Planning a Trip

Getting There

By Car -- The Long Island Expressway (I-495) is your quickest way through here, when it's not packed with traffic. Avoid rush hour at all costs!

By Train -- More than 80 million people ride the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR). For schedule and fare information, call tel. 516/822-LIRR or 631/231-LIRR or visit www.mta.info/lirr. The LIRR services 124 Long Island stations and makes more than 20 stops along the north shore, including Great Neck, Manhasset, Port Washington, Oyster Bay, Locust Valley, Glen Cove, Sea Cliff, Roslyn, Westbury, Hicksville, Syosset, Cold Spring Harbor, Huntington, Northport, St. James, Stony Brook, and Port Jefferson. Cab service is available at all stations; you can just show up and get a cab or check the LIRR website for phone numbers.

By Plane -- LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy airports lie just over the Long Island Border in New York City. Long Island MacArthur Airport, situated mid-island in Islip (tel. 631/467-3210; www.macarthurairport.com), is the closest airport and is served by Southwest (tel. 800/435-9792; www.southwest.com), U.S. Airways (tel. 800/428-4322; www.usairways.com), Continental Express (tel. 800/523-3273; www.continental.com), Delta Express (tel. 800/325-5205; www.delta.com), and ATA (tel. 800/I-FLY-ATA; www.ata.com).

By Ferry -- The Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Ferry Company, 102 W. Broadway, Port Jefferson (tel. 631/473-0286; www.bpjferry.com), makes the 1 1/4-hour trip between Port Jefferson and Bridgeport, Connecticut, every 90 minutes from 6am to 9pm on weekdays and 16 times from Friday to Sunday. Car and driver cost is $45; foot passengers pay $15.

Visitor Information

The Long Island Convention and Visitors Bureau (tel. 877/FUN-ON-LI or 631/951-3440; www.licvb.com) has an office at 330 Motor Pkwy., Suite 203, Hauppauge. It's open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm; call or visit for all the info you can handle.

Getting Around

A car is essential on Long Island. Avis (tel. 800/331-1212; www.avis.com) has offices in Islip, Massapequa, Huntington Station, Smithtown, Stonybrook, Lynbrook, Roslyn, Melville, Port Jefferson, and Port Washington; Budget (tel. 800/527-0700; www.budget.com) has offices in Farmingdale, Garden City, Hicksville, and Huntington Station; Dollar (tel. 800/800-3665; www.dollar.com) has offices in Islip and Roslyn; and Hertz (tel. 800/654-3131; www.hertz.com) has offices in Islip, Great Neck, Huntington, West Hempstead, Middle Island, Lynbrook, Centereach, East Northport, Farmingdale, and Hicksville.