The summer is meant for carefree living and exploration. So hit the road.

By Marcy Silberman

Maybe it’s the weather. Or the beautifully lazy days where the sun lingers far longer than it should. Either way, summer seems to encourage exploration. For many, this means hopping a plane and jetting off to a foreign land. But there’s also plenty of opportunity for a spontaneous long weekend to some intriguing destination within driving distance — even with the verging-on-prohibitive cost of gas. And that’s our focus here.

Traveling need not be a high-stress experience. In fact, it should be as simple as booking a room, setting the GPS and arriving on the scene a few hours later.

The trick is knowing where to look and making the most of your time because you don’t want to end up in the middle of nowhere — unless that’s your intention — and you don’t want to invest the better part of your three-day weekend driving to and from.

We’re making it easy for you by highlighting three potential destinations for a weekend getaway. Each is chock full of great entertainment and dining, as well as ample opportunities to savor the outdoors, whether by chaise lounge or a bike. And, most importantly, they are all within a few hours of Bucks by car.

Red Bank, NJ

Visit: A few miles from the Jersey Shore towns of Belmar, Deal and Avon, Monmouth County’s Red Bank is a charming yet sophisticated spot that is best known for its fantastic repertoire of restaurants, shopping and entertainment. Be sure to pack your effortlessly chic outfits along with fashionable but comfortable shoes for exploring the heart of the shopping district along Broad Street.

Stay: The Molly Pitcher Inn (mollypitcher-oysterpoint.com) is elegance defined. Built in 1928, it sits on the banks of the Navesink River and offers plenty of dramatic views. Don’t be fooled, though, by the coordinating patterns and stately furniture, the Molly Pitcher is cutting edge contemporary beneath its 19th century façade with amenities like WiFi throughout.

Dine: You will eat well in this town. Make reservations at the following right after booking your room: Dish A Restaurant (dishredbank.com) for delectable New American cuisine, Basil T’s Brewery and Italian Grill (basilt.com) for fresh Italian favorites and 2 Senza Ristorante (ssenza.com) for a taste of authentic Mediterranean. At the end of the night, visit Echo (echo-redbank.com) for a nightcap and live music.

>Shop: Pack light because you’ll need the room for all the new clothes you’ll buy.

Find that perfect little black dress or fabulous pair of shoes at the ultrachic boutique Coco Pari (cocopari.com). Stop, too, at Carter & Cavero Old World Olive Oil Company (carterandcavero.com) for oils and vinegars grown and pressed all over the world, which can then be blended to suit your personal tastes and packaged in a signature bottle.

Red Bank is abundant in galleries and antique stores that showcase the town’s inherent eclectic nature. The most notable: Kingsley Art Gallery (kingsleyartgallery.com), the Art Alliance of Monmouth County (artallianceofmonmouth.org), Agostino Antiques (agostinoantiques.com) and The Red Bank Antiques Center (redbankantiques.com).

Entertainment: See a show at the Two River Theater Company (trtc.org), where you’ll find classics like MacBeth and the Glass Menagerie as well as more experimental productions like Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind (showing through July 27). For stand-up acts and concerts, check out the Count Basie Theatre (countbasietheatre.org).

Info: visit.redbank.com

Fire Island, NY

Visit: If spending the day soaking up the sun on a picturesque beach is your thing, Fire Island is the perfect place to do it locally. Located just south of Long Island, it’s the perfect departure from the tried-and-true Jersey Shore and the pretentious Hamptons. Fire Island is littered with quaint beach towns, each with their own personality. But, if you’re a first-time visitor, Ocean Beach is the place to be because of the high concentration of hotels, restaurants and all-around activity.

Stay: The Palms Hotel at Ocean Beach (thepalmsatoceanbeach.com) combines the best of a boutique hotel with the carefree beach life. The rooms are eclectic and well-appointed — flat screen TVs, iPod docking stations and Egyptian cotton sheets — but still casual. It’s within a short walk to the beach and bikes and beach chairs are readily available to guests.

Dine: Grab a warm pastry at Rachel’s Bakery and Restaurant (631-583-9552) to start your day or one of its famous chocolate chip cookies to cap a really late night. From there, let the sea breeze steer your direction, but make sure you land at at least one of the following at some point in the day: Matthew’s Seafood (matthewsseafood.com), Island Mermaid (islandmermaid.com) or Hideaway Restaurant (housersbar.com).

Entertainment: Save the shopping for another weekend. Here, it’s all about the beach. If lounging isn’t your thing, rent a jet ski, fish, search for seashells — you get the idea. For a unique afternoon excursion, head to The Sunken Forest, located in the town of Sailor’s Haven. It’s 40 acres of maritime forest and wildlife. And, don’t forget to visit the Fire Island Lighthouse, a national landmark, built in 1857.

Remember: Unlike most beach towns in the summer, you won’t find any congestion on Fire Island. That’s because cars and trucks are not allowed between Memorial Day and Labor Day. For ferry schedules, visit fireisland.com/ferrytime.php.

 Info: fireisland.com

The Berkshires

Visit: Ah, the Berkshires, a name synonymous with tranquility. But, for a place so in tune with nature, don’t think that you need to be an outdoorsman to travel here. The Berkshires are also steeped in culture. For every wooded hillside there’s an antique dealer. (Okay, we can’t say that with absolute assurance, but it certainly feels that way.)

Stay: Technically speaking, the Berkshires are a region comprised of about 40 or so towns stretched across New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. In an area that vast, obviously you need a place to start. We recommend Lenox, MA. There’s a little bit of everything here: lush landscapes, prime shopping and gourmet dining, as well as luxury hotels, of which the Wheatleigh Hotel (wheatleigh.com) and the Blantyre (blantyre.com) reign supreme. Both blend rustic and formal seamlessly.

Dine: There’s great diversity in Lenox. The cozy FireFly (fireflylenox.com) has a contemporary look, but the menu is highlighted by old favorites like grilled New York sirloin and barbeque baby back ribs. The chef-owned Baroods is known for fine French cuisine prepared with locally seasonal ingredients. And then there’s Chocolate Springs Café whose name and reason for visiting is pretty self-explanatory.

Relax: The world-renowned Canyon Ranch is located in Lenox. You could of course plan an entire vacation around this health-minded resort, but it’s worth at least a day if you’re in town for a short stay. After a bit of hiking through the hills or antique shops, messages and facials at the SpaClub seem perfectly in order.

Info: berkshires.org