My family — me, my husband, our 8- and 3-year-old daughters, and our wire-haired dog, who’s 14 years young — recently took a trip to the Hamptons.
We could’ve driven down from our home in Vermont through high-traffic New York City and then out to Long Island via the Long Island Expressway and Montauk Highway. But I certainly didn’t want to be one of the 900,000 vehicles entering Manhattan on any given day, and that route would’ve meant six straight hours in the car (or more, depending on traffic).
Instead, we drove about two hours to New London, Connecticut, where we took a 90-minute ferry to Orient Point, New York. From there, we took a small ferry to Block Island and another small boat to Sag Harbor, a short drive from our final destination.
Other than some highway driving in Connecticut, we avoided heavy traffic and had a scenic, if long, journey.
Here’s what it was like.
We waited in a line to drive onto the boat in New London.
After our two-hour starting drive, we arrived at the ferry and found a parking lot facing the water with several lanes for cars to park in.
Attendants told us which lane to wait in. When it was time to board the ferry, they guided cars when it was their turn to board and told us where to park on the boat.
Some of us got out before the car was parked.
Our car had to be parked against a wall, which meant the people on the passenger side wouldn’t be able to get out easily.
My youngest daughter and I got out before the car was parked and waited on the ferry until the rest of our family could join us.
Since we sailed at dinner time, we were happy to find a full café on board.
Eating dinner on the ferry was a big time saver for us.
We didn’t have to stop for dinner along the way like we’d do if we were driving, which can be a real time sucker with little kids.
There were big dining areas on the boat.
The ferry featured several seating areas, including an indoor dining room.
Although there were indoor cabins that allowed pets, our dog isn’t great with other dogs, so we opted to sit outside.
There were also nice outdoor seating areas.
Outdoor seating areas provided a good place to sit and get some fresh air.
My kids felt welcome — there was even a special area for them.
My kids had fun exploring a special learning room inside the ferry.
It featured fun displays with facts about the Long Island Sound.
The views from the boat were pretty awesome.
Because we took a ferry to Long Island around sunset, we saw some incredible views during our journey.
On the way back to Vermont, it was daytime, but watching the water as we traveled was still cool.
My daughter and I walked off the boat, so we got some unique vantage points.
Since my daughter and I couldn’t get in the car in the parking lot, we waited toward the front of the ship as it docked.
We got an up-close view of what it looked like from the front of the ship as it came to shore, which was pretty neat.
When we disembarked, we waited for our family’s car to drive off.
When the boat docked, we walked off and waited on a nearby bench for the rest of our party to drive off and pick us up.
The process was smooth and easy, and it was fun for my daughter to see the cars drive off the boat as we waited.
The two smaller ferries were short trips, and they both went smoothly.
Unlike the big ferry, we didn’t get out of the car on the ferries to Block Island and Sag Harbor. They were very short rides, under 10 minutes each.
Even though we were in the car, my kids stayed pretty entertained, and changing boats helped to break up the journey.
I thought taking ferries was a great way to travel, especially with two little kids and a dog.
Overall, it was still a pretty long journey. But I thought the benefits of taking the ferry versus driving straight to the Hamptons were plenty.
We avoided a lot of potential traffic by not driving through New York City or all the way out on Long Island — a route that can get pretty congested and make travel times unpredictable. We also saved time by using the first ferry ride as our meal break.
The ferry really mentally broke up the trip for all of us. A long travel day with two little kids and a pet can be difficult, and having some time out of the car in the middle of it was a big help.
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