We are thinking of doing a civil war tour in September & plan to fly from UK to Washington - returning home from New York. Is there an easy way to travel from Washington to Gettysburg and from Gettysburg to New York ? We really don't fancy driving - can anyone help ?
Transport to & from Gettysburg
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No I don't believe there is. Check Amtrak (train) and maybe Bolt Bus or Megabus.
Getting to Gettysburg by public transport is do-able, but is a little complicated:
1) Get to Philadelphia. This is easy from New York, there are about a dozen ways to do so.
2) Ride Amtrak from Philly to Harrisburg on the "Keystone Service"
3) Ride the Rabbit Express from Harrisburg to Gettysburg
http://www.rabbittransit.org/Schedules/rabbitEXPRESS.aspx
Note that almost all mass transit systems are designed for commuters on the way to jobs, NOT for tourists. You may decide (1) it's too much trouble to make mass transit to Gettysburg or (2) to take a bus tour from Washington DC to Gettysburg. If you do an internet search for
gettysburg bus tour
you'll find a few companies that do this.
Depending on how ambitious your civil war itinerary is, I think you will find that renting a car and driving is pretty much mandatory. Even visiting the bulk of the sites near Washington such as Bull Run (the Rebels call it Manassas) will be much easier with a car.
There are a couple of companies that take one day trips from DC to Gettysburg. As PaulRabe suggested just google bus tours from DC to Gettysburg. Most of these are about $100 per person and include an orientation film at the VC and a tour of the battlefield with a Park Service guide.
We've always gone on our own, so that DH can stop and hike to each part of the battle that he wants.
Sometimes on the anniversary of the battle, early July, they do re enactments on a farm that is similar in topography to the actual sites. They are not on the NP site, but are interesting to watch.
If you're dead-set against driving, Paul's suggestion to hook up with a tour out of DC is probably your best option. G'burg is set up mainly for autos, not public transport, unless you're on a tour bus. Many of the hotels and restaurants are in the small downtown area, away from the battlefield, so there would be the issue of how to get to and tour the battlefield w/o a car.
Reconsider driving. Once you leave the DC metro area, the drive isn't bad, as you will be able avoid most other major metro areas and the accompanying traffic. Plus, one of the better tours of the battlefield is a self-guided one in which pop the CD into your car's player and follow the directions.