The Hamptons, New York
The honest guide — past the hype, past the scene, to what makes it worth going.
In this guide
01 — Why the Hamptons
Past the reputation. To what actually holds up.
The Hamptons has a reputation problem — not because the reputation is wrong, exactly, but because it crowds out everything else. Yes, the Hamptons is expensive. Yes, the summer social scene in Southampton and East Hampton is its own ecosystem of wealth and visibility. Yes, the traffic on the Long Island Expressway on a Friday afternoon in July is genuinely one of the more unpleasant experiences available to humans in the Northeast.
Past all of that: the beaches. Cooper’s Beach in Southampton is consistently rated one of the best beaches in the United States. Main Beach in East Hampton is extraordinary. The stretch of Atlantic coastline on the South Fork of Long Island — wide, clean, with fine white sand and consistent surf — is legitimately excellent in a way that requires no qualification.
The villages are genuinely beautiful. The restaurants are some of the best on the East Coast. Sag Harbor has a working waterfront history that makes it feel more real than the villages on either side. And Montauk, at the very tip of the island, has managed to be somehow the most authentic and the most interesting place on a peninsula otherwise defined by the performance of wealth.
“The Hamptons is worth going despite the reputation. Montauk is worth going because of it — because everything the Hamptons performs, Montauk just is.”
02 — The villages
Which Hamptons is yours.
Most traditional
Southampton
The oldest and most patrician of the Hamptons villages — historic estates, Main Street shops, Cooper’s Beach. More understated than East Hampton. The classic choice.
Best restaurants
East Hampton
The luxury center of the Hamptons — best restaurant concentration, most celebrated hotels, the social center of peak summer. More intense than Southampton.
Most charming
Sag Harbor
Former whaling port with genuine history, a working waterfront, excellent bookshop, good restaurants, and significantly less pretension than the other Hamptons villages. The best village for people who find the Hamptons exhausting.
Relaxed
Bridgehampton & Water Mill
Between Southampton and East Hampton — farmland, vineyards, the best grocery stores, and a slower pace than either anchor village. Good if you want proximity to both without being in either.
03 — Montauk
The end of the island. The beginning of the good part.
Montauk sits at the very tip of Long Island’s South Fork — 120 miles from New York City, beyond the Hamptons proper, where the land narrows to a point and the Atlantic comes in from three sides. The character here is completely different from the villages to the west.
Montauk was a fishing community for most of its history and it hasn’t entirely forgotten that. The fishing charter boats still go out at dawn. The Montauk Lighthouse, built in 1796 at the direction of George Washington, still marks the tip of the island. The surf at Ditch Plains is real surf, and the surfers are real surfers, not the performance version.
Why Montauk is the move
Lower prices than the Hamptons villages. Better beaches for active use. A genuinely casual vibe that the Hamptons can’t manufacture. The lighthouse. The fishing. Camp Hero State Park — a former military installation with a radar tower and miles of trails at the very tip of the island. Come here instead of, or in addition to, the Hamptons villages. The drive is the same — just keep going east.
04 — Getting there
The LIRR on a Friday is the sanest option. Seriously.
Long Island Rail Road
Penn Station to Southampton (~2.5 hours), East Hampton (~2.75 hours), or Montauk (~3.25 hours). Friday Hampton Jitney or Jitney alternatives are also reliable. This is the right call for summer Fridays.
By car
About 2 hours from Manhattan in light traffic. On a summer Friday afternoon, budget 4 to 5 hours. The Southern State Parkway to Sunrise Highway is usually faster than the LIE.
Helicopter
About 30 minutes from Manhattan to East Hampton Airport. If you’re going to do it, book well in advance for summer weekends.
Hampton Jitney
Bus service from midtown Manhattan to all the Hamptons villages. Comfortable, predictable, and you don’t have to drive or park. The sensible New Yorker’s choice.
05 — Where to stay
Hotels, inns, and the house-share that requires a group chat.
06 — The beaches
The thing that makes all of it worth it.
Cooper’s Beach, Southampton
Consistently rated one of the best beaches in America. Wide, clean white sand, fine surf, maintained facilities. Parking fees apply for non-residents but it’s accessible to anyone who pays.
Main Beach, East Hampton
The iconic East Hampton beach — equally beautiful, equally well-maintained. Village resident parking priority; non-residents can use the lot for a fee or arrive by bike or on foot.
Ditch Plains, Montauk
The surf beach. Rocky points, consistent waves, the actual surf culture of Montauk concentrated on one stretch of sand. Go here for the real Montauk experience.
Near the Lighthouse
The beaches near Montauk Point State Park are accessible and almost never crowded even in peak summer. The tradeoff: more remote, fewer facilities. Worth it for the solitude.
07 — Where to eat
Some of the best restaurants on the East Coast, in a field.
Nick & Toni’s
The East Hampton institution — wood-burning oven, seasonal Italian menu, the restaurant that has anchored the Hamptons dining scene for decades. Book far in advance.
$$$$
Dopo la Spiaggia
Southampton’s beloved Italian — the name means “after the beach” and the spirit is exactly that. Consistently excellent.
$$$
Rowdy Hall
East Hampton’s reliable brasserie — the burger and frites are the move, the ambiance is effortlessly good, the crowd is everyone from locals to celebrities and nobody makes a production of either.
$$
The Beacon
Sag Harbor waterfront dining — the best view in the village, consistently good seafood, the right place for a long lunch watching the boats.
$$$
Lunch, Sag Harbor
The beloved Sag Harbor sandwich shop — the lobster roll is the standard by which all Hamptons lobster rolls are measured. Small, cash-preferred, and worth finding.
$$
Montauk Fish Market
The freshest seafood on the island because the boats that caught it dock 200 yards away. Counter service, picnic tables outside, and the lobster roll that understands what a lobster roll is supposed to be.
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08 — Practical tips
What to know before you go.
Everything costs more in summer
Restaurants, parking, groceries, gas — all price at a significant premium June through Labor Day. Budget honestly. September brings everything down significantly.
Rent a bike
Village parking in East Hampton and Southampton is genuinely difficult in summer. Rent a bike for the day — most rentals are $30 or less, parking tickets are $75, and the villages are beautiful by bike.
Book restaurants ahead
Nick & Toni’s and other top restaurants book out weeks in advance in July and August. Reserve before you leave home.
September is the answer
The week after Labor Day the Hamptons turns back into the beautiful place it always was, minus the crowd. Lower prices, open restaurants, the beaches almost to yourself.
Past the performance. To the actual thing.
The Hamptons is worth it for the beaches, the restaurants, Sag Harbor, and Montauk. The rest — the scene, the traffic, the prices, the social performance of being seen in the right place — is optional. Skip what doesn’t interest you and keep what does. Cooper’s Beach at 8am, before anyone is there, is one of the best beaches on the East Coast and it asks nothing of you except showing up.