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I love where we live – especially in the summer months. Honestly, there isn’t too much of a need to plan big getaways, there is so much to do here on Long Island! But even though I have lived here almost my whole life, there was one place I was really hoping to get to this summer! So a few weekends ago we took a Fire Island Day Trip!
Photo credit: Vito Fun via VisualHunt / CC BY
Plan Your Fire Island Day Trip
Fire Island is a barrier island off the main island of Long Island. Along the south shore (where we live) there are a few barrier islands – if you have heard of or been to places like Long Beach, Atlantic Beach, Jones Beach or Robert Moses, you have been to a barrier island! But unlike those others, Fire Island is only accessible by boat.
Okay that’s apparently not 100% true – you can access the eastern and western most parts of Fire Island by parking at either Robert Moses or Smith Point and walking over to Fire Island proper.
We chose instead to take the ferry from Bay Shore to Ocean Beach.
Getting To Fire Island
There are several passenger ferries that operate out of Bay Shore and Sayville. Each ferry services different parts of Fire Island, so you need to have an idea of where you want to head before you board. We chose Ocean Beach because from my research that seemed to be the most built up (stores, restaurants, etc.) and the more family friendly part of the island.
We arrived at the ferry terminal around 11am one Saturday morning in July. We bought our tickets ($19 round trip for adults, $9 round trip for kids) and then I dropped off my family and our beach cart at the ferry building.
At that time of day, the official Ferry parking lots were all full, so I had to drive into Bay Shore and park in town. I found a street with 8 hour parking until 6pm. This was by far the worst part of the trip, and it wasn’t that bad because I didn’t mind the 10-15 minute walk back to the ferry. In Bay Shore, most streets are two hour parking and the municipal lots have very few spots that are 12 hours. Most are 4 hours.
The other parking option is to park at Touro College and take a free shuttle bus back to the ferry terminal.
At the ferry dock, once our boat arrived, it was a bit of a cattle call to get all of the passengers on the boat. We checked our beach cart ($5 one-way charge) and found some seats upstairs. The ride over to Fire Island took about 20 minutes, with nice bay breezes and beautiful views. I felt like we were on an exciting adventure and the kids loved it.
Ocean Beach on Fire Island
We arrived in Ocean Beach around 12:30 and disembarked in town. There is a strip of stores, restaurants and bars with the bay to your north and the beach to your south. Since there are no vehicles, you can push your cart or wagon and walk in the pedestrian streets.
When we arrived, we checked out the lunch options. You CANNOT eat on the beach (and I saw police walking around giving tickets to enforce this rule) so we had planned to eat lunch in a restaurant before heading to the ocean.
We checked out the restaurant options and decided to head into Rachel’s Bakery. I had read about Rachel’s online and this place did not disappoint! Hubby had a delicious sandwich and I had an amazing fried goat cheese salad. Our server was so friendly and our kids loved that the table was covered in butcher paper and they gave us crayons to draw.
After eating, our server offered to give us waters to take to the beach and she pointed us in the right direction.
The Beach on Fire Island
We then took about a 10-minute walk south through the lovely neighborhood. The houses are all so unique and carefully decorated. It was awesome to just be able to stroll through the streets with no cars!
When we got to the beach we found there is no charge, but there is a big staircase that takes you up and over the dune. Since we had our Tommy Bahama Beach cart, we had to unload it a bit, and carry it up the stairs (and then bop it down with the big wheels). Not something I would want to do 10x a day, but it was fine for our day trip. I did notice other people left their wagons on the north side of the dune, but locked them up.
Once we got on the beach, it was similar to other Ocean beaches in our area. It was very clean (maybe because of the no eating policy) and on the day of our visit it was hot, with awesome waves. We swam most of the day!
I did also notice there was no bathroom at this beach. There were restrooms at the restaurant, which we used. There were also public restrooms at the ferry dock in town. This is definitely something important to know before you go!
Day Trip to Fire Island
After a few hours in the sand, we walked back over the dune and into town. We finished the day with ice cream from Beaches and Cream. Before our ferry home we walked in and out of the souvenir shops. Since it was Saturday night, the bars were packed and live music was playing. Very fun atmosphere for sure!
We hopped on the 6:00 ferry back to Bay Shore (this time they did not charge for the hand luggage) and we were home soon after. We had a ton of fun on our day trip to Fire Island. It felt like a far getaway, even though we were only in the next county over!
I would love to return to the island and check out some of the other neighborhoods. We had planned to walk to Ocean Bay Park but ran out of time. I also want to visit the lighthouse (which you can drive to).
