Long Island is located on the Atlantic Ocean in southeastern New York State, east of New York City. Its famous Jones Beach State Park is a popular summer destination for the city folks. One of my favorites there is the historic late-1700s Montauk Lighthouse. I also visited the world-famous Brooklyn Botanic Garden, several excellent art museums such as the Brooklyn Museum, fascinating Long Island Aquarium, and large parks such as Camp Hero State Park and Montauk Point State Park.
Long Island, NY Highlights:
- For Beach Lovers: Relax at Jones Beach State Park
- For Wine Enthusiasts: Explore the North Fork Wine Trail
- For History Buffs: Tour Old Westbury Gardens
- For Nature Seekers: Visit Montauk Point State Park
- For Families: Explore the Long Island Aquarium in Riverhead
Best Time to Visit Long Island, NY
The best time to visit Long Island is from May to October, when beaches, vineyards, and seaside towns are at their best. Summer offers the most activities, while September and October bring crisp weather, fewer crowds, and fall harvest festivals.
How to Get to Long Island, NY
- By Train: The Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) offers frequent service from Penn Station in Manhattan to various points across Long Island.
- By Car: Take the Long Island Expressway (I-495) from New York City to reach destinations across Nassau and Suffolk Counties.
- By Plane: Fly into Long Island MacArthur Airport (ISP) or nearby JFK/LGA airports in NYC and drive or take the train east.
Where to Stay in Long Island, NY
- Gurney’s Montauk Resort & Seawater Spa – Luxury oceanfront retreat with spa, dining, and sweeping views.
- The Inn at Fox Hollow (Woodbury) – Elegant all-suite hotel centrally located for exploring Nassau County.
- Sound View Greenport – North Fork boutique hotel right on the beach with a restaurant and music events.
Best Things to Do in Long Island, NY
1. Old Westbury Gardens
Old Westbury Gardens is a beautiful Charles II-style mansion surrounded by 200 acres of magnificent formal gardens, woodlands, landscaped grounds, ponds, and lakes. The mansion was built in 1906 for John S. Phipps and his family and was designed by renowned English architect George A. Crawley. Westbury House is filled with fine original English antiques and art accumulated during the 50 years of its life as the Phipps’ family's residence. Westbury Gardens is open to visitors, and guides provide informative tours of the mansion and its formal gardens. It is also available for school visits, children's events and programs, family programs, classic car shows, museum exhibits, indoor and outdoor classical music concerts, lectures, pop concerts, and many other types of events.
Address: 71 Old Westbury Rd, Old Westbury, NY 11568, Phone: 516-333-0048
2. Vanderbilt Museum and Planetarium
The Vanderbilt Museum is located in the town of Centerport on the north shore of Long Island, on Eagle's Nest, the former 43-acre estate of William K. Vanderbilt II. The museum includes the Vanderbilt Mansion with all its furnishings and art, a marine museum with a collection of natural history specimens, a curator's cottage, a boathouse, gardens, a seaplane hangar, and an extensive collection of firearms, swords, ship models, and various objects from Europe, Asia, and Africa. The museum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The museum curators offer a very popular guided tour while dressed in period costumes, bringing the lives of the estate’s previous residents to life. The planetarium operates a Konica Minolta Gemini Star III full dome display projector, one of the best in the country, and with the latest surround sound technology.
Address: 180 Little Neck Road, Centerport, New York 11721, Phone: 631-854-5579
3. Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park
Located in the Upper Brookville village in Oyster Bay, New York, the 400-acre Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park is located on the former estate of railroad executive William Robertson Coe and his wife. It includes their 67-room Tudor revival residence Coe Hall as well as gardens, woodland paths, greenhouses, extensive plant collections, and a herbarium with more than 10,000 pressed specimens. The park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is open to the public, so visitors can enjoy strolling through rolling lawns, woodlands, and gardens. The Camellia Greenhouse has a large collection of camellias while the main greenhouse has impressive collections of orchids, hibiscus, succulents, and seasonal flowering plants. Guided tours of Coe Hall offer a glimpse into the lifestyle of the rich in the 1920s, with collections of furnishings, stained glass, paintings, and decorative arts.
Address: Planting Fields Rd. Oyster Bay, NY 11771, Phone: 516-922-9210
4. Long Island Aquarium and Exhibition Center
Best known for one of the largest live coral reef displays in North America, Long Island Aquarium and Exhibition Center has a 120,000-gallon shark tank, sea lion shows, marmosets, African penguins, touch tanks where visitors can actually touch live animals, and over 100 diverse exhibits. There is also a colorful indoor garden, home of the Butterflies, Bugs and Birds Exhibit, with 30 species of North American and tropical butterflies that fly freely through the garden. It is the only bug display in New York. The bird aviary is home to conures, lovebirds, ringnecks, and many other bird species. One of the most exciting adventures in the aquarium is JAWsome Aquatic Adventures with the Shark Dive, which allows visitors to get into a cage and sink down to the Lost City of Atlantis Shark Exhibit. Visitors can also have a go at feeding the charming penguins at the Penguin Encounter.
