Share Prices, Weekend Schedules and FAQ
If you are new to the world of Fire Island and don't know the difference between a quarter-share and a day-tripper, the following paragraphs may initially seem to be written in Greek, but eventually it will all make sense.
For instance:
day-tripper \'dā-,trip-ər\ n : someone who comes out to the beach just for the day and does not even consider staying overnight… unless, of course, he or she happens to get lucky.
If you are already familiar with the lingo, you can just scan the descriptions and prices listed below and then jump to the dates at the bottom of the page.
OK, here comes "The Fine Print"…
Quarter-shares
"Quarter Shares" cost $2495 and quarter-share holders (better known simply as "quarter-shares") are entitled to seven (possibly eight*) full weeks at the beach...plus as many as twelve additional "open weekends"...all for the price of a quarter-share! Let's say, for example, that you sign up for a "Quarter Share" on the B2 set of weekends…this means that not only are you guaranteed your regular bedroom bed on all of the designated “B2” weekends, but you will continue to have that bed at your disposal (if you are lucky enough to be able to get away from your job/office and “work from home” at BVT) for all four nights of the following “attached” midweeks…in other words, all seven of your “B2 weekends" become full “B2 weeks,” from 4 PM on the Thursday of your “B2” weekend to 12 Noon of the following Thursday)
As a quarter-share you are GUARANTEED your regular bed in your regular bedroom on ALL SEVEN WEEKENDS (possibly eight*) plus all "forward attached" midweeks marked "A1" or "A2" or "B1" or "B2" on the Schedule of Weekends listed below — PLUS — in addition to your seven (possibly eight) regular weekends (and their "forward attached" midweeks), you are also invited to come out to the beach as a "standby share" (with no guarantee of a bedroom) on as many Open Weekends you like, including all holidays.
Yup, that's right: seven (possibly eight*) full weeks (and up to twelve additional "open" weekends) for $2495, and you don't have to spend a single holiday weekend stuck at home. No other share house on Fire Island comes even close to matching this deal!
(* Our "B1" folks actually get eight full weeks this year!).
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Half-Shares
Half-shares go for $3695 and are entitled to as many as twenty-three weekends. Yes, you read that correctly — up to 23 weekends for a half-share.
Half-shares holders are guaranteed their regular beds in their regular bedrooms on all A1 and A2 full weeks or B1 and B2 full weeks, or A2 and B1 full weeks, or… well, ok, you get the idea. Pick any two sets of seven designated quarter-share weeks as indicated in the Schedule below.
Of course, all half-shares holders are also invited out to the house on all weekends marked "OPEN" — including all holidays — for a total of up to 23 weekends...which makes for a hell of a lot of beach time!
BVT SUMMER 2025 Schedule of Full Weeks ( A1 B1 A2 B2 )
(ALL FULL WEEKS RUN FROM 4 PM THURSDAY TO 12 NOON ON THE FOLLOWING THURSDAY)
(ALL "OPEN WEEKENDS" RUN FROM 4 PM THURSDAY TO 12 NOON ON MONDAY)
A1: MAY 8-15 A1 (OPEN WEEKEND, THU-MON ONLY)
JUNE 5-12 A1
JUNE 26 - JULY 3 A1
JULY 31 - AUG 7 A1
AUG 28 - SEPT 4 A1 (OPEN HOLIDAY WEEKEND...THU-MON ONLY ***LABOR DAY WEEKEND***)
SEPT 25 - OCT 2 A1 (OPEN WEEKEND, THU-MON ONLY)
PLUS as many additional "OPEN WEEKENDS" (listed below) as you like!
B1: APRIL 17-24 B1 (OPEN WEEKEND, THU-MON ONLY)
MAY 15-22 B1 (OPEN WEEKEND, THU-MON ONLY)
JUNE 12-19 B1
JULY 10-17 B1
AUG 7-14 B1
SEPT 4-11 B1 (OPEN WEEKEND FRI-SUN ONLY)
OCT 9-17 B1 BEDS (OPEN HOLIDAY WKND...THU-MON ONLY **COLUMBUS DAY WEEKEND**)
OCT 30 - NOV 3 B1 BEDS (OPEN WKEND...THU-MON...ANNUAL KISMET INN HALLOWEEN PARTY)
PLUS as many additional "OPEN WEEKENDS" (listed below) as you like!
