(Photo: Courtesy of the Broker)

BLOCK ISLAND
August is all booked up, say locals, since most landlords take the prime weeks for themselves or have regular tenants who come back every year and book way ahead. Better to try for July.
Lathrop, Off Grace’s Cove Road
Broker: Sandra Hopf, Sullivan Real Estate (401-466-5521).
From Manhattan: Three-hour drive to Point Judith, Rhode Island, and then an hour on the ferry.
Sleeps: Six.
Price per week: $3,000.
A one-bedroom main house plus a guest cottage that sleeps three. Grace Cove Beach—pretty and craggy, better for fishing or sitting than sunning—is a quarter-mile walk, and the more-typical beaches off Corn Neck Road are a ten-minute drive. (No passes or parking permits required.)

(Photo: Courtesy of the Broker)

CONNECTICUT
Most brokers here will shoo you out the door if you ask for just a week, preferring to rent for a month or even longer, especially for prime lakefront. So try the owners themselves: Websites like Vrbo.com and Cyberrentals.com have dozens of listings for short-term stays.
Morris
Broker: Maria Taylor, Klemm Real Estate (860-868-7313, ext. 26).
From Manhattan: Two hours.
Sleeps: Six.
Price per week: $3,000 (but see caveat below).
More kitschy than chic, this three-bedroom colonial is somewhat rustic, with wood paneling in the common areas, but it has its own large dock on Bantam Lake for kayaking, boating, and swimming. The owners won’t rent for just a week—they’re charging $12,000 for the month—but they use it as a reunion spot for all their relatives, and you can, too. Have your extended brood split the month and the costs.

Related:

• Archive: “Features”
• Articles by S.Jhoanna Robledo
• Table of Contents: Jul 2, 2007 issue of New York | Subscribe!