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Travel Options TO-NYC
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| j_spot |
Im looking @ making a trek down to NYC to visit a friend who I havent seen in ages. I think my options are Plane, Bus and Train, as I dont have a car, and dont really think driving to NYC on my first trip thre is a good idea. Especially cuz I would be going alone.
Plane (according to travelcuts) is ~290, and takes 1.5 hours
Bus (on Greyhound) is $230 and takes 10 hours
Train (on Via) is $230 and takes 12.5 hours (HOW!? where does this train go?)
so to me, it looks like flying, despite the added cost, is the way to go.
What do you guys think?
Its only for a weekend, so 25, 20 or 3 hours of travel time makes a huge difference. |
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| djshan |
| flying is the way to go. but it will take more than 1.5 hrs. it will take 4 hrs becuase when u land in NYC ur fuked at security..:stongue: |
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| LittlePoonzgirl |
| If you fly, make sure you book over a week in advance-otherwise the price goes up dramatically. Also, US customs is really tight with any sort of electronic equipment, especially laptops. When I went to Texas I also recall that there was something to do with hard soled shoes...might be best to wear runners and avoid a full body search. |
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| nusty |
flying will only take you 1.5 hours in one direction and 1 hour in the other (I forget which is which but it has to do with wind speed and air traffic regulations)
Flying is your best option. Look into jet blue into JFK as they usually have the best prices to NYC around.
The train is boring as and it stops at every town along the way. The search will also take much longer on the train going through customs than other modes of transportation. The bus is more direct but look into going to penn station in Newark and then bussing into NYC it may save you some cash and time same goes for airfare if you aren't using jet blue (they only fly to jfk). Newark airport in NJ is the cheepest and largest volume airport in the area and has direct links to nyc for cheep.
The bus is uncomfortable and boring if you have no control over your stops.
Go for the plane. I've lived in NYC for going on 6 years now but travel back and forth between waterloo ont frequently and if I didn't have my own car to drive it in 6.5 hours I would only ever fly it after taking both the bus and the train route when I first moved down there.
also don't pick the weekend of the national republican convention as you will be delayed severly at airport termanals due to security x10000 that weekend! It has also been my experience that prices will rise sharply as soon as you hit the less than 2 weeks before departure date and increase again if you book with less than one week to go.
Have a good trip thou. |
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| tw1tch |
Pay no attention to all these security warnings and people saying it's bad etc. First off, you will go through US Customs IN Toronto, not in NYC. So when you get off the plane in NYC, you are not different then any American getting off a Domestic US airline. Security is no different, anything metal goes through the metal detector. If your shoes set it off, take them off and walk through again, it's not difficult. Laptops, trouble? Hardly, you take it out and put it in a plastic bin, they MAY take a swab of it to test for any explosive residue, a whole 30 second task. The only painful security at the airport is flying into Reagan National Airport (right by the Pentagon). They will hand search everything you have.
So, you have two options, forget about going to JFK, it's further from Mid-town and typically more expensive, fly into either Lagurdia or Newark (New Jersey). They have a bus from both airports you can take that is direct to the Port Authority (right in midtown/time square area). It's like $12US for the bus. |
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| tw1tch |
| quote: | Originally posted by nusty
Flying is your best option. Look into jet blue into JFK as they usually have the best prices to NYC around.
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FYI: Jetblue doesn't fly to Canada. |
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| LittlePoonzgirl |
| quote: | Originally posted by tw1tch
Pay no attention to all these security warnings and people saying it's bad etc. First off, you will go through US Customs IN Toronto, not in NYC. So when you get off the plane in NYC, you are not different then any American getting off a Domestic US airline. Security is no different, anything metal goes through the metal detector. If your shoes set it off, take them off and walk through again, it's not difficult. Laptops, trouble? Hardly, you take it out and put it in a plastic bin, they MAY take a swab of it to test for any explosive residue, a whole 30 second task. The only painful security at the airport is flying into Reagan National Airport (right by the Pentagon). They will hand search everything you have.
