SAVE YOUR MONEY

Easy road trips add mileage to quickly ending season

With Labor Day weekend just four weeks away, time is running out to book the perfect summer weekend getaway. Here are eight action-packed destinations, all within a five-hour drive of New York City. Even if you’ve visited some of these spots before, each offers something new this year.

So, get packing!

A four-hour drive from Manhattan, Rehoboth Beach offers an all-American summertime escape. The main attraction here is the mile-long boardwalk along the beach, originally built in 1873 and host to generations of visitors.

What’s new:

There’s no better way to see Rehoboth Bay than atop a standup paddleboard. Now the meditative sport of rowing a surfboard across the water has been combined with the even more relaxing activity of fishing. Del Marva Sport Adventures (delmarvaboardsportadventures.com) hosts paddleboard fishing excursions. Prerequisites are a fishing license and paddleboarding experience. The company also offers paddleboard tours without the fishing, and does paddleboard and kayak delivery to waterfront rentals.

Don’t miss:

Aside from sunbathing and swimming, the main pastime at Rehoboth Beach is strolling the boardwalk. Check the bandstand schedule (rehobothbandstand.com) for free concerts and movie screenings right on the boardwalk. For family-friendly action, head to Jungle Jim’s (funatjunglejims.com), a water park complete with slides, wave pools and bumper boats. And because there’s no sales tax in Delaware, stop at the Tanger Outlet Mall here, with stores ranging from Nike to Coach (tangeroutlet.com).

Stay:

The Atlantic Sands (atlanticsandshotel.com), right on the water, offers an oceanfront pool along with beach chairs and umbrellas. High-season summer rates start at about $300. The Boardwalk Plaza, also on the beach, has a more Victorian feel and similar rates. For more affordable accommodations, opt for one of the chain hotels and motels a few blocks from the ocean.