Bus into NYC over the day?
 

So it doesn't look like I'll be flying into JFK. It's just way too far to try and take the bus into NJ and Mays Landing.
But if we later on decide to go into NYC over the day. Is there a bus from Atlantic City that could take us there and how long does it take?

It's 125+ mile between Atlantic City and New York - allow 2 1/2 hours for the ride each way.

Yes, there are buses between those two cities.

FYI - you can find distances and driving times between any two locations by going to www.mapquest.com - click on "directions, type the towns or cities in the appropriate spaces, click "go" and Voila, you'll get distances, driving times and directions.

Perfect! Thanks for the info!

Most of the casinos in AC have bus "terminals" that have buses that go to the Port Authority, almost 24 hours a day. It's about $35rt on the casino buses, and when you come back you will get part of that back from the casino. Some will give you cash and some will give you coupons. Not sure if it would be worth it to go to the city for the day since you are looking at at least a 7 hour bus ride round trip.

If it's 2.5 hours one way it's definitely worth going into the city. We could leave 6am and be there before 9am and have the whole day and go back at night.
Is there a train too maybe that goes into the city that's faster?

An express train bet. NYC and Atlantic City has been planned for a number of years--it still has not come into being.

At 6am you are heading directly into commuter traffic, so it will probably take more like 3 hours or more depending on traffic. If you look at a map you will see that AC is on the water and there is no good way from AC to NYC, you actually have to go directly west and then go north. The trip is a bit more than 125 miles.

Just to be clear, casino buses are not really a possibility coming from Atlantic City into NYC. They usually only take the passengers who came to AC back to NYC. But you can certainly take Greyhound.

There is some kind of train service, but it's expensive and slow (you have to connect in Philadelphia).

Academy Bus goes to and from Atlantic City. I've never taken them to AC but I commute with them daily between NYC and NJ and the service is great. Here is a link to their AC service. If you look at the pdf schedules you'll see different departure points, the most going from Port Authority. The schedule from NYC to AC also has the departure times from AC to NYC.

sorry, here's the link to Academy Bus http://tinyurl.com/3r2j42

What if we'll have a rental car on that day. We would of course prefer to not drive the whole way into NY. But do you recommend driving to a better place than Atlantic City and leave from there to make our way into NY easier and shorter?

Google Maps says the drive from Mays Landing to NYC will take 2 hours 20 minutes.

The best car+train combo involves driving far enough north to connect to a NJ Transit train that goes directly to NYC at Trenton. It would take about 1.5 hours to drive to Trenton and the train ride is about 1.5 hours, plus add in time to make the connection.

There are possible car+bus combos,. for example, drive to Forked River, NJ (1 hour). A bus from there is 1.5 hours, plus add in time to make the connection.

You have only one day--very little time. Maximize the time you have by driving all the way.

You are really setting yourself up for a stressful day. If you leave Mays Landing early (say 6AM) that means you are probably getting up around 5AM. You'll be arriving in "Commuting Range" of NYC smack dab in the middle of rush hour and with that thje traffic jams that come with all those workers trying to get into the city. You could esily be sitting in traffic for an hour while you wait to go through one of the tunnels or cross one of the bridges into the city. Take it from someone who commuted into NYC from NJ 5 days a week for 25 years - YOU WANT TO AVOID RUSH HOUR (actually rush 2.5 hours) at all costs. You then have a similar trip back to south Jersey. If you leave NYC anytime between 4:30PM and 7:00PM you'll have the same traffic nightmare as you did in the morning. If you leave after 7:00PM you'll be doing most of your driving at night and that's never stress free. Combine all of the above and you'll have a very, very L-O-N-G day, half of which will have been spent sitting in your car gazing at traffic on the NJ Turnpike and/or Garden State Parkway (there's not a lot of great scenery to view). That's certainly not my idea of a good time and not worth the effort for a few hours walking around NYC.

There's a lot to see and do in southern NJ and you can easily visit Philadelphia, if you feel you nedd a "city fix".

Do yourself and your friend a favor, save NYC until you have enough time for a proper visit.

Very good advice, A_Traveller

Is it really that bad? We did this trip by bus thirteen years ago and I don't remember taking more than two hours. Although it was from Ocean City somewhere. But how about leaving after 8 am and going back after 7 pm, maybe around 9pm? We both really want to go there and my friend more than I do to buy a few things. So we're willing to put up with some traffic I guess. Thanks for the warning though!

Google Maps estimates drive time from Ocean City, NJ, to New York, NY, as 2 hours 22 minutes, up to 3 hours 20 minutes in traffic, 134 miles.

You could go shopping in Philadelphia and be there in about an hour.

People here have given you very good advice - it's obvious you want a different answer.

You know it's 125+ miles each way. If you are comfortable with travelling that distance in the time frame YOU HAVE get on the bus and make the trip - it's YOUR time and YOUR trip.

It will take as long as it takes - (2 hours?, 3 hours? - depends on day of week, time, traffic, weather, etc.) no one here can give you any more precise information.