So, you have two options, forget about going to JFK, it's further from Mid-town and typically more expensive, fly into either Lagurdia or Newark (New Jersey). They have a bus from both airports you can take that is direct to the Port Authority (right in midtown/time square area). It's like $12US for the bus. |
As far as laptops go...sometimes it really holds up the line. My bf goes to the US almost every week and I've seen it first hand. But overall US customs isn't too bad as long as you are prepared for them to pull apart you bags (annoying but not horrible). I've gone El Al...that's a whole other story. As far as flight times...1.5 hours one way and 1 hour back is not something you can count on. It's not due to air traffic regulations, though flight path and how bad the air traffic is can make a difference. Also weather, don't get me started on weather and how wind alters the flight time. There are wind and weather tendancies, but again...many factors can turn a 2 hour trip into a 4 hour trip.
P.S. I do know what I'm talking about as I'm a pilot |
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| j_spot |
4 hours is still better than 12.
I should find out where my friend is living in NYC (shes starting her Masters there is this fall, I dont even know what univ shes at) to figure out where im going.
but plane does seem best idea.
and Im asking now, for a flight in Oct/nov, but avoiding US thanksgiving. I DO NOT want to be around any airport for that kind of traffic. Im used to flying, airport security and all that, but I take the same Calgary-Toronto flight everytime. about I know what to fly with, and what not to. only electronic thing I carry is my MD player. It makes life easier. |
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| Your Mother |
Take my advice, your cheapest bet is to fly out of Detroit on Spirit airlines if you can get to Detroit. Just make sure to book your flight from their website and not one of the other tickets websites since they jack up the price. Also, be sure to book it early since the prices go up the longer you wait.
This way you can pass through customs in Detroit which should be pretty painless.
-Your Mother |
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| Your Mother |
| quote: | Originally posted by tw1tch
Pay no attention to all these security warnings and people saying it's bad etc. First off, you will go through US Customs IN Toronto, not in NYC. So when you get off the plane in NYC, you are not different then any American getting off a Domestic US airline. Security is no different, anything metal goes through the metal detector. If your shoes set it off, take them off and walk through again, it's not difficult. Laptops, trouble? Hardly, you take it out and put it in a plastic bin, they MAY take a swab of it to test for any explosive residue, a whole 30 second task. The only painful security at the airport is flying into Reagan National Airport (right by the Pentagon). They will hand search everything you have.
So, you have two options, forget about going to JFK, it's further from Mid-town and typically more expensive, fly into either Lagurdia or Newark (New Jersey). They have a bus from both airports you can take that is direct to the Port Authority (right in midtown/time square area). It's like $12US for the bus. |
Are you sure the bus from LaGuardia goes to the Port authority? I thought the M60 (the airport bus) stopped around Columbia U. in the UWS.
-Your Mother |
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| tw1tch |
| quote: | Originally posted by Your Mother
Are you sure the bus from LaGuardia goes to the Port authority? I thought the M60 (the airport bus) stopped around Columbia U. in the UWS.
-Your Mother |
Well I know the one from Newark does, I also took a bus from Lagurdia to Grand Central, either of those routes is cheap and fairly quick (can't get much quicker really, no other cheap options). A taxi from mid-town to Newark will cost you $60. |
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| rabbitjoker |
JetsGo YYZ to EWR (Newark, NJ).
Then take the train from Newark to Penn Station for less than $10 (20 minute train ride).
I do the trip 5+ times per year (and have done for the last 6 years) and this is how I always do it (since JetsGo started their service to EWR).
Prior to JetsGo I did the Air Canada YYZ to LGA and then taxi'd it into Manhattan.
The JetsGo, EWR, train to Penn is by far the best option as it nearly always runs on time and trains are frequency (every 10 to 15 minutes). |
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