HI,

We are planning a day trip to North-fork. Can you suggest some must-dos?

If you mean from Manhattan - it's a long trip for one day -and you would need to rent a car. Many people head there for the wineries. If not that - what are your interests specifically to go there?

Yes, we will be driving from north NJ. Which vineyard would you recommend? Any other must-do?

google north fork wineries

I'm not an expert on the wineries, but I can help with eating and activities if you let me know your interests. It takes about 2 hours with little traffic to drive from Manhattan to the eastern North Fork. (early Saturday morning, for example) You should visit the town of Greenport, a former whaling village. It is a long drive for one day, I agree.

Here is the wine site:
http://www.liwines.com/

More on wines:

http://wineries.timesreview.com/




From the Financial Times, a recent article:

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/3dd04...#axzz3434lOq43



Greenport:

http://www.greenportvillage.com/


There are many good farm stands:

http://www.edibleeastend.com/departm...-of-riverhead/



Hamlet of Orient, one of the prettiest in the area:

http://www.oysterpondshistoricalsociety.org/


In case you decide to overnight:
http://www.edgewatercottage.net/

I've made the drive from norther NJ to the Hamptons numerous times and can tell you it's a lot of driving for a "day trip". A few hints (NOTE: Travel times assume you don't encounter the ubiquitous over turned tractor-trailer truck on the Cross Bronx Expressway, in which case add another hour or two):

1) Leave NJ very early (between 6:30am and 7AM if leaving from northeastern NJ) otherwise you'll be in the midst of rush hour traffic going into NY and until you get on to Long Island. Doing so, will get you to the Hamptons/North Fork around 9:30AM giving you a full day in the area. Of course if you are leaving from a location in northwestern NJ (as opposed to northeastern NJ) you'll have to adjust your departure & travel time accordingly.

2) If you wait until rush hour is over (say around 9:30AM) you wont get to the Hamptons/North Fork until close to lunch time.

3) Same for your return. Either leave the area very early (say around 2PM) or wait until after 6PM to avoid rush hour - the Long Island Expressway is known as the world's biggest parking lot. Likewise the Cross Bronx Expressway is horrible at rush hour (and often at other times - it's almost always backed up but it's really the only way to get from Long Island across the GW Bridge (which I assume you'll be taking to northern NJ).

Here's a humorous anecdote: Back in the 1950's when I was just a lad my father decided to take the family on a drive from of home in NJ to Montauk Point one Sunday. So after church we piled in the car and drove, and drove, and drove some more until around 4PM when we turned around and drove back home. We never did get to Montauk. Of course that was back before any major highways or interstates but it proved to me getting out to the tip of Long Island is a L-O-N-G trek.

Anyway, enjoy your day trip.

When do you plan to make this trip? On a weekend?