JFK to Washington

Old Oct 15th, 2017, 10:07 PM
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JFK to Washington

Arriving JFK from Australia 5pm and picking up hire car, planning to spend a week driving to Washington and back to New York. Do not want to stay in New York City when we arrive but looking for somewhere to stay first night no more than 1 hour driving time from JFK. Also any suggestions of where to visit/stay on our way to and from Washington.
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Old Oct 16th, 2017, 12:16 AM
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The first question is: the car and why? Unless you are planning to do any sort of so-called "off the beaten path" travel between these two places (and believe me, there is plenty of opportunity and a wealth of locations between these two cities and the intervening "fly-over/fast train through" geography).

I'm not saying "don't" but rather asking if having the car is really necessary for what you want to accomplish, that's all.
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Old Oct 16th, 2017, 12:20 AM
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Sorry, just read your post again and even though it sounds as if you are unsure of what to do and where I stll question the need for a car.

Your interests would be, IMO, vital to know. Otherwise I suspect you are going to be hearing the word "Philadelphia" a lot as well as talk about side trips to places like Williamsburg, the Jersey Shore, Baltimore's Inner Harbor, the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Delaware, and on and on.
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Old Oct 16th, 2017, 01:27 AM
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You are proposing to arrive in New York at the height of rush hour, exhausted after a flight of an ungodly number of hours, get in an unfamiliar car, and drive on the wrong side of the road for an hour. This is mad. In an hour at that time of day, you are unlikely to get any farther than Manhattan.

If, like most Australian visitors, you plan to visit during North American winter, it is beyond mad. It is irresponsible.

There are interesting and beautiful places parallel to the route from NYC to Washington that require a car, but I question whether they are a good use of your time. The Delaware Water Gap, Asbury Park, Princeton, Washington Crossing, Valley Forge, New Hope, the Brandywine Valley, Longwood Gardens and Winterthur, New Castle, Easton and St Michael's, and Annapolis are all worth visiting, but you would have to read about them and decide if they are worth visiting FOR YOU at the season you will be here.

Spend the night of your arrival near JFK. Next day, take the train to Philadelphia (you won't want a car in Philadelphia) to see the historic sites and museums. When you are ready to move on, take the train to Baltimore to explore the Inner Harbor area and visit two fine museums, the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Walters (both free). Next day, take the train to Washington. Again no car wanted in Washington.

THEN, if you want to see the countryside, you can rent a car to drive to Charlottesville, Virginia, to see Monticello and Oak Lawn. You can drive back toward NYC via Harper's Ferry (America's only national monument to a terrorist), Gettysburg Battlefield (and a very nice town), the Amish country and Delaware Water Gap. Or Annapolis, the Eastern Shore of Maryland, the ferry from Lewes, Delaware to Cape May, NJ (Victorian resort) and back to the NYC conurbation by the Garden State Parkway.
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Old Oct 16th, 2017, 01:47 AM
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I REST my case!!!
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Old Oct 16th, 2017, 02:07 AM
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Many thanks for your responses, I will investigate the train and take your advice about driving out of New York city in peak hour. Perhaps a night in New York before we set off is a good idea. BTW our interests are gardens, scenery, architecture and walking. Not so interested in museums or art, but like to learn more about American history, we are in our mid 60's and do a lot of bicycle riding in Australia so we are pretty fit. We have done several trips to various states in the USA so are used to driving on the other side of the road. We have particularly enjoyed many of your national parks.
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Old Oct 16th, 2017, 04:29 AM
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You don't say when you're arriving, but you need to understand that the only places you can reach within an hour of JFK are all in the busiest parts of NYC. While I agree that you should probably stay one night at a hotel and pick up the car the next morning, you do have another option.

If you got a hotel in Staten Island, you might visit Snug Harbor the next morning and see the Chinese Scholar's Garden and the other attractions there the next morning, and then you could continue on to DC. (It's closed on Mondays.) Even if you decided to stay at a JFK airport hotel that night, you could drive through Staten Island, which is your most direct route from JFK to DC and stop at Snug Harbor the next day. It's quite nice and unexpected, though you don't say when you're arriving.

My choice would also be taking a train out of NYC the next morning, but I'd take it to Richmond, VA (about 7 hours) and pick up a rental car there and explore the area. This way you could nap and get over the worst of your jet lag and still have 6 days to drive around and see the region. It's about a 5-hour drive to DC from NYC.
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Old Oct 16th, 2017, 06:21 AM
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Why do you have to arrive at JFK? There are Amtrak (train) stations next to BWI (Baltimore Washington) and EWR (Newark NJ) airports.
Try to visit Longwood Gardens near Philadelphia.
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Old Oct 16th, 2017, 06:44 AM
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I would assume this person already HAS an airline ticket, Mr. Fuller which might explain why.
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Old Oct 16th, 2017, 08:53 AM
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>>We have done several trips to various states in the USA so are used to driving on the other side of the road. We have particularly enjoyed many of your national parks.>Perhaps a night in New York before we set off is a good idea
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Old Oct 16th, 2017, 10:41 AM
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Ironically, if you are used to city driving, getting around Manhattan and DC may be easier than driving on regular roads because almost all streets are one-way and because there are exits and merges from both sides. It takes away much of the confusion of trying to navigate driving on the wrong side. It won't help you with the steering wheel, however.
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Old Oct 16th, 2017, 11:17 AM
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I live in the DC area and my daughter lives in NYC. It is indeed difficult driving in the NYC area, crowded and you will use valuable travel time wasted in traffic. We love the train system in the East Coast. It has it faults, but is so easy to use and helps a person get into the heart of cities. If you stay in NYC, try the High Line for a great walk with a view.

