Advice on a Hamptons Day Trip
 

I'm visiting New York in August and would like to do a day trip to the Hamptons. As the weather should be warm in the city, I thought a day out of the hustle & bustle would be a good idea!

I wondered if any one had any tips for a one day Hamptons day trip. I'm interested on ways to get there (renting a car isn't an option), and where exactly is the best place to go in the Hamptons that is accessible by coach or train.

We want to have a nice relaxing day, walk on the beach/sea, see the big houses, visit shops, cafe / restaurant and any sights / museums (not interested in wineries).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

The Hamptons is almost 100 miles east of NYC, so the trip takes about 2-1/2 to 3 hours depending on the train. It's not what I consider a good day-trip destination.

Once you arrive, you can't get anywhere without a car, and taxis are expensive. You'll have to plan your day very carefully because things are not exactly close together out there. The Hamptons Jitney will probably get you closer to the places you will want to be, and since it makes limited stops it's sometimes faster than the train if you don't go on a weekend. But you won't actually be able to see any of the big houses because that requires a car (and they are so far from the road most of them can't be seen by design). The North Fork has more beautiful older homes, but it's even less accessible.

But if you want a nice, relaxing day, I'd recommend a couple of different options.

Consider taking a ferry to the closest section of the Jersey Shore. Sandy Hook is the closest nice beach. Asbury Park is another nearby town that is becoming much less gritty these days, and it has a nice beach and is accessible by NJ Transit train from Penn Station.

Go to Long Beach. It has a lovely downtown and a nice boardwalk along the beach. That's actually a place where you can get out of the train and walk around, unlike the Hamptons.

Go to Garrison on MetroNorth. Once you get out of the station, you can walk into town quickly and see a quaint riverside community that has good restaurants. (It's also directly across the river from West Point.)

It's more expensive, but you could take Amtrak to Hudson in the Hudson Valley and walk up Warren Street to the nice downtown. That little town has great restaurants and interesting antique shops. Just be aware that it's an uphill walk to get downtown, and it doesn't look promising at first but improves very quickly.

Take Metronorth to Tarrytown and walk around that town. It can be busy, but it's actually quite nice. It's a bit far to walk to Phillipsburg Manor, but you could take a taxi. The Rockfeller Estate (Kykuit) has tours that depart from there, and it's an extraordinarily beautiful place with lovely gardens. But you have to make reservations in advance to take a tour. Or you can just visit Phillipsburg Manor itself.

Agree that Hamptons are not a great day trip - and it's very difficult to do/see a whole lot without a car.

This is an area of many people with great wealth and is not set up for the day tripper. The towns are mostly quaint with a lot of high end shops, restaurants and inns and several interesting small museums. But there is extremely limited transit from one to another. Local bus (limited schedule and mostly for low-wage help in restaurants or wealthy households) or cab are really the only options.

The towns - except for parts of Montauk - are not within easy walking distance of the beach and you can't park a car at the beach without a town sticker. The mansions of the uber wealthy are set way back from the road and largely invisible behind walls and/or hedges(unless you stick you head through a closed gate). As for seeing them from the beach, while legally the beach up to the high water line is public property the beach above that is private and walking in their grounds would be trespassing.

There is a state park - Hither Hills - where anyone can get to the beach but you would have to either rent a car or organize taxis both ways to get there.

You can see the town of Montauk and the beach and a separate town dock with fishing vessels and some cute restaurants and shops - but to get to the dock would be long hike or a cab ride from the Hampton Jitney stop in Montauk.

Agree getting to a town ON the shore is much easier in Jersey.

Thank you both for your input - it is very much appreciated. From what you have said I have rethought the Hamptons (perhaps I got carried away with the idea after watching films!). I have looked into all the options and I think a visit to Long Island would be fabulous and provide the relaxing 'beach' day I want.

Thank you again!

Do you mean a visit to Long Beach?

Tom's right: Long Island is a long island and there are plenty of places you can visit to reach the beach. Some are in NYC itself.

Long Beach is easily reachable by LIRR - trains very frequent.

I meant Long Beach as suggested :)

If the primary thing you want is the beach, Long Beach is fine with a boardwalk and close to NYC. But it's certainly not in the same league as the Hamptons nor does it offer fine dining, shops etc. Fire Island is another possibility although requires train to ferry. If you really want to go to the Hamptons and don't mind driving (and pick a weekday) it's possible but makes for a long day.

I think the key is that the Hamptons are just really not doable without a car - at least there even if that's not how you get there.

It is doable without a car but not optimal. One could take the train or Jitney to one of the villages (East Hampton, Southampton, Sag Harbor) and have a perfectly nice day exploring. You could even use a taxi from one village to the other.

The Long Island Rail Road runs from Penn Station in Manhattan to Long Beach. The trip is about an hour. There is a day pass fee for non residents that you can buy with the train ticket. Long Beach was hit hard by Superstorm Sandy.. the boardwalk was replaced last year, and there are nearby places to eat. Its a real town, not just a beach, and nothing super fancy

Be sure to bring towels and sunscreen.. you will need both.

Re museums: http://parrishart.org/