EXCLUSIVE: The post-pandemic summer is in full swing in The Hamptons: Marinas crammed with pricey yachts, $78 lobster rolls at eateries with waitlists and goldendoodles and Goyard totes packed onto choppers and private jets

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It is the hottest ticket in town. Set on a lush property perched by the water's edge, with knotted wood tables, cream flowers and woven lanterns The Crow's Nest hotel and restaurant in Montauk is a modern-day Arcadia and the chic favorite of the upper crust.

Scarlett Johansson has a house nearby and she and her husband, SNL cast member and writer Colin Jost are regular diners. They've already visited this season as has fellow Hollywood A-lister Jonah Hill.

It is made only more desirable by the fact that it doesn't take reservations (not that you could get one if it did).

One week after a Memorial Weekend washout the Hamptons are back; busier, buzzier, and pricier than ever, and DailyMail.com was there to take a peek at the post pandemic hoopla.

By six o'clock on Saturday evening The Crow's Nest's parking lot is full and spilling over.

Beautiful girls in boho dresses and floppy hats sip spicy margaritas and flirt with men in linen shirts and thick-knit sweaters; children plucked from the pages of a Ralph Lauren catalogue tumble on the grass.

Resy is the must have dining spot app for those hoping to snag a table elsewhere, as restaurants fill up once more, bars have lines and the house parties and fundraisers that had disappeared from Hamptons agendas during shutdown have struck up again.

A slew of yachts, sailboats and powerboats are seen docked in the exclusive Sag Harbor Marina as the rich flock to The Hamptons for the summer

By three o'clock on Sunday afternoon a relay of helicopters and private planes were starting to land into and take off from East Hampton airport. Private jets and sea-plane engines were firing into life and slowly circling to the small terminal

The Crow's Nest hotel and restaurant in Montauk is a favorite among stars like Scarlett Johansson, who has a house nearby, and husband SNL cast member and writer Colin Jost. The couple have already visited this season as has Hollywood A-lister Jonah Hill

By 6pm on Saturday evening the parking lot was already full and the wait for a table was more than two hours at The Crow's Nest. But manager Celine Valensi told DailyMail.com, despite this promising start none of her years have prepared her for this season

Gurney's in Montauk is a hotspot all summer long with luxurious cabanas on the sand. Access to the Beach at Gurney's is only available to hotel guests

Maidstone Club Private Golf Course at in East Hampton is popular spot for the wealthy to spend the day on the links 

Celine Valensi has run The Crow's Nest for 12 years, but she admitted that this season felt like they were opening for the first time.

Paul McCartney was spotted taking his wife Nancy Shevell out to dinner in East Hampton over the weekend 

She explained, 'We're now in our twelfth season and we have all types of charts and sales projections based on last year's sales...but we just don't have any data on what to expect [this year].'

Because, while the Hamptons are bursting back into life, they are not unchanged by the year that has gone before.

To an outsider it may look like business as usual but in fact, according to Valensi, life is 'dramatically different.'

She said, 'What you see in Montauk is huge dinner groups – people coming in with 14 or 15 people, people in house-shares.

'But house-shares don't exist in the market this year because more homeowners have opted to just keep their homes or rent to smaller numbers because there have been strict regulations on rentals that are not for single families. So suddenly the dynamic of how people spend their money changes.

'If you go out to dinner with a group of four, you're much less likely to order a magnum of rose and desserts for the table.'

Meanwhile, running costs have increased. Valensi gives as an example the price of fresh lobster, a Hamptons staple. She said, 'They've tripled this season because there are fewer lobster fishermen going out.'

On any given day the market price for a lobster roll quoted by waterside restaurant Duryeas, once a humble lobster wholesaler and stand, could be as high as $78.

But while Valensi may worry about the 'delicate dance' of pricing and trying to gauge customers' willingness to splash out post pandemic, it seems that many are willing to pay a premium for the privilege of a Hamptons day, weekend, or summer.  