Address: 431 E Main St, Riverhead, NY 11901-2556, Phone: 631-208-9200
5. MoMA PS1
MoMA PS1 is one of the largest and oldest nonprofit contemporary art centers in the US. Founded in 1971, the museum serves as an exhibition space and does not have a permanent collection. Located in Long Island City, MoMA PS1 is also one of the biggest American art institutions focused completely on contemporary art and it supports and encourages most experimental and thought-provoking contemporary art of today. In addition to art exhibitions, the museum organizes the Warm Up summer music series, the Sunday Sessions performance series, and the Young Architects Program, organized together with the Museum of Modern Art.
Address: 22-25 Jackson Ave, Long Island City, NY 11101, Phone: 718-784-2084
What to do if you are traveling with kids:
6. Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Brooklyn Botanic Garden is a 52-acre garden located in the Prospect Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, a delightful colorful oasis with more than 14,000 taxa of plants from all over the world. The garden is famous for its "gardens within the Garden" plant collections, unique groupings of plants and trees such as the famous cherry tree garden. When all 200 cherry trees are in bloom in the spring, the garden holds a month-long cherry festival at the Cherry Esplanade called Hanami, attracting thousands of visitors. The garden also houses the Steinhardt Conservatory with the C. V. Starr Bonsai Museum, a white glass and cast-iron aquatic plant house, three climate-themed plant pavilions, and an impressive art gallery. Another wonderful part of the garden is the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden created in 1914, the first Japanese garden in a public garden in the States.
Address: 990 Washington Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11225, Phone: 718-623-7200
7. Brooklyn Bridge
With its massive granite towers and long steel cables, the Brooklyn Bridge has been a New York City icon since 1883, stretching over the East River and connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn. The main span of the bridge is 1,595.5 feet long, and when it was completed, it was the first ever steel-wire suspension bridge in the world. Initially a bridge for pedestrians and non-motorized vehicles, today it offers safe passage to trains, bikes, and cars, with millions of commuters and tourists having crossed. It dominates the New York landscape and is one of the most recognizable features of the city skyline. Crossing the bridge on foot through the elevated walkway is one of the most memorable visitors’ experiences.
Address: Brooklyn Bridge, New York, NY 10038
Activities and Attractions for Couples and Singles:
8. Brooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum is the third largest art museum in New York City, with an impressive collection of over 1.5 million artworks. The museum is located near the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Crown Heights, Flatbush, and Prospect Heights, and covers 560,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor gallery space. Founded in 1895 and located in a beautiful beaux arts building designed by McKim, Mead and White, the museum was planned originally to be the biggest art museum in the world. The most significant museum collections are its Egyptian antiquities, spanning period of more than 3,000 years, as well as antiques from Europe, Africa Oceania, and Japan. There is a well-represented American art collection starting with the colonial period. Some of the most notable artists whose works are part of the collection are Mark Rothko, Norman Rockwell, Edward Hopper, Winslow Homer, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Max Weber.
Address: Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Pkwy, Brooklyn, NY 11238, Phone: 718-638-5000, Instagram
9. Long Island Game Farm
The Long Island Game Farm is a wildlife park and children’s zoo located in Manorville. The park has been in operation for 47 years and is Long Island’s largest children’s zoo and wildlife park. The zoo gives families the opportunity to learn about animals in their natural environment. The zoo features several encounter areas where visitors can interact with and feed animals including Bambiland and a nursery. If visitors would like to feed the animals, they must purchase food from the zoo as they are not permitted to bring their own food. However, the park features a snack bar serving a selection of food items and light fare. Additionally, the souvenir stand sells Long Island Game Farm merchandise and apparel.
Address: Long Island Game Farm , 489 Chapman Boulevard, Manorville, New York 11949, Phone: 631-878-6644
10. Coney Island
Once an outer barrier island, Coney Island was eventually connected to Long Island by a landfill to form a peninsula on the Lower Bay in Brooklyn. This residential neighborhood of about 60,000 people morphs every summer into one of the most popular entertainment destinations in New York, bringing thousands of locals and visitors to enjoy the long sandy beach, Luna Park with its famous Cyclone roller coaster, and the Wonder Wheel. There is also the Circus Sideshow, the Mermaid Parade every June, a popular 4th July hot dog eating contest at Nathan’s, numerous street performers, musicians, food stalls, and much more. Coney Island is also the location of the MCU Park stadium, home to the Brooklyn Cyclones minor league baseball team and the New York Cosmos soccer club.
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