Will be Manhattan for work/play weekend mid-May and would like to stay near or on ocean with my wife. Want accesss to Manhattan by rail or public transport. B&B would be a delightful option. Any ideas? Hamptons look a little far and pricey!!! Any ideas, folks?

SS

The Hamptons are hours from Manhattan and there are only a few trains per day. (And even when you get there most of the beach property is either town beaches or private estates. There are a few condo colonies and motels with beach access - but getting to and fro Manhattan would take literally the whole day.)

Manhattan has no beaches. The waterfront areas in the outer boroughs are mostly airports, public parks or protected wetlands. The city beaches are strictly for day trippers and don;t have hotels nearby. And, even if you could find a B&B (there may be something) the areas are not particularly pleasant - and a long subway ride - at least an hour - from Manhattan.

And I'm not aware of anyplace with a beach (and you may find the water way too cold in May - it is the North Atlantic, not the carib) and a hotel within any reasonable distance. Also- be aware that beaches are not officialy open- and don;t have lifeguards or anything - until much later in the year.

If you just want to look at water - you can do it from some of the downtown hotels. But a beach hotel near Manhattan simply doesn;t exist.

Thanks. Didn't know about Long Beach area on Long Island. Not looking to swim. Just a place with access to a view. May not be available. Oh well...

SS

Long Beach is primarily a residential area. The beach is mostly public, used by locals and by lots of day trippers from Manhattan. There are also some private beach clubs.

There are a couple of downscale motels - not near the beach - can't imagine why they're there. There is something called the Hotel Jackson that claims to be only a block from the beach, which has no food service and gets quite mixed reviews on tripadvisor. Have never seen or heard of it until I googled. Don;t know how far from the train station.

The train from Long Beach to Penn Station takes about an hour and runs once an hour at off peak times. So - you would have to figure about 1.5 hours each way to/fro Manhattan.

You may want to check out Jones Beach, part of a larger park on Long Island. Another idea might be to take a train to Norwalk, Ct, the SONO area is great and you get the views, and some lively fun. Only 30 to 40 minutes by train.

Boomer -

The OP wants to STAY at a beach while visiting NYC. Not just take a day trip to a beach FROM the city.

And frankly, taking a day trip to the beach in mid May doesn't make a lot of sense - since water is too cold and most activities don;t open until after Memorial
Day.

There are no hotels or b & b's within an easy commute to NYC that are on the beach. The closest I can think of would be in Spring Lake New Jersey which is a 2 hr. train ride.
http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/rail/r0080.pdf

If you want a water view, you might want to consider staying in New Jersey on the Hudson and get a view of the river and Manhattan. The Regency Hyatt in Jersey City is a decent place. The Sheraton on the Hudson in Weehawken is directly across from midtown Manhattan. Both have ferry service to Manhattan and from Jersey City, there's also the PATH train.