A2: APRIL 24 - MAY 1 A2 (OPEN WEEKEND, THU-MON ONLY)
MAY 22-29 A2 BEDS (OPEN HOLIDAY WEEKEND...THU-MON ONLY ****MEM DAY WEEKEND****)
JUNE 19-26 A2
JULY 17-24 A2
AUG 14-21 A2
SEPT 11-18 A2 (OPEN WEEKEND, THU-MON ONLY)
OCT 2-9 A2 (OPEN WEEKEND, THU-MON ONLY)
PLUS as many additional "OPEN WEEKENDS" (listed below) as you like!
B2: MAY 1-8 B2 (OPEN WEEKEND, THU-MON ONLY)
MAY 29 - JUNE 5 B2
JULY 3-10 B2 BEDS (OPEN HOLIDAY WEEKEND...THU-MON ONLY ***4TH OF JULY WEEKEND***)
JULY 24-31 B2
AUG 21-28 B2
SEPT 18-25 B2 (OPEN WEEKEND, THU-MON ONLY)
OCT 16-23 B2 (OPEN WEEKEND, THU-MON ONLY)
PLUS as many additional "OPEN WEEKENDS" (listed below) as you like!
ALL HOUSEMATES GET TO PICK AND CHOOSE FROM ANY OF THE FOLLOWING SIXTEEN OPEN WEEKENDS…(FROM 4 PM ON THURSDAY TO 12 NOON ON MONDAY) ...PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE IS NO GUARANTEE OF A BEDROOM BED IF IT IS NOT YOUR DESIGNATED WEEKEND (THINK COUCH OR FUTON OR DAY BED UPSTAIRS):
APRIL 17-21 (OPEN…B1 BEDS)
APRIL 24-28 (OPEN…A2 BEDS)
MAY 1-5 (OPEN…B2 BEDS)
MAY 8-12 (OPEN…A1 BEDS)
MAY 15-19 (OPEN...B1 BEDS)
MAY 22 - 26 MEMORIAL DAY HOLIDAY WEEKEND (OPEN THU-MON ONLY) A2 BEDS
JULY 3 - JULY 7 4th OF JULY HOLIDAY WEEKEND (OPEN THU-MON ONLY) B2 BEDS
AUG 30 - SEPT 2 LABOR DAY HOLIDAY WEEKEND (OPEN THU-MON ONLY) A1 BEDS
SEPTEMBER 4-8 (OPEN…B1 BEDS)
SEPTEMBER 11-15 (OPEN…A2 BEDS)
SEPTEMBER 18-22 (OPEN…B2 BEDS)
SEPTEMBER 25-29 (OPEN…A1 BEDS)
OCTOBER 2-6 (OPEN...A2 BEDS)
OCTOBER 9-13 COLUMBUS DAY HOLIDAY WEEKEND (OPEN THU-MON ONLY) B1 BEDS
OCTOBER 16-20 (OPEN...B2 BEDS)
OCTOBER 30 - NOV 3 ANNUAL HALLOWEEN PARTY AT THE KISMET INN (OPEN) B1 BEDS
Spend your sunsets with us!
OPEN WEEKENDS
An "open weekend" is one wherein all of the weekend shares are invited out to the house, but bedroom beds are specifically designated as A1, A2, B1, or B2, as indicated on the schedule. PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE ARE NO "OPEN FORWARD ATTACHED MIDWEEKS" in the schedule*...all "forward attached" midweeks are the exclusive province of the owners of the preceding weekend (*with the possible exception of the 4th of July weekend, depending on which day of the week it falls).
Unclaimed bedroom beds and all upstairs "common living area" futon/couch beds are available on all open weekends.
Surprisingly, this does not result in frat house style chaos, simply because all open weekends (with the exception of the 4th of July) are in the off-season months of April, May, September and October, when only the hard core beachnuts show up. We have been running the house this way for many years, so we know it works!
Quarter-share people and Half-share people get to PICK AS MANY OF THESE EXTRA "OPEN WEEKENDS" AS THEY LIKE!
LIMITED EDITION SPECIAL DEALS
Standby Quarter-Shares (sorry, not available for the 2025 season)
Standby quarter-shares cost $1995 and get you up to 14 weekends (plus "forward attached" midweeks). They are available on a very limited basis!
