offManhattan

Fall is a great time of year to re-energize with a spa weekend. On your next relaxing retreat, stay at one of these five eco-friendly spas—be it in a city, by the sea, by a lake or in a quaint village—without the hassle, expense and environmental hazards of driving. Check out our list of spa getaways near NYC for ideas.

Although the days are getting noticeably cooler, there is a balmy weekend forecast ahead and our minds are on one thing: the beach. Not Southampton, not Shelter Island, but a more off the beaten stretch of shore called Ditch Plains Beach. This sandy tip of Long Island is cliffy and quiet—if you don’t mind surfers and the occasional wakeboarding celebrity designer. Here on Long Island, the shiny, pristine setting, tasty food stands, and yoga-surfing clinics are enough to make Ditch Plains the kind of getaway all New Yorkers need at the close of summer.

Read on for our tubular step-by-step guide to living like a Ditch Plains local, if only for a day.

Great things await travel in our future: jetpacks, floating walkways, miles long pneumatic tubes—all prophesied by the futurists at Hanna-Barbera—but what about the near future? In what ways can intercity travel become more convenient and efficient for us today? It’s a question we’ve asked and answered. It’s the bus.

More to the point, it’s Megabus. The Chicago-based company launched in 2006 as a subsidiary of Coach USA, and has since put itself at the vanguard of high-quality, low-cost city-to-city travel, servicing 19 Midwest and 14 Northeast cities in the United States. Later this summer, Megabus will introduce a new bus from New York City to Providence.

After the jump, learn about their big incentive for visiting the Creative Capital of Rhode Island.

Who says you have to travel far from home to enjoy the kind of natural beauty that comes with a complete feeling of urban escape? Fortunately for New Yorkers, just to our north, Westchester encompasses 18,000 acres of verdant parkland, woods, hiking and biking trails, and a place for activities like kayaking and fishing. Add to that a new Westchester Fit & Active hotel package (click to learn more) created by the Westchester Hotel Association, and your late summer plans for an al fresco getaway just got made.

On the banks of the Rappahannock River, Fredericksburg has been drawing troops of tourists in recent years for more reasons than its well-preserved Civil War battlefields. Visitors haven’t made the mistake of thinking this is a one-note town. Five hours from Manhattan by train, here in Virginia where many history lessons have been taught, there is now a lively restaurant scene, art galleries, festivals, and specialty shops, all conveniently located in the tree-shaded, 40-block National Historic District. Everywhere worth exploring on a weekend getaway is accessible on foot or by bike.

There is the Snooki-poofed version of the Jersey Shore and then there is this one. The village of Spring Lake, NJ is located one hour and 15 minutes from NYC by way of the New Jersey Transit rails. Here, there are calm stretches of sandy beach, Victorian homes, the longest non-commercial boardwalk in the state, Shakespeare plays in a garden, an old pond-perched copper church, and charming inns right on the sea.  

Although we helmet heads are grateful for the 600 miles of designated bike lanes in NYC, let’s face facts: to most New Yorkers, biking in the city conjures up harrowing images of way-too-close encounters with agitated motorists and cabbies.

As an alternative, we recommend these three refreshingly bike-friendly, multi-level rides, which involve free beer, pizza and routes that weave throughout farms, vineyards, and the sea—all near NYC and accessible without, you guessed it, a car.

The names of Atlantic City’s streets are familiar to anyone who has ever spent an afternoon playing Monopoly. Now that you’ve left childhood games behind, you may be acquainted with the hedonistic pleasures that make Atlantic City the Tri-State area’s grown-up playground. Although its gaming casinos have put it prominently on the map, don’t be fooled into thinking it is a one-note town. It is a haven for fine dining, tax -free outlet shopping, top-notch entertainment and a slew of events that are garnering national attention, from the upcoming Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival to the Atlantic City Film Festival slated for this fall.

A New Way to Get to Atlantic City
Whether you visit Atlantic City to roll the dice or stroll the boardwalk, you can save time, money, and greenhouse gas emissions the next time you visit—without skimping on comfort. Hampton Luxury Liner is now offering daily coach bus service to Harrah’s Resort and Caesars from several convenient locations in Manhattan, along with one in Plainview, Long Island. They are well known for transporting New Yorkers to the Hamptons and Woodbury Common Premium Outlets, without the hassle, expense, and carbon footprint that comes with driving. 1.4 million gallons of gasoline are saved every year in the U.S. as a result of using public transportation, so if you haven’t hopped on the car-free wagon, this is your chance to.