Planning your Montauk vacation? A big question we get when guests are planning their trips, is how hard is to get around Montauk? Should I rent a car? Here's our 2 cents.
If you're coming from New York city, you have a couple options for getting to the East End of Long Island.
First, is the Long Island Railroad (LIRR). This is a great option. It's fast, you don't have to worry about traffic, and it's better scenery than a highway. They run a cannonball express train on specific days during the summer season(usually Fridays). This means they skip a lot of stops in between New York City and the East End. Once you arrive at the Montauk Train Station, there are many taxi's waiting for you. Uber even works here.
Second, is the Jitney. This is also a great option, but you end up stuck in some traffic from time to time, as they take the main road out to Montauk. There is only one main road out to Montauk, and you have to go through South Hampton, Bridgehampton, East Hampton, and Amagansett. Each time you pass through a new town there's traffic and the speed limit is 25 or 30mph. The only reason we suggest the Jitney, is sometimes their timing of the busses is better than the LIRR and they let you out right in downtown Montauk.
Third, is to rent a car from the city and drive out on your own. This is a great option if you're the kind of person who doesn't like schedules. Again, you may have to put up with some traffic, but it's usually not terrible.
Now that you've made it to the beautiful town of Montauk you can smell the salt ocean air, take those flip flops out, and enjoy the laid back atmosphere. The great thing about Montauk is nothing is more than a 10 min drive away.
Once you're in Montauk you may want to hop around downtown for some shopping, get on a boat at the harbor area, go to Ditch Plains for surfing, or the lighthouse.
Uber is now able to operate, but be weary of their surge pricing. There's some great taxi services out here, check out Moko Taxi, or rent a bike from The Montauk Bike Shop. One of the best new features we have is the Hampton Hopper. They run a regular route through Montauk during the summer season, with all the stops you'll ever need. And last, check with the hotel you're staying with. Some of the major resorts will have a pick up/drop off service for their guests. A couple of those hotels are Gurney's and the Montauk Manor.
In our opinion you don't really need a car in Montauk(side note: There are no car rentals in the actual town of Montauk), but if you're coming from the city and you don't like those schedules then a car rental might be for you.
We hope you learned a few useful insights for your next trip, and we're excited to see you soon!