Exit Zero Jazz Festival

No passenger rail reaches Cape May (the local Cape May Seashore Lines is heritage/excursion only). For attendees flying into Philadelphia (PHL) instead of ACY, a realistic alternate gateway with far more flights, NJ Transit's Atlantic City Rail Line runs daily from Philadelphia 30th Street Station to Atlantic City Rail Terminal, where the free Jitney rail-terminal shuttle and the adjacent bus terminal connect to the 552 bus for the final ~2h leg to Cape May.

No intercity coach (Greyhound/FlixBus/Megabus) serves Cape May. From New York City, NJ Transit's 319 runs express from Port Authority Bus Terminal to Atlantic City (limited stops at Newark Penn and Journal Square); transfer at the AC Bus Terminal to the year-round 552 for Cape May. Summer-season 319 extensions toward the Wildwoods do not apply to this late-October festival.

No transit route serves the ACY terminal directly to Cape May, the airport's own ground-transport page lists only taxi/rideshare/car options. The practical transit chain: taxi or rideshare ~10 mi from ACY to the Atlantic City Bus Terminal, then NJ Transit's year-round route 552, which runs roughly hourly down the shore to the Cape May Welcome Center on Lafayette Street, about a 12-minute walk from Convention Hall. The 552 leg takes about 2 hours (local, ~58 stops).

Uber and Lyft both operate at ACY with curbside pickup outside baggage claim; a staffed taxi desk sits between baggage claim and the terminal exit. Cape May is roughly 40 road miles (about 45-55 min) south via the Garden State Parkway. Rideshare coverage in Cape May itself is reliable in-season and adequate in October, but pre-book or allow extra wait for the return leg to the airport.

7401 Atlantic Avenue, Wildwood Gables, NJ 08260

Typically $70-130 a night off-peak guide, higher on festival dates

9 Perry Street, Cape May, NJ 08204

Typically $120-220 a night off-peak guide, higher on festival dates

720 Washington Street, Cape May, NJ 18204

Typically $120-220 a night off-peak guide, higher on festival dates

1123 Beach Avenue, Cape May, NJ 08204

Typically $120-220 a night off-peak guide, higher on festival dates

9701 Atlantic Avenue, Wildwood Crest, NJ 08260

Typically $120-220 a night off-peak guide, higher on festival dates

1101 Beach Ave, Cape May, NJ 08204

Shuttle Hotel-operated complimentary around-town courtesy shuttle, documented on the hotel's own site ('Seasonal shuttle through Cape May'; 'Our ICONA Shuttle can drive you to local restaurants and bars in summer and on weekends during cozy season'). Fall weekends are covered, which matches this late-October festival, but it is a general courtesy loop, NOT a dedicated festival/venue route, and the hotel is comfortably walkable to Convention Hall anyway.

501 Beach Ave, Cape May, NJ 08204

200 Congress Pl, Cape May, NJ 08204

1025 Beach Ave, Cape May, NJ 08204

1045 Beach Ave, Cape May, NJ 08204

1317 Beach Ave, Cape May, NJ 08204

Cape May has a deep short-term-rental stock (Victorian cottages and beach-block condos dominate). Late October is shoulder season, so availability is meaningfully better and cheaper than summer, but festival + fall-weekend demand still concentrates on the historic district and Beach Avenue blocks, expect weekend minimum-stay requirements to persist. Booking within walking distance of Convention Hall (roughly Beach Ave / historic district) removes any parking or transport concern for the whole weekend.

Cape May County has a large private-campground scene (Cold Spring / Lower Township / Cape May Court House corridor, roughly 3-15 mi from the venue) with Hipcamp-listed tent, RV, and glamping options as a budget alternative to in-town hotels. Caveat for this festival's late-October dates: many Jersey Shore campgrounds close for the season in mid-to-late October, verify individual listing availability for the festival weekend before relying on this option.