Hamptons Day Trip
 

We would like to take a day trip from NYC to Hamptons. Our main interest is to see the mansions and interior design shops in townships. No desire to visit wineries. Some customised trips are quite expensive and we're not keen to drive in and out of NYC (visiting from Australia).
How about public transport to a Hampton township and hire car for the day then public transport back to NYC ?
Your thoughts please and any recommendations for lunch.

I think you will find that a VERY long day. And I'm not sure where the car rental agencies are in the Hamptons.

Also - I'm not sure what you will actually see. The Hamptons is not like New port where the Mansions are open for public tours. the large houses in the Hamptons are privately owned residences and the uber wealthy that live in them don;t want the hoi polloi bothering them. Most are behind walls or high hedges and really can't be seen from the road. As for "design shops"- there are a number of antique shops -with very high prices - but not nearly as many as there are in Manhattan.

There are several very pretty, somewhat historic and expensive towns you can visit - some with small museums or old windmills. There are also incredibly beautiful beaches- for the local residents (town parking sticker required to park) except for one fairly large state park.

You can get to the Hamptons via Hampton Jitney (luxury bus) - but you need to reserve in advance, it's not cheap and the trip takes more than 2 hours each way - depending on where you go. there is also the Long Island Railroad - but service is very limited.

You will probably spend 5 to 6 hours just trekking back and forth to the city - not sure if it is worth it based on what you want to see/visit.

T T T

Easy to do but when are you here and what day of the week would you make the trip? There are 2 bus lines as mentioned above, hamptonjitney.com
Hampt Luxury Liner and also the Long Island Railroad but that doesn't run as frequently. If you rent a car, Avis and Enterprise both have several locations or you could try just using taxis. There are loads of good places for lunch. Bobby Vans and Pierre's in Bridgehampton both do a good job and there are several good home decor stores in Bridgehampton including English Country Antiques;, Country Gear and Comerford & Hennessey. There are also some good decor stores in Southampton including Home Nature and Nancy Corzine.

Thanks mclaurie - very helpful. We'll be there late October and can make trip on a Friday or Saturday

That would be a good plan since some stores will only be open Fri-Sun or Mon. at that time of year. On a Saturday, you might be able to go to some open houses--listed in local newspapers (like Danspapers.com and Easthamptonstar.com), a fun way to see the inside of some fancy (but usually new) houses up for sale. There are many more home decorating stores than the ones I've listed. If you have specific interests in terms of style or type of store, post back.

Could you maybe stretch it to a stayover Friday night as it is a lovely area? Regardless, as advised above , make sure you book the jitney in advance, especially as you will be going at the end of the week.

Thank you all - appreciated