Buses, Trains and Automobiles!

Before you can begin your summer vacation on Eastern Long Island you have to first get here. The best way to reach your destination varies depending on where you are coming from. For the purpose of this blog however I am going to talk about traveling from New York City since a good amount of visitors to the area come from the Big Apple for a weekend trip.

There are a few different options for those looking to get to Eastern Long Island from the city and the option that best suits you depends on a few different things. Before I dive into the main three ways to head out of the city I want you to ask yourself a few different questions.

For starters, how much money are you willing to spend on travel expenses? Do you mind having to leave at a set time? Would you rather come and go at your own leisure? Do you mind traffic? Do you plan on staying close to a town? Do you plan on heading to beaches or vineyards which you will need your own car for? How many people will be traveling with you? How long will your trip be?

Keeping those things in mind, here are the three main options of transportation that will get you to your vacation destination.

Car
If you have your own car it may be easy to just jump in it and hit the Long Island Expressway until you hit the town on the East End of Long Island you desire. The LIE will take you from Manhattan to Riverhead where you can either get on Route 25 to travel the North Fork of the island or the Montauk Highway if you would rather check out the South Fork.

The big benefits of driving your own car is that you can come and go at your own leisure and not have to rely on the scheduling of other transportation. You also will have your own car for your entire trip which is necessary if you plan on visiting towns outside of the one you are staying in or other destinations like beaches or vineyards. If you visit a town like Greenport on the North Fork you can probably entertain yourself for a few days without a car, but for other towns one is probably necessary.

The big downside of driving your own car however is the traffic on the LIE. It may seem like everyone in Manhattan is heading out to the East End with you on Friday afternoons or heading back to the city with you on Sunday nights when the two hour trip turns into a three or four hour one. Traffic can be avoided though if you pick the right times to travel, like maybe try and sneak out Friday morning or head back to the city early Monday morning before rush hour. In today's modern age GPS can also be helpful in finding you alternative routes to get around the traffic if it is just in certain areas.

Something else to keep in mind is even if you do not have your own car but you like the idea of having one for your vacation you can rent one for just the weekend in the city then head out!

Bus
If you are not interested in driving yourself but still want to drive out to Eastern Long Island, the Hampton Jitney bus service is quite a popular option. The service travels to almost every town on both the South and North Forks and leaves from certain points in Manhattan and Queens. Trips range from roughly 20 to 30 dollars depending on where you are traveling to.

The coaches are comfortable and allow you to relax while someone else does the driving. The trips usually take about three hours, so a bit longer than if you drove yourself, because of the stops. I have found in my experiences using the service however that trips during less busy times will take less than three hours.

The Hampton Jitney is a good option if you do not have your own car or do not mind being limited to one town for the weekend. Of course you are on their schedule though if you choose to use them, buses usually leave the East End towns every other hour and leave Manhattan almost every hour. Traffic could also be a problem although drivers usually are good at getting around trouble areas.

Train
If you are interested in avoiding traffic on the LIE you can always jump on a Long Island Railroad train. To take the LIRR all the way out to the East End you have to catch a train from Penn Station to Ronkonkoma first and then transfer. Taking a train may be an appealing option because of the lack of traffic and because it is slightly less money than taking a bus, but a big problem is how little the trains run out to towns on the North and South Forks. Trains usually run from Ronkonkoma further east only two or three times a day and not at the most convenient times (early AM or late PM).

The lack of flexibility combined with the disadvantage of not having your own car honestly make the train the less desirable option of three mentioned.



If you want to take advantage of the most that the East End of Long Island has to offer it is always best to have your own car so you can explore. But, if just a short weekend trip to one village sounds appealing to you do not discount taking the Hampton Jitney. Like I said above, there are a lot of variables that will lead you to choose which transportation option is best for you when you head out. The most important part is just that you choose one and head on out to Eastern Long Island for summer fun!