TV host Jimmy Fallon was seen arriving back to New York City after a weekend in The Hamptons. With traffic turning the drive from Manhattan to the Hamptons into a five-hour ordeal and ride-share companies taking to the skies, those who can afford a $795 seat on a helicopter will happily make the purchase to avoid the gridlock below

Employees were seen transporting hamsters, stuffed animals and other items belonging to the elite that flew in via private helicopter or plane into The Hamptons 

On Sunday, groups of wealthy kids, couples and families trailing goldendoodles and Goyard totes boarded helicopter after helicopter, heading back to the city in time for dinner

The thump of helicopters and aural assault of jet engines, a side-effect of the Hamptons' seasonal surge and shifting work habits of those commuting into the city one or two days a week, is a sore point for many locals

 New York Knicks' owner James Dolan was seen getting back to New York City in a chartered helicopter after a weekend in the Hamptons

The elite have taken to the skies and were seen arriving to The Hamptons in private jets and helicopters for those who can afford a $795 seat on a helicopter to avoid the traffic below

Ryan Seacrest and an unidentified brunette were seen arriving to New York's west side highway heliport where Seacrest was greeted by his chauffeur in a Range Rover and the pair were whisked away

By mid-afternoon on Thursday the Long Island Expressway was speckled with the tell-tale signs of those getting an early start on the weekend as a notable number of Teslas, Porsches, Mercedes, Bentleys, Audis, and the aggressively luxurious Land Rover Defender headed out of the city and towards Montauk Highway.

Celine Valensi (pictured) has run The Crow's Nest for 12 years, but she admitted that this season felt like they were opening for the first time

Mists had grounded the many helicopters and seaplanes set to fly into East Hampton airport leaving many no option but to drive. By five o'clock Friday evening Montauk Highway, the single carriageway ribbon of road that runs from Westhampton to Montauk was an artery clogged with wealth.

Come Saturday the early morning Pulse fitness class at Gurney's Spa and Resort was fully booked, with women robed in Lulu Lemon and year-round tans honing their Hamptons beach bodies.

'Got to look good lifting your rose,' instructor Julie D encouraged as they toiled through an arm sequence in a room overlooking the coast.

Below, hotel staff prepared the 2,000 square feet of private beach for the day's guests. King-size daybeds here cost $2,000 at the weekend - $2,500 on a holiday weekend. The least expensive room is more than $1,000 a night.

In the evening the restaurant, Scarpetta on the Beach was fully booked across its interior and deck as the bar and club area filled up. It's first come first serve until 9pm when a $200 minimum spend policy kicks in. It didn't seem to slow the tide of twenty-somethings lining up.

Some wore masks, others did not. Many businesses still sport signs requiring masks to be worn but they are increasingly not enforced or observed by those who are vaccinated. 

The masked staff who welcomed guests to Gurney's restaurant and club said that wearing masks was discretionary if vaccinated but that legally they weren't allowed to ask to see any proof of that vaccination. 

The Wine Stand at Wolffer's Estate and Vineyard hands out several bottles of the brand's best-selling $26 'Summer in a Bottle' to the driver of a Porsche Cayenne who has pulled up at the drive-thru

In 2019 a typical four-bedroomed home, near to the beach and with a pool would rent for the summer for $150,000. In 2020 that same house was fetching $150,000 for one month

The demand for homes has skyrocketed, which DailyMail.com has learned was sparked by the 'fear frenzy' of real estate renting and buying that took place last year city-dwellers quit Manhattan during the pandemic

A couple and their dog are seen on the dock as they head to their dingy to be transported out to their much bigger boat

One realtor told DailyMail.com, 'Many renters transitioned into buyers and by the end of June a tremendous amount of inventory on both rental and sale sides was booked'

Set against 2019 realtors estimate that by the end of June transactions for 2020 were up 50 per cent year on year

Many of those who moved out in the heat of the pandemic have decided to stay, or at the very least to convert what might once have been a second home into the Covid-coined notion of a, 'co-primary residence'

Across the Hamptons restaurants and stores are busy once more with customers seemingly unperturbed by prices that are even steeper than usual.

By 11.30 on Saturday the cars had already started lining up along the sandy verge outside The Lobster Roll, also known simply as Lunch.

Its décor is red, white and blue and its staff is relentlessly upbeat and efficient – on busy days, one tells DailyMail.com, 'we're just burning and turning,' tables.

The lines get so big here that a microphone sits on the hostess stand to make sure that would-be diners hear their name when it's called over the waiting crowd.

