There Is No Better Way To Get To The Hamptons Than In A Seaplane

For New Yorkers, there's nothing better than escaping the city on a hot summer weekend.

But getting out of town is another story.

Anyone who's ever tried to get to the Hamptons on a Friday afternoon knows the traffic on the Long Island Expressway can be hellish, and the train — while faster this year — can still devolve into a drunken frat party.

There is, however, another way to hightail it from the city to the Hamptons: by seaplane. Not only is it a quick, 40-minute (or so) hop from the East River seaport to destinations out east, there's no chance of traffic or unpleasant passengers, and the view is pretty spectacular.

Of course, there's also the matter of cost.

Seaplane operator Fly The Whale, one of several companies that offers the service, charges $3,250 to $3,500 for a private charter for eight to the Hamptons. Single seats on "shared charters" cost $535.

I recently got to take a Fly The Whale seaplane from Manhattan to the Hamptons as part of a trip to see a luxury condo complex being built in Sag Harbor. It sure beat Penn Station at rush hour.

Disclosure: Sag Development Partners, the owners of the Watchcase development in Sag Harbor, paid for my travel expenses.

My trip started from the marina at 23rd Street and the FDR on the East River. I took the subway and walked a few blocks, but if I was a seaplane regular, my limo would have dropped me off here.

The seaplane terminal is pretty nondescript. The corrugated iron building and barbed wire didn't exactly make me feel like a high roller.

It was just a short walk from the "skyport" to the river. I passed a couple of yachts available for charter: one was being rented for a high school prom that evening.