daddy1

I will be traveling to the East Coast this summer and need to know the most affordable, and best way to get place to place.I plan on seeing all the usual attractions in each place. I will fly into Philly for 2 days, then need to get to Ny Ny for 2 days, Atlantic City for 1 day, Delaware for a day and end up in Baltimore for 2 days and flying out of Baltimore.
Thank you so much!

garyt22

Try Megabus... tickets start at $1 for early bookers...

daddy1

Thank you for the suggestion, but what is megabus? I am also looking for the best way to get from city to city? Is there a commuter train?

yk

Megabus.com; boltbus.com; New Jersey Transit; Septa

nytraveler

You can use Amtrak from Baltimore, Philly, New York. There is also local train service (will take much longer and involve changes - and you have very little time to see things). There is megabus and bolt bus between major cities, which is very cheap is you get tickets in advance. But while Amtrak is usually on time (within 15 minutes or so) bus is subject to traffic - which can be awful on weekends.

For Atlantic City you need to take a bus from anywhere.

Haven;t a clue about Delaware - where do you want to get to/fro?

abram

5 spots in 8 days--you'll spend a higher percentage of your time moving frtom place to place than I'd recommend.

mclaurie

The notion of spending the same amount of time in each city is misguided. NYC is much larger and there's far more to see there than the others. Unless you're a gambler, Atlantic City is a waste of time and money. What are you visiting in Delaware?

daddy1

I want to visit all the states and that is why Delaware is thrown into the mix...but not necessary. I realize that there is far more to see in NY than we have allowed for, but we have a trip schedule that will accommodate the sights each person wants to see. The days are not set in stone, just a guide line.
This is what we are thinking:

Philadelphia -
Independence Hall
Liberty Bell
Betsy Ross House
Franklin Institute Science Museum
Franklin Court
Masonic Temple
US Mint
Duck Tour

New York -
Statue of Liberty
Ellis Island
Brooklyn Bridge
Grand Central Station
Empire State Building
Central Park

We have a friend outside of Baltimore we will be visiting.

NJ and Del. are just on the plan to add two more states to our "total visited"

any other "must see" suggestions?

Thank you for your help thus far!

gail

Since you say "we" and your goal is to check off states on a list, I might consider renting a car - depending on what your criteria for visiting a state is prior to checking it off the list (ours is one must set feet on ground in that state and breathe the air in that state - so changing planes in an airport does not count).

From Philadelphia you need to drive thru NJ to get to NY - so no need for Atlantic City. Then you could easily arrange things to drive thru Delaware from NYC on way to Baltimore.

That turns the trip into 2-3 days in Philadelphia, 3-4 days in NYC plus drive time, end in Baltimore. I would not normally suggest renting a car and you have to figure in parking costs if you do, but considering that your original plan is nuts, this makes it only half nuts.

mclaurie

If the objective is just to make a stop in New Jersey, I can think of plenty of better options that would be nicer and easier to get to on public transportation than Atlantic City. Take a day trip to the beach from NYC to Sandy Hook by ferry. http://www.sandy-hook.com/ http://www.drvoyageur.com/guides/nyctrips-sandy-hk.html

To go through Delaware, you really have to drive. Longwood Gardens or the Dupont Estate, Winterthur are 2 ideas.

mclaurie

If you plan to go to SOL/Ellis Island and ESB, buy tickets in advance to both online. Lines are very long. Try to get the first ferry of the day to SOL. statuecruises.com The ESB tickets are not dated or timed so go when it's convenient. Many people prefer the experience at Top of the Rock.

daddy1

Thank you for the new ideas. We realize that the trip is crazy but we are also trying to accommodate our friend from Baltimore. She shared that she most likely will not be joining us but waiting for us to get to her. We would have planned things differently had we known this before. O'well The planning continues~I will take your suggestions and make this the best trip ever, thanks for the help.
O'yeah, the rule for a state counting is actually doing something while there. Not sitting in an airport, even just driving through. Seeing or doing something makes it count
Thanks
Stace

nytraveler

For New YOrk you need to kow that seeing the SoL and Ellis Island requres getting some ofthe very limited tickets far in advance. That's forclimbing the Statue - and many days are already sold out.You can get a good view from the ferry - but should also get advance tickets for that to avoid waiting in line or hours. Assume the ferries, just a look atSoL and seeing Ellis Island will take 6 or 7 hours. You should bag the ESB-which can easily take 4 hours - and do ToTR instead - for which you can buy advanced tickets - so wait only a few minutes.

What you have listed for NYC can;t be done in a day -even if you start early and rush around all day.

daddy1

anyone know anything about an apparent bedbug problem in NYNY?

Dukey

To get through Delaware you do NOT "have to drive." If you want to say you've been through it or at least part of it then taking a bus OR a train from anywhere north such as NYC or Philadelphia will take you through the state on the way to Baltimore...there's no way you are NOT going to pass through it.

As to "all that distance" involved..NYC is about 200 miles from Baltimore.

gail

Regarding your bedbug question - type "bedbugs" in search box - you will get all sorts of reports about giant bedbugs attacking people. While there have been an increase in reports of bedbugs in recent years, the vast majority of travelers to anywhere do not experience bedbugs. (And if you read above threads, remember that it is unlikely one will start a thread saying "I went to NY and did not see bedbugs"

daddy1

Thank you guys for all the feed back! It has been helpful~

ellenem

"the rule for a state counting is actually doing something while there. Not sitting in an airport, even just driving through. Seeing or doing something makes it count"

Then skip Atlantic City because it is out of the way for your itinerary. Look for New Jersey things to do that are along the way between NYC and Philadelphia, or between Philadelphia and Baltimore. Princeton is between NYC and Philadelphia (even when traveling by train) and could be an interesting "something" for a few hours. I like mclaurie's excellent suggestion of visiting the beautiful beaches at Sandy Hook, NJ, by ferry from Manhattan--much closer than Atlantic City and you get a lovely boat ride through NY harbor.

bachslunch

Concerning your list of sights:

Philadelphia -
Independence Hall
Liberty Bell
Betsy Ross House
Franklin Institute Science Museum
Franklin Court
Masonic Temple
US Mint
Duck Tour

New York -
Statue of Liberty
Ellis Island
Brooklyn Bridge
Grand Central Station
Empire State Building
Central Park

How many days are you planning to spend in each city?

Three days is about right for this list of New York sights, given that the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island can take the better part of a day alone (be sure to get reservations in advance or face the likelihood of staggering lines), and Central Park can easily take half a day if you're very thorough. And if you have your heart set on going to the top of the Empire State Building, definitely buy tickets ahead of time -- and still be prepared to wait a very, very long time; most folks here suggest Top of the Rock as an ESB alternative, and I won't disagree.

And you'll need ca. 3 days for the Philadelphia sights listed. Be sure to try and get tickets for Independence Hall ahead of time (see the long lines caveat re SoL/EI above).

Will second the idea of going to Princeton, NJ, which has an attractive enough campus to visit briefly and is on the way from NYC to Philly. Trenton, NJ is another on-the-way option (and there are a few attractions here, such as the State Capitol and the Old Barracks) but note that the city is very scruffy and unattractive.

The easiest way to dip a toe into Delaware would likely be to see one of the DuPont attractions just north of Wilmington, such as Winterthur (haven't been, but have heard it's a great museum to visit).

bachslunch

Re bedbugs. There's a search-able website devoted to such sightings in hotel rooms and residences called the Bedbug Registry:

http://bedbugregistry.com/