Hi.
My husband, two sons, and I will be spending 8 nights in the Upper West side in NYC, then traveling to Greenport for 4 nights. We would like to also visit the Hamptons when we are there. What is the best way to get from NYC to the Hamptons? I understand that we will likely need to rent a car. Is that correct? Where would be the most economical place to rent it? At one of the airports? Once we get to Greenport, how do we go about visiting the Hamptons? Someone told us it was best to take a boat. We are expecting a lot of traffic. Any help you can give us would be appreciated. Thank you.
Travel from NYC to Greenport, then from Greenport to the Hamptons
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Yes, to get around the Hamptons you really need a car. The end of Long Island is divided. Greenport is near the end of the North Fork and Montauk the end of the South Fork. The Hamptons is a series of villages on the South Fork west of Montauk.
As long as you have a car yo can get from Greenport to the Hamptons in about 1.5 hours (except on summer weekend - when no rules apply).
If at all possible I suggest you visit the Hamptons during the week rather than on the weekends. it will be much easier to get around and the cost of lodging will be less. Not sure why ou want to spend 4 nights in Greenport (are you visiting someone?) since there is far more to see and do on the South Fork.
Coming from Manhattan I would rent a car at one of the offices on the upper west side (several on west 76 or 77 st) or upper east side, hop on the FDR and head out over the Triborough bridge. You can check if picking up the car at one of the LaGuardia rental offices will be cheaper - but then you'll have to spend about $30 on a cab to get there - and later back to the city. And do rent as far in advance as possible - since offices often run out of cars - esp on weekends.
Greenport is on Long Island's North Fork while the Hampton's are on the South Fork. It's about 100 miles and about a 2 hour drive (longer if you are travelling during "rush hour", on Friday afternoons or Saturdays during the summer.
To get there by car from NYC take I-495 (Long Island Expressway) east toward Riverhead. At the end of I-495 take NY-25 east to Greenport.
To reach "the Hamptons" from Greenport take NY-25 back toward Riverhead till you come to County Road 105. Go south on 105 to NY 24 (Sunrise Highway). Go east on NY 24 to "the Hamptons". South Hampton is about 40 miles from Greeport and will take you abvout 45 minutes to drive. Other villages in "the Hamptons" will be further and take longer.
You can get detailed turn by turn, mile by mile directions on Mapquest or Google Maps.
You may want to shift some days from the North Fork to the South Fork.
The North Fork is essentially rural, with nice wineries, B&B's, farm stands, and such, but Greenport is hardly worth even a day in itself. The South Fork has teal towns with upscale shops, many art galleries, a few wineries, and plenty of restaurants. It is far more crowded in a semirural way, has bottlenecks to driving in every town, but is probably far more interesting (and expensive).
In between, Riverhead has an aquarium (I have never been there), and there is, of course, the Big Duck (plan to add 10 minutes to your trip).
Check some guidebooks and on line and decide if you have made a good plan for your time.
How did "teal" get in there? "Real towns!"
And, of course, whatever you do will require a car.
I don't know where the most economical car rental would be. You'll have to do some research on your own. Compare prices between Manhattan locations and the airports. It is a bit of a hassle to have to go to the airport for the car but if it saves enough $$, it may be worthwhile. Which airport do you leave from at the end of the trip?
If you don't want to drive the whole way, you could actually take hamptonjitney.com bus service to Greenport or the Hamptons or the Long Island Railroad from NYC. Greenport is a very walkable town if you're just staying there and don't plan to travel around too much to the other towns. There are several car rental places in the Hamptons (Avis in Southampton & Bridgehampton and Enterprise in Southampton & East Hampton). I found 1 car rental listed in Greenport People's Choice Rent a Car 429 4th Street, Greenport, NY 11944-1807(631) 477-8100 but I don't know anything about them. There are also a number of rental places listed in Riverhead and a Hertz in Cutchogue which is a stop on the Jitney to Greenport. I found the car rentals by mapping Greenport, NY on maps.google.com and then using the "search nearby" function for car rentals.
As another rental possibility, a few years ago the Toyota dealer in Riverhead was renting cars. I'm not sure if they still are but it suggests they are online. Again, the Jitney stops in Riverhead at the Tanger Outlet Mall and the Toyota dealer is not that far. http://www.toyota.com/rental/dealers/
To get from Greenport to the Hamptons, you can either drive around through Riverhead, or, the more scenic route is to take the ferry from Greenport to Shelter Island-drive across the island from the north end to the south end and take another ferry from Shelter Island to Sag Harbor. These ferries take cars, don't require reservations and are each about $15-20 roundtrip for a very short ride.