any vacation rentals available near the beach in Asbury Park, New Jersey?
Yes, several listings sit within a short walk of Asbury Park’s beach and boardwalk, including one- and two-bedroom units listed on Houfy and Vrbo in the $130 to $590 nightly range before fees. Properties in adjacent Ocean Grove, a 12-minute walk from the sand, offer a quieter alternative while remaining a few minutes’ drive from Asbury Park’s beach access.
Is Belmar in Monmouth County?
Yes, Belmar is an oceanfront borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, located between Avon-by-the-Sea and Spring Lake along the coast. It has its own NJ Transit train station, a downtown restaurant and bar district along F Street, and a beach roughly 3.5 blocks from most rentals in town.
Are there any vacation rentals available on Long Beach Island, New Jersey?
Long Beach Island sits in Ocean County, just south of Monmouth County, and has its own established vacation rental market of houses and condos along the island’s 18-mile stretch. If you’re comparing options, our Airbnb management Long Beach Island guide covers how that market differs from Monmouth County’s mainland beach towns.
What is the most affordable town in Monmouth County, NJ?
Bradley Beach and Ocean Grove typically offer more affordable nightly rates than Belmar, Asbury Park, or Spring Lake, largely due to smaller downtown footprints and less nightlife density. Keansburg, on the bay side of the county, generally runs cheaper still, though it trades ocean beach access for a bay-town setting.
What are good long-term stay options in Monmouth County, NJ?
Extended-stay hotels like Homewood Suites by Hilton in Eatontown offer month-long, hotel-style stays, while some vacation rental owners will negotiate reduced weekly or monthly rates during shoulder season for guests who want a full home instead. Reaching out to a host directly, rather than booking only through a marketplace’s standard nightly pricing, is usually the best way to secure a long-term discount.
Where can I find last-minute rentals in Jersey Shore?
Airbnb and Vrbo both allow flexible-date searches that surface last-minute availability quickly, and last-minute openings are more common on weekday stays or in shoulder-season months like May, June, and September than on peak summer weekends. Checking a property’s own direct booking page can also reveal open dates that haven’t synced to every marketplace calendar yet.
Conclusion: Booking Vacation Rentals in Monmouth County, NJ
Monmouth County vacation rentals give you options across a wide range of budgets and atmospheres, from Ocean Grove’s quiet Victorian streets to Belmar’s boardwalk energy, with nightly rates generally landing between $150 and $800 depending on town and property size. Matching the town to your group, confirming the full cost after fees, and checking minimum-stay rules before booking will save you the surprises that marketplace listing pages tend to leave out.
As New Jersey heads toward a projected 126.7 million visitors in 2026, summer demand along this stretch of coast isn’t slowing down, which makes booking direct and confirming details early more valuable than ever. Whether you land on a walkable apartment in Ocean Grove or a larger group house in Belmar, the towns covered here should make the decision considerably easier.
Endless Stays manages hand-kept vacation homes across Ocean Grove, Belmar, and Bradley Beach, with properties that have earned guest favorite status and top 3rd to 5th ranked positions among Monmouth County beach town listings. If you’d rather book direct and skip marketplace service fees, check availability with Endless Stays for your next Jersey Shore trip.