In DC, there are bike hire places (as opposed to the Capital Bike Share which is useful for short trips) that you can use to cruise the monuments. There is street riding required. You can use the bike share, but be aware of your 30 minute time limit. The United States Botanic garden is right on the mall in DC and is wonderful! They have outside and inside displays. A short Uber ride away is the National Aboretum with lovely displays and gardens. This is more of an outdoor place, so be aware of the weather.

There are a lot of Brutalist architectural examples in the DC area if you like that type of building. One can often find a tour of them. The nps.gov/nama website which will show a calendar of usually free education talks given by rangers near the National Mall. We use these talks and programs as a way to learn and enjoy the monuments.

While I like the Richmond, VA idea, I wouldn't choose to go all the way there unless you want to cover a lot of ground in 6 days. My sister lives in Richmond and it's a wonderful city. Read a little and do some research and see what would work best for you. Keep in mind that the DC to NYC highways can often have terrific traffic, especially on the weekends. There will be tolls as well.

Enjoy your trip!
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Old Oct 16th, 2017, 11:45 AM
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> like to learn more about American history

Then a stop in Philadelphia is an absolute MUST. Independence Hall & U.S. Constitution Museum have more about U.S. history than you can get anywhere else.

In Washington, check out
https://historyexplorer.si.edu/
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Old Oct 16th, 2017, 01:20 PM
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<In DC, there are bike hire places (as opposed to the Capital Bike Share which is useful for short trips) that you can use to cruise the monuments. There is street riding required. You can use the bike share, but be aware of your 30 minute time limit.>

We rented bikes from Bike and Roll for 4 hours on a Sunday. There's very little traffic on Sunday morning. We rode to Capital Hill, the Jefferson Memorial, Georgetown, and back. Really fun.
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Old Oct 16th, 2017, 02:40 PM
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Please do NOT pick up a rental upon your arrival at JFK! Although many people are not aware of it, there is mounting evidence that driving with jet lag is just as dangerous -- to yourself and others -- as driving drunk, and nothing you can do will prevent the microsleeps (which you might not even notice) that are the apparent culprit. Seriously -- NOT a good idea, no matter your other constraints and no matter your prior experience! And please be patient with me if you think I’m being overly adamant, but I know too many people who have died or been seriously injured in accidents to which jet lag was a contributing factor, and I know too many people who will spend the rest of their lives dealing with the knowledge that they were responsible for accidents that resulted in multiple deaths, including those of children, all because they were too confident in their ability to drive safely with jet lag. The issue has become a bit of cause célèbre for me….
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Old Oct 16th, 2017, 11:53 PM
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Thank you everyone for your sound advice. We arrive on the 30th August next year. We already have our plane ticket as we are booked on a cruise departing from New York on the 8th September. Everyone is correct about jetlag as New York is a very long way from Australia. We think we will stay overnight at a hotel in New York then take the train to Washington the next day. We will spend several days there before hiring a car and driving back to New York to the cruise terminal. We have been to New York several times so are not interested in staying there again, visiting Washington was recommended by friends, but we are open to any suggestions. We once drove from New York to Canada, then back down to Chicago where our daughter used to live. We think American drivers are very courteous compared to Australian drivers!
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Old Oct 17th, 2017, 12:31 AM
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Thank you do much for letting us know your plans. We do rather tend to dump on people when we think they are in danger, so it takes a certain amount of bravery to leap back into the scrum!

Knowing that you like gardens, you might consider two full days in New York to see both the New York Botanical Garden and the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. Longwood Gardens, south of Philadelphia and north of Wilmington, should be lovely at that time of year. My guess is that you can get there on a coach tour from Philadelphia. Longwood has a really good website which may give that information. You could skip Baltimore in favor of this garden and perhaps the nearby house at Winterthur. It was built to house a collection of famous historic American rooms brought together by one of the DuPonts.

In Washington, there is a famous smaller garden in the Georgetown neighborhood at a house called Dumbarton Oaks. If you want a change from cycling in traffic -- foot as well as vehicular -- Rock Creek Park is something of an oasis, and their are paths and parkways along the Potomac.
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Old Oct 17th, 2017, 07:27 AM
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Oh yes, biking along the Potomac is great - we rented bikes in Georgetown and rode to Bethesda along the river. Loved it.
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Old Oct 17th, 2017, 03:54 PM
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I'm very glad to hear your decision about your arrival plans -- that should work well!

I'm a great fan of DC and think there is a lot to do there -- museums, monuments, open spaces, some great restaurants, etc. If you are fond of gardens, I'd second Dumbarton Oaks and add in Hillwood Estate and the United States Botanic Garden.
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Old Oct 17th, 2017, 04:23 PM
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please rethink your decision to drive after landing in JFK
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