Hamptons first timer - one week
 

Good morning

For a first time visitor to The Hamptons, which town/area would you base yourself for a week?

This would likely be in June, not sure which week but not the final week.

I'd rather not rent a car but I could if it were the best way to get the most out of a first time visit. Thinking of a "put your feet up" vacation with a lot of down time and local wandering and eating, not a non stop on the go vacation. I'd like to mostly walk or cycle to get around locally, maybe taxi or bus if necessary.

Thanks!

i would base myself in East Hampton but ideally you should have a car as you might want to drive to Montauk Point to see the lighthouse or Montauk Village or to Springs to see the Krasner Pollock House or farther afield to Sag Harbor. There are lots of wineries. There is also the Parrish Art Museum in Southampton. If you don't want to rent a car, Montauk Village has lots of places to stay and right on the beach, easy walking to shops and restaurants. With a car on the way to Montauk you would drive through Amagansett and you could stop at Lunch, an East End local hot spot.

Are thinking of VRBO or AIR B&B, or a hotel or B&B?
Unless you take a house or hotel IN a town (perhaps Sag Harbor), you would be compromised without a car. Is there any possibility that you could rent one for the week?

If you are not set on the Hamptons, you ought to take a look at the North Fork. The town of Greenport, for example, would suit you even without a car, as you can walk to many places, even to beaches if you like walking.

Where do you live most of the year? Do you know the Hamptons at all? I'm asking because years ago it was THE place for many summer visitors, but the North Fork has come into its own and many, many people prefer it to the Hamptons. Both areas are so large and with so many different towns and villages each with distinct character. And there's also Montauk, on the far end of the South fork, but minimum 3 hours from NYC.

What's the primary reason for the visit? Beach, sports, farm stands, immersing yourself in various "scenes," by that I mean: Glitzy nightlife, high end restaurants, art galleries, local theaters, ogling gazillion dollar properties, wine tasting, biking or hiking? Fishing?

I'm just trying to get more of an idea of where I think might suit....not trying to be nosy....

June is a good time for a visit but we've had some cool and rainy weather then in past few years....

Get your lodging reserved ASAP as you are getting into high season. For a good experience, a car will be essential.
What are you expecting to do, and what are your interests. For art, the South Fork (Hamptons) are best. I prefer the wineries on the North Fork. The two forks are close enough to so where you stay is less important. The only location principle I would keep in mind is that the further out either fork , the longer the drive to the other and the worse the traffic.
Ask more questions!

We like visiting Sag Harbor , charming town.

Agree with Sag Harbor idea....one of the loveliest towns in the area, and largely walkable. And ferry to North Fork, to Greenport.

Hi everyone

Sorry to disappear like that. EOQ gets nuts, then I left for France after the quarter ended (I support the sales team so we are busy busy busy especially end of quarters). I am back now. I live in metro DC, and while I love going to NYC I've mostly only ever been to Manhattan. Only a few visits to Brooklyn, and never the Hamptons although I did fly over it in a small plane once (back when I used to fly my instructor hooked me up with a local pilot who wanted a companion to visit Martha's Vineyard for lunch - from DC! and we went up and back in one day).

I will confess when I first posted I was kinda sorta thinking about "why not take the laptop and work remotely from somewhere cool this summer". Not full days, but enough to stretch out the time away from home without being a hog about taking a lot of vacation time (I'm not shy about taking vacation time but I don't want to draw attention to that either).

I don't know my plans just yet. I'm leaning towards either making this "remote work" a week in NYC itself - working remotely but enjoying the week nights and two weekends just bopping around NYC - or maybe that same plan but somewhere a little more beachy.

It sounds like I might be too late to plan for June at this point?

Given that it would be my first visit to the Hamptons maybe I don't want to tie myself down so much to being on my laptop half the time. And it's sounding like June has its drawbacks - pricy and crowded. How would late September look, from that aspect?

At any rate, I know so little about the Hamptons I'd say my one goal would be to visit anything related to Ina Garten. Maybe some cooking classes, from whomever might offer those. Maybe some pottery or watercolor classes. Or just hang out and read a book in a hammock but dine well at lunch and dinner.

EKS, you asked:

What's the primary reason for the visit? Beach, sports, farm stands, immersing yourself in various "scenes," by that I mean: Glitzy nightlife, high end restaurants, art galleries, local theaters, ogling gazillion dollar properties, wine tasting, biking or hiking? Fishing?