All standby quarter-shares cost $500 less than our "conventional" quarter-shares and your $1995 still buys you all seven designated weekends (plus all seven "forward attached midweeks") of a conventional quarter-share. You also still have access to any seven Open Weekends, so you are still getting 14 weekends, plus seven attached midweeks.
...BUT… there is a catch:
Standby shares do not have an assigned bed in an assigned bedroom.
If you are a "standby" share, you take your chances that a bed in one of our six bedrooms will go unclaimed. This is almost always the case during any midweek. You will always have the first shot at any unclaimed bedroom bed on your designated standby weekend.
If no bed in a bedroom is available, you will find yourself sleeping upstairs in the main living area on one of the two full size futons (these futons are on frames, not on the floor) or on the daybed/couch, which is not bad at all… unless, of course, you like to sleep late in the morning, in which case you might awaken to the sound of the coffee grinder, or to the seductive fragrance of pancakes and bacon.
The standby share is designed for someone who is either low on bucks or simply has no idea in advance of what his or her work schedule will be from day to day. We have had writers, teachers, actors, performance artists, bartenders and freelance film and television people take full advantage of this idea. Obviously, there is never any "bed" guarantee at any time. In the interest of sanity, we have a limit of no more than two standby shares for any designated weekend...and those two standby shares will become available only if that particular weekend is completely sold out of conventional quarter and half shares.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people are in a room? Can I get my own room?
There are normally two people per room. If you're coming in as a couple or with a friend, we can put you in a room together. Single individuals can get their own room by signing up for two shares (both beds) at the beginning of the season.
Are children and/or pets allowed at Blue View Terrace?
Sorry, no kids, no kritters… no matter how small, no matter how cute. It just doesn't work out well in a share house. It's a wonder that we can keep that many adult humans in harmony. Kids and kritters have to stay home.
Should I bring my own sheets and towels?
Heck, no! We have plenty of clean linens here at the house, and a housekeeper who comes in every week to make sure it stays that way!
How does the food thing work?
All food expenses are shared equally. We buy almost everything in bulk at Costco (on the mainland) and ship it over, which keeps our costs very low. Our typical weekend food bill (calculated on Sunday morning) is usually somewhere around sixty bucks per person, which includes breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, Friday night through Sunday morning. If you have special dietary needs which cannot be met by Costco, just bring those items out yourself and tell us what you spent. We will simply add that amount to the weekend food bill. We have often had strict vegetarians in the house and it has never been a problem.
The cost of "staples" (long term storage items — everything from paper towels and coffee to olive oil and spices) is also shared by everyone. Some houses charge a "staples fee" (usually about two hundred bucks for a quarter-share) up front, at the start of the season. We have always chosen to spread it out over the course of our six and a half months. A quarter-share person at BVT can expect in the long run to spend about that same two hundred bucks on staples, but only a little at a time. A half-share person would spend about twice that amount.
Can I bring out a guest?
Yes, for a nominal guest fee (no guest fee if you "own" the room). Weekend guests are full shares on the weekend food bill.
As a weekend share, can I stay midweek?
As a "Quarter Share" person (or as a "Half-Share" person) you have totally free access to the house on all of your designated "forward attached" midweeks, Monday night through Friday morning, at any point during our super long season, as often as you like. There are no "open midweeks" in the schedule.
My schedule can get crazy. What if I want to come out, but it's not my weekend?
People in the house swap weekends all the time. We also have sixteen Open Weekends, almost all of which are in the early (April and May) and late (September and October) portions of our season, when everybody is invited to come out! If you know in advance that you will not be able to come out for one of your scheduled weekends (and you can't find someone who wants to swap weekends with you) let us know and we will try our best to take care of you.
Once again, for more share information, or to find out when and where our next "open house share party" will be happening, feel free to ask...just click on the CONTACT link, all the way at the right, at the top of this page.
Better yet, you might want to think about doing a day trip out to the beach...to have a first hand look at our house (as well as other available share houses) for yourself. Our address is 35 Seabay Walk. We're at the southwest corner of the Burma Road, just six houses from the ocean. It's the big house with the spiral staircase going up to the roof deck… the house with all the bikes parked out front!