The Hamptons

Understand

The Hamptons is a worldwide-known reference that refers to several villages and hamlets on the east end of Long Island, New York. These villages and hamlets form a popular seaside resort for some of the wealthiest people in America. The Hamptons is known for its high status vacationers, exclusive country clubs and expensive beach houses. Three of The Hamptons zip codes are in the top 10 most expensive zip codes in the United States.

Regions

The Hamptons are a series of small communities which all lie in the towns of Southampton and East Hampton. Southampton is the first town in the Hamptons, and is one of five towns which comprise the larger Suffolk County of New York State. East Hampton is the other town which constitutes the Hamptons.

Southampton itself is comprised of a number of villages and hamlets. The areas which are popularly viewed as part of the Hamptons include Southampton Village, Water Mill, Bridgehampton, Sagaponack and Sag Harbor. These towns include areas ranked among the top ten nationally in terms of real estate values. Southampton Village in particular is noted for its luxurious homes in its estate area, the high end retailing establishments in the Village and its cultural offerings (including the Parrish Art Museum and the Southampton Arts Center). Water Mill, the adjacent hamlet, is the future home of the Parrish Art Museum as well as the current home to the Water Mill Center, an artists retreat and exhibition space.

East Hampton has many small villages and hamlets that are settled on the furthest end of the peninsula of Long Island, New York. The hamlets in East Hampton are Wainscot, East Hampton Village, Amangansett and a portion of Sag Harbor Village. East Hampton town has eight state parks as well as many historic locations such as Camp Wyckoff which was used in World War II by the United States Air Force, Army and Navy. Similar to Southampton Village, East Hampton Village is renowned for the large homes in its estate area, luxury boutiques and local museums and galleries.

Get in

By plane

Commercial Plane

MacArthur Airport- approximately 50 miles from East Hampton Kennedy Airport- approximately 80 miles from East Hampton La Guardia- approximately 85 miles from East Hampton

Private Planes/Small Charters

Private Planes or small charters are the most comfortable and quickest way to the Hamptons. The planes can fly directly into East Hamptons. Caution, this way of travel can be very expensive.

By car

The Long Island expressway and Route 27 serve as the main access routes into the Hamptons. Whether travelling by limousine, personal car or rental car, travel time depends on distance and traffic which is very heavy on summer weekends.

Hampton Jitney Bus

The Hampton Jitney bus runs between New York City and all the villages in the Hamptons. The bus makes two airport connection stops. One is in Fresh Meadows, Queens for Kennedy and La Guardia Airports and another is in Islip, Suffolk County for MacArthur Airport. Note, you must make previous reservations for the bus and its connections, so plan ahead.

By train

The Montauk Branch of Long Island Railroad can take you to the Hamptons for no more than $15.00 and makes several stops at the villages throughout the Hamptons.

Get around

Since the Hamptons is a region filled with many little villages, driving is the best way to get around whether it be by limousine, personal car or rental car. Within the villages some locals and tourists enjoy walking or biking around the villages popular town centers.

Go next

New York City serves as the closest major city to the Hamptons.