And I have to say "yes please". LOL

Well end of September would definitely be less expensive than June as the traditional summer season is from Memorial Day to Labor Day. But the Hamptons in general and that includes Montauk and Sag Harbor are some of the priciest places imaginable and you would need a car to really be able to get around and do the things that you are interested in doing. Last year my husband and I went in October for a midweek and stayed in East Hampton and the primary reason was to visit the Krasner Pollack house which has limited visitors allowed, advance reservations only and is open from mid-May through the end of October. We also wanted to revisit Montauk as for several years we would go after Labor Day for a week and that was ideal. More and more people however do live in the Hamptons year round, as they relocated to their summer homes or bought places during the pandemic to work remotely and sent their kids to local schools. There are indeed many high end pricey restaurants as well as more casual places, there are several art related destinations including of course the Krasner Pollack House and of course there are lots of wineries. To ogle high end gazillion dollar properties you really need to have a car to drive around. I am sure you can rent a bike. I know that the place we stayed in East Hampton, Journey East Hampton offered bikes for guests to use.

Agree with Madam. Late September should be glorious. Do think about Greenport if you have no car. And from there, ferries to Sag Harbor and Shelter Island. Do you ride a bike?

I could recommend a driver for day trips from Greenport. Many locals think late September is the best of the entire year. Lots of people still swim then, too.

I guess if I do this, I need to have a car! I do ride bikes though.

Thank you again for your ideas. If this starts to gel a little more I will be back.

eks, you live in the city, right? Not on Long Island?

If you have a car and a free afternoon Wednesday through Sunday when it is open, I highly recommend the Longhouse Reserve Garden longhouse.org
It is a magnificent sculpture and botanical garden, including some Chihuly glass in an outdoor installation, a Buckminster Fuller sphere, art by Yoko Ono, and a lot more that is not seen on its website. There is nothing like it elsewhere. Google maps will get you there.

Flygirl, we live in Manhattan and have a cottage on the Main Street in Orient.
We spend most of the summer into end of September out there.

The NYTimes just had an article last week about a new luxury bus service to the Hamptons, priced at $195 or $275 depending on level of service. This new bus will be operated by the people who operate helicopter service to the Hamptons. The new bus will depart from Hudson Yards as the only departure in Manhattan. The return buses will stop on the East Side as well as Hudson Yards. There is also the standard Hampton Jitney as well as Ambassador bus service as well as the Long Island Railroad. Once you firm up your dates, if you plan to drive from NYC, you need to book your rental car ASAP as rental cars during the summer are sometimes hard to come by and pricey. Once my daughter and her boyfriend took the PATH to Jersey City and picked up a rental car there. Sometimes both of my daughters use LaGuardia as car pick-up locations. Another option is to rent the car out in the Hamptons and again, here too you should book far in advance or at least check rates. If you are a Costco or AAA member, that is where I would start looking. It will certainly be less expensive towards the end of September both for pricing and for availability.

Thanks for that last post....good idea about rentals from LAG.

I missed the luxury bus story...have to look it up!!
I cannot imagine what kind of service would merit those prices.....free alcohol? Manicures on board?

I can't remember what the Hampton Jitney charges but last time I took it I think my one-way ticket was about $32....sure it has gone up since then. And that bus is just fine, making many more stops and departing from different locations in the city....(I only know the North Fork routes, though).

It occurred to me that if I do come up for a week+, I could probably just drive from DC. Yeah it's long, but it's not THAT long, and I'd have a car and could pack what I wanted.

It's around 350 miles, and that is a little shorter than my treks to my hometown - and I've done those hometown treks with considerably less time on the ground after arriving and going back home again.

PS and if I did drive, I could break it up a little by staying somewhere not quite as far on that first weekend when I arrive.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/28/s...sultPosition=1

This is the article from the NYTIMES about the new luxury coach service. We've always driven as we live on the South Shore but the first time we went to Montauk we lived in Brooklyn Heights and it was during the gas crisis years ago so it was in the drivable range. We had such a good time there we continued going on there after Labor Day as we previously enjoyed a rental house with friends on Fire Island but our rental was from mid-May through the end of July so good to go out there in the fall.

Yes if you do drive up from Washington, you would have a car and you could stop for a night both coming up and driving back.