They are here to enjoy cocktails like the $16, 'The Affair' Margarita – a supposedly 'sinfully good' cocktail named after the raunchy HBO drama that films here - and of course, the famous lobster rolls. Set at 'market price' they can cost upwards of $20.

The Lobster Roll is pretty much the Hamptons' signature dish. Bounce Beach which opened last weekend boasts a lobster roll take-out window as well as brunch, lunch, and dinner from a James Beard Award nominated chef.

With its pastel interiors and beachside location, it is one of the hot new kids on the Hampton block. It has already hosted events for Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul's new mezcal brand, Dos Hombres (a bottle will set you back $60 but they'll throw in a trendy cream tote). And it has become a hang-out for last season's Bachelor Matt James.

On Sunday morning the Golden Pear Café was busy in both its East Hampton and Bridgehampton locations with diners lining up to choose between breakfast items including $15 burritos, $20 Cinnamon and Vanilla Challah Bread French Toast and $20 omelets like The Hedge Fund – cage-free eggs, baby spinach, broccoli, fresh herbs, and Jack Cheese.

In East Hampton a father and son pondered over the purchase of $530 sneakers in the Golden Goose store on Newtown Lane where a small suede purse costs $585 and a tiny pair of child's high-tops could set you back $315.

A couple of stores down in Zimmerman's, girls in whimsical dresses admired $650 Shelly Billow rompers and matching $320 one-piece swimsuits in teal leopard print.

Gina Bradley has run Paddle Diva for more than a decade. The 54-year-old with endless energy and rock-hard abs is a walking advertisement for Stand-Up Paddling (SUP) and the sport that she has turned into the Hamptons' celebrity workout of choice.

Real Housewives of New York former cast member and Skinny Girl founder Bethenny Frankel is a devotee as is Gwyneth Paltrow who has brought her kids to Paddle Diva's marina location just outside Springs, East Hampton.

Last year was one of Bradley's busiest yet and this year she has raised her prices for the first time in a decade. Thirty-five to fifty clients come through her center each day during summer. They come to enjoy her three plus hour Paddle Diva Adventures which costs up to $350 or group or private lessons. A private lesson with Gina herself is $300 or more.

According to Bradley many people sought out the sport during the shutdown because it is meditative and restorative as well as just a good work out.

She said, 'The air in the Hamptons has definitely lightened.

'Things are more expensive, I think we've all noticed that, but the parties are starting again, people are going over to spend time at each other's pools; the stress and tension of the last year has finally started to lift.'

Calendars are also starting to fill up with philanthropic events once more but the tone of these is less gala, more low-key.

According to Bradley, 'It had got out of control before – there was a fundraiser or gala every night.'

By mid-afternoon on Thursday the Long Island Expressway was speckled with the tell-tale signs of those getting an early start on the weekend as a notable number of Teslas, Porsches, Mercedes, Bentleys, Audis, and the aggressively luxurious Land Rover Defender headed out of the city and towards Montauk Highway

On any given day the market price for a lobster roll quoted by one restaurant could be as high as $78

People eager for lunch at Anthony's in Montauk are seen lined up outside as business returns back to normal post-pandemic 

Flashy and unusual cars are seen strolling down the streets in East Hampton, New York 

A vintage and expensive red sports car is seen parked outside of upscaled shops in East Hampton

Calendars are also starting to fill up with philanthropic events once more but the tone of these is less gala, more low-key

Gurney's in Montauk is a hotspot all summer long. People are seen enjoy breakfast at Scarpetta's on the water 

Scarpetta Restaurant in Montauk appears packed as diners enjoy the loosened restrictions, with restaurants able to operate at full capacity and stay open later 

Victoria Blanco Freel, 49, has had a home in Easthampton for two decades and works in real estate in both Manhattan and Easthampton.

She's noticed a lightening of mood in the Hamptons too and, for her, a calmer market after last year's 'fear frenzy' of renting and buying as city-dwellers of means quit Manhattan and decamped to the Hamptons in their droves.

East Hampton resident and realtor Victoria Blanco Freel (pictured) said 'Many renters transitioned into buyers and by the end of June a tremendous amount of inventory on both rental and sale sides was booked'

They're part of the reason why the Hamptons are so busy this year – and so expensive. Their presence has tipped the see-saw of supply and demand causing the former to dip and the latter to soar across the board.

