Disappointing Photos Show What It's Really Like to Visit the Hamptons
Category: Travel, Geography and Foreign Cultures
Via: john-russell • 2 years ago • 10 commentsBy: Rachel Askinasi (Insider)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
From expensive food to long lines, the Hamptons can be disappointing. Rachel Askinasi/Insider
- The Hamptons is a popular summer getaway for celebrities and New Yorkers looking to escape NYC.
- I recently took a trip out east to eat, party, and experience what all the hype is about.
- While some parts were lovely, there were many aspects that fell short of my expectations.
From movies to celebrity paparazzi shots and Instagram photos, the Hamptons seems like an ideal summer getaway.
John Legend performing at The Surf Lodge in Montauk. Rebecca Smeyne/Contributor/Getty Images
For people who own homes there, I'm sure it is. But for the rest of us, it can be filled with let-downs.
Having a summer home for staying-in and visiting for a weekend of partying can yield different experiences. Rachel Askinasi/Insider
First off, getting to the Hamptons during the summer isn't easy — even if you have a car. My drive was long and filled with deep pockets of traffic.
I sat in a lot of traffic on my way out east. Rachel Askinasi/Insider
And once you're there, getting around isn't much easier. Gas was extremely expensive during my visit.
Gas prices at a station in Montauk. Rachel Askinasi/Insider
But the alternative of taking Ubers was also overpriced. It could cost around $100 to get from parts of East Hampton and Southampton to The Surf Lodge, a popular club in Montauk, on a non-holiday-weekend Friday afternoon.
Uber pricing for a 24-mile drive. Screenshots from Uber
You may also be looking forward to enjoying some peace and privacy on the beach, but many of them are limited to resident access only.
People sitting on a resident-only beach in Sagaponack. Rachel Askinasi/Insider
The publicly accessible beaches can get very crowded.
A photo of a crowded beach in Southampton. Spencer Platt/Staff/Getty Images
While many of the neighborhoods around these private beaches are beautiful, don't expect to be able to ride around looking at luxurious houses all day — many of the large properties have thick hedges blocking street views. There were some areas where I couldn't see any houses from the street at all.
Rachel Askinasi/Insider
Parking was generally a mess during the day. I lucked out with street parking a few times, but the lots in East Hampton, Southampton, and Sag Harbor towns were packed.
Cars wait for spots to open in a Sag Harbor parking lot. Rachel Askinasi/Insider
And the traffic in town became quickly backed up late in the day.
Cars were backed up on the bridge that led into Sag Harbor town. Rachel Askinasi/Insider
I also experienced lots of crowds at restaurants causing long wait times at some of the many spots that don't take reservations.
People waited more than 45 minutes at The Lobster Roll. Rachel Askinasi/Insider
And lines for bars and clubs were over the top. Partiers waited four hours to get into Stephen Talkhouse (an Amagansett bar) and the scene outside Surf Lodge was overwhelming — people waiting were told they couldn't get in without buying a table for over $1,000.
The four-hour line outside of Stephen Talkhouse. Rachel Askinasi/Insider
In addition to nightlife, I found that food in general was just really expensive. This single-egg sandwich cost me $6.25 — about double the cost I'm used to paying for the same menu item from a New York City deli or street cart.
Food was expensive, even for someone used to New York City prices. Rachel Askinasi/Insider
Specifically, those lobster rolls you see all over Instagram come with high price tags (the most expensive roll I ate cost $42). But I learned that much of the meat isn't even local — at four different restaurants known for their lobster, I was told the meat came from Maine.
None of the lobster meat I ate was local. Rachel Askinasi/Insider
While the Hamptons in the summer can be disappointing in some ways, if I were visiting in future and wanted to save money and time waiting in lines, I'd get groceries from farm stands and cook rather than eating out or consider going back in the off-season to avoid crowds.
Farm stands are all over the Hamptons and have beautiful produce on offer. Rachel Askinasi/Insider Deal iconAn icon in the shape of a lightning bolt.
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There is a whole genre on You Tube of people giving a review of a city or a place they have traveled to. They usually give the good and the bad though.
Never been to the Hamptons, seriously doubt I ever will, and dont have any desire in particular to see it.
But I'm pretty sure that most visitors have a better experience, or people wouldnt still be going there.
A lot of these complaints, no parking, long lines , occur at many popular attractions in many states, although I wouldnt wait four hours in a line to see Jesus Christ sing Amazing Grace, let alone to get into a nightclub.
These hedges appear to be about 15 ft high. Thats just weird but I'm sure the landscaping companies like it.
Hard pass. I hate crowds, lines, and absurd prices. This place looks like the hat trick of shitty vacations.
Edit: Forgot about the traffic. I would have to hate myself to go there.
I would rather go to Nantucket.
I enjoyed Nantucket, the ferry-boat ride to get there, bricked roads, vintage architecture, cottages with rose vines growing over their roofs, totally unpopulated beaches, but at a restaurant I made the mistake of ordering fried crayfish. They served me a pan with 5 dark blotches on the bottom. My friend pitied me and gave me half his meal.
There once was a girl from Nantucket.
Who viewed an eyebrow and plucked it
I was driving across the state, going home for the weekend from the base I was stationed at, and to pass the time I determined to come up with a version of that which wasn't dirty. Here's what I came up with:
There once was a man from Nantucket,
who had his head in a bucket.
He couldn't disown
that when it'd been thrown,
he was much too slow to duck it.
I live near a very popular tourist destination. It’s funny watching tourists, trying to escape the bustle of the big city, complain about the bustle they are causing in a smaller resort city.
When I lived in Monterey CA, I stayed away from Carmel in the summer.