We've had a place in East Hampton for 50 years and I love the beaches, but not Main Beach. Once a calm and lovely spot, it is now an overpriced, overcrowded venue for daytrippers and pushy parvenus. If you don't want to pay for parking and are looking for a better spot, hop on a bicycle and visit Georgica Beach about a mile south of Main or peddle to any one of the accesses to beaches north of Main all the way to Montauk. Any of these are nicer and offer a quiet,beautiful experience. The drawbacks, I would call it an advantage, no bath house or snack stands. Even more tranquility and better views are on the bay side. I laugh at the reviewers who said they didn't see waves. Yes, it's calm sometimes, but not that often. Don't tell me about Long Beach, the area lacks greenery and it's crowded. New Jersey? Even more crowded and dried out and they make you buy and wear a metal tag to go on the sand. Nowhere else in the U.S. does this. I've been to beaches in Hawaii, the Costa Brava, Maine and Florida and the East Hampton beachfront (minus Main Beach) is a pretty good match. Just avoid the people- there are plenty of sparsely occupied places. ...read more

Overall, East Hampton offers not only beautiful beaches, but a beautiful town as well. The village has managed to keep its historical charm, from the colonial buildings to the peaceful beaches. Some may argue that the Hamptons aren't worth the drive, money, or don't live up to their hype. These people are mistaken. Yes, there may be other beaches all along Long Island, but none compare to those of the Hamptons, especially Main Beach. Main may be expensive to get into, but it is for a reason. Not only is it gorgeous and clean, but is significantly less crowded than other Long Island beaches. Main also provides extremely clean bathroom facilities, lockers, and plentiful parking. The rich and famous spend time in the Hamptons, and for a reason. The beaches are not only beautiful, but manage to keep the charm of a time now passed. ...read more

The Hamptons has to be one of the most overrated beaches (not to mention the most expensive) on Long Island. The famous & not so famous pack their bags on Friday afternoon & spend hours traveling to get there & many more to get home. Once there you have to wait for everything.People are snotty stuck up & annoying. A quieter & friendlier alternative abt. 25 miles outside NYC easily accessible by LIRR or car it's LONG BEACH. Long Beach offers exclusive private homes, apartment rentals, and oceanfront condos. The beach is public and charges a nominal fee. There is a $5 million dollar fishing pier and recreational center. Dozens of restaurants offering all different types of cuisine. Also consider the private oceanfront communities of Lido Beach, Atlantic Beach or Point Lookout. HAPPY SUMMERING (probably not if you travel to the Hamptons). ...read more

Definitely overrated. There is nothing really special about the beaches that would tend to set them apart from others all along the east coast. Prices are high and people are rude. Hamptons Rage is a term that has been coined to describe the type of behavior that is increasingly being seen on overcrowded roads and in jammed parking lots.\t\n\t\nThe Hamptons is more of a very successful advertising campaign than anything else. The area caters to the rich and famous, and as a result, all of the wannabees follow like fish on a hook. Go if you really feel the need to tell all of you friends that you went to The Hamptons this summer. As for me Been there Done that. ...read more

The beaches are beautiful, Main Beach is the worst, full of NY Garmentos all trying to impress each other, the cell phone chatter of the self centered is annoying. Try Georgica Beach, Old Beach instead. The town is full of new money and those who try to emulate the new money. It has become NYC transplanted. Gross, yes. The food is overpriced and marginal in qulaity. Net net, it is a beautiful place with much natural beauty if you can beyond the rude self important people that seem to be an increasing plague... ...read more

I guess this is where our winter residents spend the summer. As a native Palm Beach County Resident it feels like my town less the palm trees and very cold water temps. ...read more

The area alone is what i found one of the most beautiful. There is something for everyone, and a well paced atmosphere. It is truly an area where you can window shop and find yourself saying hello to anyone. It is, what I consider, somewhere to visit on your life's list of things to do. ...read more

As a youngster growing up in Brooklyn, I went with my father and mother, who were a union welder and bank clerk, respectively, and four sibs to some cottages near Montauk Point for 15-day vacations every year. We'd spend time at Sag Harbor and the Hamptons to visit the museums and beaches.\t\n\t\n35 years later, when I moved back to NY, I would look forward to catching the LIRR to Amagannsett, Montauk, East Hampton or South Hampton. \t\n\t\nThese towns are nice because they are remote, historic and scenic, not ticky-tacky beach towns. A large part of the beauty of their beaches is that their beach dunes are preserved much as they would have looked had they never been discovered. Enjoy them for what they are, but keep development back in NYC. ...read more

Been living on Long Island for decades and have seen the changes over the years. Have friends with houses in the Hamptons and that's where the parties are. The towns are nice the beaches are the same all across the south shore of Long Island so they have nothing that special in the "Hamptons". Oh wait there is one thing that is consistent -- the obnoxious people that walk around thinking they're better than everyone else. About 50% are like that and the prices are much to inflated. Much nicer atmosphere in south New Jersey and the beaches are almost just as nice. ...read more

I have been going to the Hamptons for 18 years. The beaches are excellent and the scenery is beautiful. The towns are quaint, though in some towns like Sag Harbor, the people can be quite pompus and snotty. Montauk, Amagansett, East Hampton, Bridgehampton, and South Hampton are nice places to visit. Admittingly, you need a house and money to enjoy yourself in the Hamptons. If you don't have either, you won't access to the nicer beaches or recreational areas resulting in a lack luster experience. It is best to visit the hamptons with somebody who is already an established home owner in the area. Only then you will have the full experience of the hamptons. ...read more

Long Island beaches are way over rated. There full of pompus & wannabe people who think there to good for everyone. The waves complete suck, you might have well went up state to a lake. I've had more fun at the Jersey shore!! ...read more

The Hamptons are no where near as nice as the Beaches on Long Beach Island NJ. Not even close. ...read more