In the past year, Blanco Freel explained, inventory in both the rental and for purchase markets has depleted at 'outrageous rates' and prices in both have 'skyrocketed.'

She explained, 'People who already had a second home kind of stayed here permanently. Those who didn't or who usually rented in summertime came out with the first wave in March and maybe rented for one or two months, through to June.'

But as it became clear that pandemic measures were going to last much longer than initially thought the market shifted.

She said, 'Many renters transitioned into buyers and by the end of June a tremendous amount of inventory on both rental and sale sides was booked.'

In 2019 a typical four-bedroomed home, near to the beach and with a pool would rent for the summer for $150,000.

In 2020 that same house was fetching $150,000 for one month.

Blanco Freel said, 'We had never seen the number of transactions. Last summer from West Hampton to Montauk we were seeing 70 to 90 contracts signed every week. In a neutral market, the number is more like 20.'

Things have calmed down a lot, she said, but they have left a new category of Hamptonite in their wake - the so-called, 'co-primary resident,' who once had a second home in the Hamptons but now lives equally between that and their city abode.

Meanwhile house-shares, the Hampton summer staple of 20 to 30-somethings, have nose-dived as owners are reluctant to have large groups and many in that demographic find themselves priced out of the market.

A house that might have cost $50,000 for a two-week rental last summer costs that for one week this year.

But there are still plenty of people willing and able to come up with the cash for the hottest table or club or beach-house.

And if there were any fears that the chill of austerity might blow into the Hamptons post-covid restrictions they have burnt off like the coastal mists that shroud the start of each sunny day.

Gina Bradley has run Paddle Diva for more than a decade. The 54-year-old with endless energy and rock-hard abs is a walking advertisement for Stand-Up Paddling (SUP) and the sport that she has turned into the Hamptons' celebrity workout of choice

In East Hampton families were seen pondering over the purchase of $530 sneakers in the Golden Goose store on Newtown Lane where a small suede purse costs $585 and a tiny pair of child's high-tops could set you back $315

Vineyards are popular spots in The Hamptons as visitors stop by Wolffer Estate Vineyards in East Hamptons 

By three o'clock on Sunday afternoon a relay of helicopters was starting to land into and take off from East Hampton airport and private jets and sea-plane engines were firing into life and slowly circling to the small terminal.

There are no commercial desks here – only Blade, the time-share helicopter and sea-plane Uber of the skies with a shuttle service between its East 34th or West 30th bases and the Hamptons, and NetJets, the co-share private jet service for those wanting more room or more privacy.

The thump of helicopters and aural assault of jet engines, a side-effect of the Hamptons' seasonal surge and shifting work habits of those commuting into the city one or two days a week, is a sore point for many locals.

East Hampton town board has exhausted all judicial, legislative, and administrative approaches to noise abatement and there is talk of closing the facility down after mandates tied to federal grants expire in September.

Locals who are not fans of the 'Citiots' (a compression of city and idiots) and 'Hamsters' (hipsters gentrifying historically blue-collar Hamptons towns such as Montauk) would welcome the closure.

But it is impossible to ignore the wealth so conspicuously brought in with each charter. Celebrities such as Ryan Seacrest who flew in last weekend or Madison Square Garden CEO James Dolan are regular visitors.

And, with traffic turning the drive from Manhattan to the Hamptons into a five-hour ordeal and ride-share companies taking to the skies, those who can afford a $795 seat on a helicopter will happily make the purchase to avoid the gridlock below.

On Sunday, groups of wealthy kids, couples and families trailing goldendoodles and Goyard totes boarded helicopter after helicopter, heading back to the city in time for dinner.

Those hoping to extend their weekend were disappointed as the first flights out on Monday and Tuesday were already sold out by Saturday.

Others were heading in the opposite direction. Shortly after 4pm a Falcon 900EX landed. 

A couple with four children disembarked the jet that can carry eleven. They were met by two cars and two flat-bed Jeeps for their luggage, guitars, tennis rackets, golf clubs, dogs, a hamster, a cat, and a rabbit.

These are the privileged elite. Impervious to, and unperturbed by, price hikes they land into an already overheated Hamptons.

Here for the season or here for longer, it makes no difference to them. They are prepared to foot the bill. Because, for them, the glitz, the glam and the buzz of the Hamptons in summer is priceless.