“Let’s go to the beach for a few days.”
I texted this idea to a friend (who has a car!). Next thing I know we book a last-minute, 2-night, trip to Montauk, which is about 2.5 hours away from NYC. I grew up going to my grandparent’s beach house in the Montauk/Amagansett area every summer but hadn’t been back in maybe 20 years.
Before booking this trip, I did a lot of research about where we should go. I legit had a long list of AirBNBs and resorts to check out in various beach towns outside of NYC in the Rockaways, Jersey Shore and Montauk area. I wasn’t deadset on Montauk as a location, but I think it ended up being the right choice. It checked off all the things I wanted: right on the beach, safe and there were enough places open to get food, even during COVID-19.
It. Was. Amazing. And just what I needed after barely leaving Manhattan since the stay-at-home-order started 3 months ago.
Full Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or medical professional in any way. I know that leaving the city and traveling with a friend has the potential for risk, both to myself and others. I felt comfortable traveling with my friend as they’ve been super strict about social distancing. We also came armed with our masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, and ALL the disinfecting wipes to clean just about every surface we came in contact with.
I don’t mean for this blog post to downplay the seriousness of the virus in any way.
If you are traveling this summer, please be smart and be safe!
Where We Stayed:
We stayed at the Wavecrest Resort and it was perfect. The rooms are super clean and it was obvious they are doing everything in their power to keep both their staff and guests safe at this time. Even still I sprayed down any high-touch surfaces just to be safe… but I’m probably also extra paranoid about that stuff.
Some new safety pre-cautions I noticed:
- No maid service during your stay — instead they left clean towels in a plastic bag outside of the room. You can request cleaning for longer stays, I believe.
- All staff wears a mask, both if they are inside and outside.
- At checkout you drop your key in a sanitizing bucket.
I opted for a suite in the Overlook building which had two separate rooms — a bedroom and then a living room with a small kitchen and dining area. I joked that it was honestly a bigger hotel room than my apartment 😂 and had a balcony with the perfect view of the water.
Our room was a short walk to the beach and the resort had chairs that we could take for free. During “normal times” they also have a pool, but it’s currently closed. I’m not sure if you’re allowed to go in the ocean yet, it was only about 70 degrees out during my stay so I wasn’t looking to go in the water.
My only (small) complaint was it wasn’t walking distance to town like some of the resorts, but driving to get food was no big deal. There also wasn’t AC in the bedroom area which was weird, but that might’ve just been my room.
Where We Ate:
I wasn’t sure how much would be open in Montauk and Amagansett due to COVID-19. We ended up finding a number of places with outdoor seating or that we could easily get takeout from. I was SO excited to sit down at a table and be served. It’s the little things after not going to restaurant in 3 months!
I’m sure as the summer goes on even more places will offer outdoor seating. Just be warned that you will probably have a to wait awhile, especially on weekends.
dinner at Shagwong Tavern: We ate outside on the patio which was full-service. It’s bar food but with a beach-y flair. We shared buffalo wings and then I got the fish tacos and the jalapeno margarita.
coffee from Left Tauk: pricey but a delicious iced oat milk latte with vanilla. Only takeout (but not surprising — it’s a coffeeshop)
lunch from Joni’s: Super vegan-friendly lunch spot. I wanted to try EVERYTHING. Decided on the shrimp tacos + vegan sour cream. The shrimp was fab, although it ended up being more of a taco salad. Only takeout.
dinner at MTK Lobsterhouse: Hands down my favorite meal foodwise in Montauk, and maybe my favorite meal I’ve had all month.
You order your food at the door and then can seat yourself in the outside area. They have a very small seating area, only 3 tables, but we got there early and didn’t have to wait for seats. Food took a while and it was weird that they didn’t bring out our drinks while we waited, but it was well worth the wait. We shared the mussels appetizer which was perfectly garlicky and flavorful. And I got a cold lobster roll which was SO good.
lunch at Lobster Roll AKA Lunch in Amagansett: Stopped here on the way home for one last lobster roll. We were too early for outdoor seating (I think that started right around 11:30AM) so we ended up eating in the car before heading home. My lobster roll was great but not as good as the night before.
Some other suggestions from instagram:
People are dying but it’s OK because you get a cute headline for your blog and a vacation that risks the lives of others out of it.
Have more sense.
I apologize if my sense of humor didn’t translate, changing the headline. I agree it is devastating what is happening which is why I’ve been very vocal on instagram about my frustration with New Yorkers not wearing masks right now. I also was really frustrated when I saw bloggers leaving NYC in March to go to other areas prior to observing social distancing rules.
My friend and I have both been strict about stay-at-home rules and social distancing for the last 3 months. Neither of us are working outside of our house or have been in close contact with someone who has been sick. While of course there are risk factors right now when you travel (or even go grocery shopping or to the pharmacy for shampoo), we both did everything in our power to minimize the risk of both us potentially spreading the virus and also us potentially contracting the virus. I apologize though if this was seen as reckless and do not mean to downplay the seriousness of what has happened over the last 3 months.
I’m so glad you got to get away!!! This looks so perfect – I want all of your eats!! After our last social distance getaway in AZ, I’m missing travel and craving another!