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Voykit pocket guide · United States
Swedesboro
Swedesboro, New Jersey
Give Swedesboro half a day on a Gloucester County drive: walk Main Street and the old Swedish churchyard, eat, then move on. Sleep here only if you need a cheap bed near the New Jersey Turnpike.
Swedesboro is a borough of about 2,600 people inside Woolwich Township, 18 miles from Camden and roughly 25-30 minutes by car from Philadelphia across the Commodore Barry Bridge. It is one of New Jersey's two old Swedish settlements, with a small historic core, a handful of restaurants and two highway hotels. There is no train station and no reason to build a trip around it: it works as a lunch stop, a half-day add-on to Woodbury or a cheap overnight on a road run down I-295.
- Country
- United States
- Local name
- Swedesboro, New Jersey
- Best months
- Apr-Jun, Sep-Oct
- Avoid
- Jul-Aug (heat and humidity)
- Stay
- 0-1 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- USD
- Money
- Currency is the US dollar (USD, $). Cards and phone payments work almost everywhere; carry a little cash for tips and small vendors.
- Daily spend
- Budget $60-90 excl. bed · Mid $90-150 excl. bed · High $150+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile cover the country; prepaid SIMs at their stores and Walmart/Target (passport required), or an eSIM before you fly.
- Emergency
- Police, fire, ambulance 911 · Swedesboro Police non-emergency 856-467-0061 · Poison Control 1-800-222-1222
- Plugs
- Types A, B · 120 V · 60 Hz · Chargers are dual-voltage; hair dryers and straighteners from 230 V countries need a converter.
- Tipping
- Sit-down restaurant: 18–22% of the pre-tax bill.; Bar: US$1–2 per drink or 20% of the tab.; Taxi / ride-hailing: 15–20%, in the app.; Hotel housekeeping: US$3–5 a night.; Porter / valet: US$2–5 per bag or car.; Tour guide: US$10–20 per person for a day tour.; Counter service / tablet prompts: Optional; 0–15%.
- Water
- Tap water is drinkable nearly everywhere; boil or treat water from streams in parks.
- Toilets
- Free public toilets are scarce in big cities; use cafés, department stores, libraries, stations. Rest areas on highways are free.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee or drip coffee to go | $2-5 |
| Deli sandwich or hoagie | $9-14 |
| Sit-down dinner main | $16-30 |
| Draft beer at a local bar | $5-8 |
| Metered parking on Kings Highway | $0.25 per 30 min |
| eSIM or data plan, about a week | $10-30 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- PHL · Philadelphia International
- About 25-35 min by car via I-95 and the Commodore Barry Bridge; check tolls and traffic.
- ACY · Atlantic City International
- About 45-55 min by car; smaller, fewer flights.
Typical fares
- Commodore Barry Bridge, car, westbound
- about $6 (check)
- Parking on Kings Highway
- $0.25 per 30 minutes
- Fuel, Swedesboro to Philadelphia and back
- about $8-12
Show 7 more sections and the pocket cardHideGet around, See and do, Sleep, Phrase card, Etiquette, safety and scams, One and two days, Sources, Pocket card
Get around
Walk. The borough is about 15 minutes end to end, and free parking sits behind most shops and restaurants, with metered spaces along Kings Highway (about $0.25 per 30 minutes). A car is needed for anything outside the borough: there is no rail station, and buses along US-322 are limited.
See and do
Known for
- New Sweden colonial history
- Trinity Episcopal Church ('Old Swedes') churchyard
- Small walkable Main Street
- Highway hotels at Pureland Drive
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Woodbury, New Jersey | Drive County Road 551 or US-322, about 10 miles | About 20 min |
| Williamstown, New Jersey | Drive US-322 east, about 15 miles | About 25 min |
| Gibbstown | Drive County Road 551 north and US-322 west, about 12 miles | About 25 min |
| Philadelphia | I-295 to the Commodore Barry Bridge, then I-95 north | About 35-50 min |
Sleep
- Pureland Drive
- Two highway hotels (Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn) off US-322; free parking, nothing to walk to.
- Main Street / Kings Highway core
- Almost no lodging; stay here only if you find a short-term rental. Everything in the borough is walkable from it.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Thank you | Thank you |
| Where is the parking? | Where is the parking? |
| Can I pay by card? | Can I pay by card? |
| The check, please | The check, please |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake and 'hi, how are you?' — reply 'good, thanks'; avoid: Treating the question as a real health enquiry
- Restaurants: Tip 18–22% and wait for the check; avoid: Leaving without tipping
- Personal space: Keep an arm's length in queues; avoid: Standing close to strangers
- Politics and religion: Listen more than you speak; avoid: Opening with hot-button topics
- Smoking: Smoke only in marked areas; avoid: Smoking near doors or in parks where banned
Scams and watch-outs
- No train service: do not plan on arriving without a car or a lift.
- Kings Highway meters are enforced on weekdays; read the sign before you leave the car.
- Restaurant kitchens close early on weeknights; check hours before a late drive.
- Summer afternoons are humid; the historic churchyard has little shade.
Low-crime small town; the real risks are highway driving on I-295 and US-322 and unlit roads after dark. Standard US precautions apply: lock the car, keep valuables out of sight.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Swedesboro yet. Suggested stay: 0-1 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- New Sweden colonial history
- Trinity Episcopal Church ('Old Swedes') churchyard
- Small walkable Main Street
- Highway hotels at Pureland Drive
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Historic Swedesboro (borough historic site): www.historicswedesboro.com/
- New Jersey Department of Transportation: www.nj.gov/transportation/
- Wikivoyage: Swedesboro, revision 5217811 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5217811
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
SwedesboroSwedesboro, New Jersey
To this address, please
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
- Police, fire, ambulance911
- Swedesboro Police non-emergency856-467-0061
- Poison Control1-800-222-1222
No embassies in Swedesboro. Consulates-general sit in New York and Philadelphia; check your country's list before you travel.
English is the working language; no phrasebook needed.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/swedesboro). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.