DC and NYC in one week
 

Planning a trip for late September. Three women From Oregon in their 50's, but physically fit! Fly into DC rent a car. Site seeing in DC for a few days (use metro and car) then drive up to NYC for a few days (suggestions on what to do with car?!) then drive back to DC to fly home. Too much? or doable?? I had thought of picking up car in DC and flying home from NYC but car rental companies want an extra $400 to drive one way!!) No specifics yet, but thought I would check if we were even in the ballpark as far as time. Thanks!

Forget the car and use public transportation between the 2 ciities. Fly into one and out of the other. Either the train (amtrak.com) or one of the buses like megabus.com or boltbus.com There's also a fancier luxury bus http://www.newyorkology.com/archives...y_bus_dc2n.php

You'll save the cost of the car, the aggravation of driving and the wasted time of backtracking.

YOu might even check the cost of a multi-city ticket (ie Portland/Washington DC/NYC/Portland) on kayak.com (they have a multi city form) and compare it to the cost of flying and using some other transport b/w the 2 cities.

Agree that the car will be more hinderance than help unless you've got someplace in mind that requires one.

One week in both places is doable but fairly limited.

Are you talking about 7 full days to visit or 7 days with travel on each end and one day in the middle to go from DC to NYC? If it's the latter, I'd you're really selling yourselves short.

I love the Amtrack between NYC and D.C. very clean and very nice.

Parking is complicated. You can google some garages and check out prices. However, you truly don't need a car in NYC -- it is a hassle. Save your money and split cabs with your friends.

Driving from D.C. to NYC is also tricky -- you have to make sure and drive at the right time of day or your trip can easily turn from a 4 hour drive into a 6 hour plus drive in rush hour traffic.

One week to do both cities will be fine, you won't be able to tackle everything, but a few days will give you a nice feel for both cities.

Happy Travels!

I have booked megabus from NYC to Philly for $1 each and then Philly to DC for $3 each. This is for August, I think it will be fine and for the price, it can't be beat [I hope]. They have a big sale now,giving away 10,000 free seats into and out of Philly.

I would not bother with a car in either place. In DC you'll find that the metro plus a few cab rides will do it for you, and a car is a huge hindrance in NYC. I'd certainly look into flying back straight from NYC and taking bolt bus omr megabus up to new York.

thanks chickenlittle, that is really all we are looking for is a taste of each city. I will check into the Amtrak. Being from the west we are just too use to using our cars and driving between cities! I knew i didn't want the car in NYC so was trying to figure what to do with it while we visited. Thanks for all the suggestions

so, bus vs train??? thoughts?

Amtrak is just so civilized, predictable and pleasant. It is usually faster than the bus. You don't get car sick!
I would definitely book ahead of time online.

Have you already booked your flights? If not, open jaw into DC and out of NYC would be hugely better -- both time and expense-wise. You could fly straight home w/o having to backtrack to DC.

Amtrak is indeed civilized, but it's five times the price of the bus. So you have to price everything out. For three, though, that's a fair sum of money.

In either city the car is an unnecesary expense plus a PIA to find a place to park. Agree to fly open jaws and just grab the train (or bus) from DC to NYC.

Megabus and Bolt are also civilized and pleasent. Having taken all options train, Megabus and Bolt to and from DC-the experience on all there are comparable.

I've taken weekend day trips to DC using Megabus with less hassle and delays than I experienced on Amtrak-and the prices can't be beat.

Bolt has tiered boarding-similar to airplane boarding by group. Megabus is double-decker with two group tables. Both have free wifi and seatbelts at every seat.

I've seen tourists, students, doctors, lawyers, professors, and other professionals take these buses with no issues.

There are bus lanes into Lincoln Tunnel. The few times I've experienced delays were during the holiday season.

I just took and peek and saw round trip prices for Amtrak for $70 dc. to nyc. Not bad.

You don't want round trip between NY and DC, just one way. Backtracking is a huge wast of time for sure, and possibly money too. If the Amtrak RT is cheaper than one way, then buy it and ditch the return portion. Definitely fly into one city and out of the other.