Have you done a Fire Island Day Trip? What are you best day-trip tips?
Needing to stay the night? Check out the Fire Island Hotel in Ocean Bay Park. Click here for the best rate!
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Looks like a fun place to visit with families!
What a fun beach to have so close to you! I live in the midwest, so it takes us about 2 days to drive to any beach on the east coast. The Tommy Bahama Beach Cart is really cool. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one. Your kids are adorable, and it looks like they had a great time!
two days!!!! any lakes nearby???
Sounds like a great day! I have to check it out sometime. That restaurant with the paper tablecloth looks awesome. I love a good goat cheese salad!
Kate
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Thanks for the tour of Fire Island! The no restrooms thing would be a huge problem for our family – so I guess we’ll only see it from your post. ?
This looks like such a fun time with tons of memories made!
That looks like a fun trip! Way back when, when I visited my friend who lived in Long Island, we totally went to Robert Mosses Beach!
thats a really nice one! we havent been there this summer because there are a bunch that are much closer to us
Fire Island looks amazing! I sort-of love the fact that they don’t allow food on the beach so that it stays clean and isn’t overrun by birds!
This looks like a really fun, family friendly place to spend a few days!!
I love this. The boat and beach sounds like the perfect combination!!!
That looks like SO much fun and I am absolutely jealous. haha
This sounds like so much fun! I love the idea of walking along the little strip of stores and restaurants!
I have heard so much about this island from my friends in NY but never been. Looks like a great family getaway.
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We want to go back to this area so bad – it’s such a fun little getaway!
That looks so fun! I have a lot of friends who go to Fire Island for weekend getaways, but I never actually knew where it was- ha! I”m glad you included the map 😉
I love taking the ferry 😀 haha such a kid! looks like a real fun day out for the whole family! #LifesSweetJourney
What a great detailed explanation of your day! I love that buggy, too! Sounds like you had a great time out, and ice cream is a must after a long day out, too?
This looks like a great place to visit! I’ve never heard of Fire Island, but it looks like someplace I should definitely put on my list of places to visit. Especially for a weekend getaway.
What a fun day trip! I’m jealous that you live so close to good beaches.
I know, although our season is short! Have to enjoy it while you can!
Looks like an awesome beach day! Though I have never heard of not being able to eat on the beach, but I guess it’s a great way to keep the place clean. And a good enough reason to dine somewhere new 🙂
some people call it the “Island of NO” Because of all the rules!
Looks like you had such a fun trip!
looks life a fun place to go with family
Looks nice for a day trip and totally great to get out of the routine… love it
didn’t know that this place existed. i suppose its a good thing that they are strict with enforcing the rules as it keeps things running in order.
I love the idea of a day trip – just a quick get away without the need for extensive planning and money! This looks like a great place to visit. Also, the name of that ice cream shop – Beaches and Cream – is fantastic 🙂
Looks like a fun place to visit over the weekend! And your babies are super cute 😀 Looks like they had a lot of fun!
This is a really great article! The beach looks like a great place to go and relax and have fun too. Great video,, I bet the boat would be so much fun! Hope you had a fantastic time – and thanks for sharing your adventure with us!
Nice articles thanks for sharing us.
you’re absolutely smashing at it!
Some real adventures under your belt! Inspiring blogs that I’ll use on my adventures.
Thankyou
Looks like a great place to go! I’ll add it to my list!
Looks like such an awesome place to visit with kids! And tbh I love the fact it’s called Fire Island lol. Great tips!
You know I dont know why that is!
I’d never heard of Fire Island before, despite having visited NY a few times over the years (truth be told, I never ventured to Long Island during those trips either =/). Looks like a nice getaway from the city! And I think the no-eating policy at the beach is GENIUS.
I love day trips that involve boats. Fire Island looks beautiful and the kids look like they had fun 🙂
That has all the components of a fab day for me: boat trip, a walk, beach time, great food. I’ll get my plane! I also love that you live somewhere where it’s worth owning a beach cart; all my childhood memories of the coast are of we kids bearing deckchairs, picnic bags, flasks and beach toys making a long line from the car park to the sand. Fab memories..
its great here like 5-6 months of the year. we do have a bad winter though
At first I didn’t realise that this was in New York – reminded me of Australia! Looks and sounds like you guys had great fun. Awesome!
This is so sad, but I have never been to Fire Island. And I had no idea it was so closetoRobert Moses Beach. I love it there! Thanks for the inspiration.
you just have to get there via boat, or a 1 mile hike from RM
Another destination added to my bucket list 🙂