Long Island has a reputation for traffic, and it earns that reputation on the LIE at rush hour. But at the right time of day, on the right roads, it is one of the best places in the Northeast to drive something fast and beautiful. Here are five routes we recommend to customers who pick up or take delivery on the Island.
1. Montauk Highway to the Hamptons
Distance: Farmingdale to Montauk, about 100 miles each way.
Best time: Early Saturday morning before 9am, or a weekday off-season.
This is the classic. Once you clear the Sunrise Highway interchange and hit the open stretches between Westhampton and Southampton, the road opens up. Long straights give way to gentle curves through farmland and village centers. The Hamptons provide a natural finish line: park on Main Street in East Hampton and the car becomes an attraction on its own. If you push further to Montauk, the lighthouse road at the very tip is worth it.
2. North Shore Parkway Cruise (25A)
Distance: Varies, Farmingdale to Oyster Bay to Cold Spring Harbor, about 40 miles.
Best time: Weekend morning or weekday daytime.
Route 25A through the North Shore is one of the most scenic drives in New York State. It rolls through Syosset, Woodbury, Cold Spring Harbor, and Huntington on roads that wind through old estates and tree tunnels. The speed limits are lower here but the scenery rewards a slower pace. Stop in Cold Spring Harbor village for coffee and park where people can see the car. This route is the choice for a relaxed cruise where the drive is the destination.
3. Jones Beach Loop
Distance: Farmingdale to Jones Beach and back, about 25 miles each way via Ocean Parkway.
Best time: Early morning in the off-season, or a weekday before summer crowds arrive.
Ocean Parkway from Jones Beach to Robert Moses State Park is a flat, wide road along the barrier island with water on both sides. It is not a driver’s road. It is a cruising road. Top down (if you have the Portofino or the Huracan Spyder), windows down, the ocean on your left, the bay on your right. The sound carries for miles and there is nothing to hit. In summer it fills up by 10am; in spring or fall you can have it to yourself.
4. Jericho Turnpike to Cold Spring Harbor
Distance: About 30 miles from Farmingdale.
Best time: Any time.
Jericho Turnpike runs the length of Nassau and into Suffolk County. It is not a glamorous road but it connects to some of the best side streets on the Island. Detour north onto Woodbury Road or through the back streets of Syosset and you find roads that twist and roll with real elevation change. This is the closest thing to a driver’s road within 30 minutes of Farmingdale.
5. Manhattan Run: FDR to the West Side Highway
Distance: From Midtown tunnel to the George Washington Bridge, about 15 miles.
Best time: Sunday morning before 8am.
New York City is not known for driving, but Sunday at dawn is a different city. The FDR Drive heading north along the East River is almost empty. Cross at 96th Street, drop onto the West Side Highway, and run south past the Intrepid and through the Meatpacking District all the way to the Battery. The entire loop is under an hour if you time it right. The tunnels between exits on the FDR amplify the exhaust note in a way that is genuinely unforgettable. We deliver to any Manhattan address, so start and end wherever works for you.
Monarq Motors delivers anywhere in NYC and Long Island. | +1 (516) 585-2609 | monarqmotors.com