There's No Better Way To Get To The Hamptons Than In A Seaplane [PHOTOS]

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 Long Island Rail Road ticket lines at Penn Station are even worse.

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 rowdy neighbors, and the view is pretty spectacular.

There's also the small matter of cost.

Fly The Whale, one of several companies that offers seaplane service in the New York area, charges $3,700 for a 9-person charter flight from Manhattan to East Hampton, and single seats on "shared" charters for $550. The company also flies to Westhampton, Shelter Island, Montauk, and other Hamptons towns.

Last year, I took a Fly The Whale seaplane from Manhattan to Sag Harbor to tour a new luxury condo complex. 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.