New Yorkers are ditching the Hamptons for a hot destination to the north - here's what you should do there

Forget the Hamptons - New Yorkers have a new place to vacation, and it's a lot more rugged.

Some wealthy people are trading their Hamptons beach mansions for rustic homes in the Hudson Valley and the Catskills.

According to recent analyses by vacation rental site HomeAway and location-intelligence company Foursquare, search interest in the Hudson Valley and Catskills has skyrocketed while interest in the Hamptons has remained flat or decreased.

The Hudson Valley is often broadly defined as the area stretching north from New York City along the Hudson River to Albany. Divided into three regions - lower, mid, and upper - the Hudson Valley is known for its charming towns, old-money estates, and proximity to the Catskill Mountains. Metro-North and Amtrak trains provide relatively easy access to these communities, each of which has its own personality.

"The lower Hudson Valley is certainly easier to get to than the Hamptons," Richard Ellis, owner of Ellis Sotheby's International Realty in Nyack, New York, told Business Insider in February. "People who buy on our side of the river are not 'keeping up the Joneses,' so to speak. They're looking to impress themselves, not others."

In the spirit of this, we've put together a list of the best places to visit in the Hudson Valley and the Catskills- and where you should eat and stay when you go.