Cimbrone

I'm wondering if anyone can help me with the logistics of the above mentioned route. I know I can take the train to Westbury and then a taxi to the Old Westbury Gardens. How many trains a day are there? Do I need a ticket in advance? What might the price be, approximately? The bigger issue is how to get to Laguardia from Old Westbury for my flight home that afternoon?

I know I could rent a car for the day, but my friends tell me NYC car rentals are outrageously expensive. Any advice would be welcome! Thanks.

christabir

That's a good plan - train, cab. That's a line that has tons of trains - rarely a wait longer than 45 minutes or so. No tickets ahead of time required at westbury as far as I know.. But the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and the NY Botanical Garden are both amazing. Just want to know what I'm missing in Westbury this year!! I'm about 20 minutes away (went last year - beautiful). If you are intersted, Westbury also has a concert venue. Maybe you could combine them. If you decide to rent a car, do scoot down to our great public beaches - Jones Beach is quite a place, as is the Fire Island National Seashore.

Train schedules here:
http://lirr42.mta.info/sfweb/faces/index.jspx
You want Penn Station to Westbury

Cimbrone

Thanks so much, christabir. What about getting from Old Westbury to Laguardia? Is cab the only way to go without renting a car?

I've been to the NY botanical garden. Might be able to get to the Brooklyn as well as Old Westbury this trip. If I had to choose just one, which would you suggest?

ellenem

The trip from Old Westbury to LGA is possible via public transportation, but not particularly simple.

Take the LIRR train back toward Manhattan to Woodside.
At Woodside, take the 7 subway train (elevated here) toward Flushing and get off at 82 St/Jackson Heights.
At street level, take the Q33 bus to LGA
Hopstop.com estimates this will take two hours (to go 21 miles).

A car service or shared van service all the way from Westbury to LGA might be preferable to calling a taxi just to then take the LIRR to a subway to a bus.

christabir

You don't have a lot of good options for LGA. You just can't get there easily with public trans (I hate lga). You could just get a car service for the whole day. They are negotiable, so you might be able to do it pretty affordably. But I would arrange for a service to LGA.

I can't give a favorite between Brooklyn and Westbury. Brooklyn is bigger and has more of everything, but Westbury is nice. Brooklyn is also much easier to get to from the city, but leaves you with the same lga problem. Check both websites-there might be an interesting event or exhibition on the date you are going. Don't go to Westbury if the dog show is on - too crowded!!

nytraveler

To get a cab from Old Westbury to LGA you would need to organize it in advance - since on LI the cabs serve just the train stations - so you'll have to get one from there. I would call the Westbury cab service and see what they would charge - you might be better off getting a car service like Carmel or Dial 7. Don;t know if Old Westbury has a checkroom for luggage - you might want to confirm that.

doug_stallings

You buy LIRR tickets at the station immediately before boarding the train. No need to buy them in advance. You can check the schedule online.

Given that you need to buy an LIRR ticket and take 2 cab rides, you might find a car-rental about the same cost and with much more convenience. Hertz, for example, advertises rates of $79 per day in Manhattan, which would be a little over $100 with all the taxes. I don't think you can do this combo of trips for that much less. I don't know if Hertz charges extra for an airport drop-off, but they might.

For the sake of limiting costs, I'd take the LIRR back to Jamaica or, better, Woodside if you can (but there aren't many trains that stop there, and you may have to change trains to get there from Westbury) and then a short cab ride to LaGuardia. That would give you the most benefit in cost vs. time.

But I also think the idea of going to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden is an infinitely better idea than trying to get to Westbury and then to LaGuardia. You could probably check your bag at the Brooklyn Museum and then saunter over to the garden and even have a look at the museum (which has a great Egyptian collection, among other things).

Cimbrone

Thank you all for the very helpful responses! I think that, rather than going to Westbury on my last day, I'll go another day and take the train to and from. There's just something about the website that makes it more appealing to me than brooklyn botanical. I'll save that for another trip! Or, if it's open on Monday, I might be able to work it in. Gonna check!

ellenem

My Mother has been a volunteer docent at Old Westbury Gardens for 15 years, giving house tours one day a week. The gardens are lovely and varied with more and less formal areas.

The house took me by surprise when I visited because, totally by accident the night before, I had seen Hitchcock's "North by Northwest." The exterior of the house in used at the beginning of the movie, and here, a day later I found myself driving up that same drive to the same view Cary Grant's character had experienced.

christabir

You can call for a cab any time, any where on Long Island. You just need a phone number.

Cim- glad you'll be visiting! Unfortunately, the train ride is not scenic but OW is beautiful.