Last month we had an amazing time visiting Long Island. We try to visit every year in the summer as my sister in law and her family live there. My girls spent a week filled with adventures with their cousins, creating memories to last a lifetime. We found a lot of fun things to do on Long Island during our visit. So, if you are planning a visit, then here are a few fun activities for you to try, and the one hotel you want to avoid.
1. Long Island Aquarium
The Long Island Aquarium is located within the downtown area of Riverhead, at 431 East Main Street. The facility offers not only indoor but also outdoor exhibits. Some of our favorites included the butterflies, Ray Bay (touch tank), shark exhibit, sea lions show, interactive salt marsh and the Mermaid Experience.
The facility hours are from 10 am until 4 pm on the weekdays. On the weekends the aquarium is open from 10 am until 5 pm.
https://www.longislandaquarium.com/
2. The Bronx Zoo
While the Bronx Zoo is not on Long Island, it is a great place to spend the day. Explore more than 265 acres and visit 8,000 animals. The zoo offers many different wild encounters opportunities in addition to their traditional exhibits. The girls really enjoyed the ride on the Wild Asia Monorail.
https://bronxzoo.com/
3. Things to Do on Long Island: The Beaches
If you love swimming, then you won’t want to miss out on a visit to a beach. North Shore beaches tend to be calmer, but also more rocky. While South Shore Beaches tend to have more waves and sandy beaches. Our family loves the South Shores Beaches, and Robert Moses State Park offers several different beach sites with almost five miles of beachline to choose from.
Robert Moses State Park – Long Island (ny.gov)
4. Splish Splash
Splish Splash is a 96 acre family-friendly water park in Calverton, New York. The park features 20 water slides along with other rides and attractions. The girls spent most of their time in the wave pool and on the lazy river rides. While there was a lot to do, the hilly terrain was not stroller nor wheelchair friendly. The Long Island waterpark is open from May until September.
5. Dining Option: Relish
When living on Long Island, hubby and I used to joke about the food. About 10 years ago there wasn’t much to choose from. Everything was flavored with “Long Island bland” we joked. However, this past visit we found an amazing restaurant called Relish. There are two locations, one in Kings park as well as the one we visited in Hauppauge. The brunch menu delivered fresh items full of flavor with a delightful presentation.
6. Avoid the Radisson in Hauppauge
I have travelled quite a few times by booking a blind hotel room with Priceline. Generally, we get a great price on a decent hotel room. However, I didn’t realize until this vacation how things could go very sideways. We had an awful experience which included broken toilets, carpeting that was stain and a tripping hazard and general cleanliness issues. The worst was the soggy, moldy walls that my daughter simply leaned against and broke. The best Priceline could offer was a 20% discount on our stay or we could find a new hotel, which by that time most similar hotels were booked for the weekend. We will never use this service again…..
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g47873-d93787-r804126397-Radisson_Hotel_Hauppauge_Long_Island-Hauppauge_Long_Island_New_York.html
Author: Amber Louchart
Amber is the proud mother to four beautiful children, Damian (27), Rosaleigh (14), Carlyn (11), and Naomi (8). Her family also includes four cats. She loves being a stay-at-home mom and feels blessed to be able to care for her children full-time and provide them with so many opportunities through Metro Detroit Mommy. In addition to Metro Detroit Mommy, Amber has a passion for hosting karaoke with Malibu Entertainment. She enjoys the metro Detroit nightlife especially, singing, dancing and meeting new people.
Amber is the proud mother to four beautiful children, Damian (27), Rosaleigh (14), Carlyn (11), and Naomi (8). Her family also includes four cats.
She loves being a stay-at-home mom and feels blessed to be able to care for her children full-time and provide them with so many opportunities through Metro Detroit Mommy. In addition to Metro Detroit Mommy, Amber has a passion for hosting karaoke with Malibu Entertainment. She enjoys the metro Detroit nightlife especially, singing, dancing and meeting new people.
