DC to NY
 

Hi! Our family is doing 5 days in DC and 5 days in NYC. We need to know how and what public transportation to take to get from College Park MD to New York. Our hotel is near the Amtrak station (corner of 77th and Broadway. Any help would be GREAT! I'll take any other suggestions on your Fave things in NYC too. We have a 14 and a 12 year old daughter. Thanks

There's an Amtrak near 77th and Broadway? That's news to me.

You can get to Union Station from College Park by Metro, but the College Park station isn't very convenient.

I'm a big walker, but 2.5 miles with luggage would be a bit much for me, so I'd take the 1 or 9 trains from Penn Station to 79 Street.

Amtrak from DC to NYC, then a taxi from Penn Station (where Amtrak stops in Manhattan) to your hotel on Broadway.

Another alternative: taxi to the New Carrollton AMTRAK station and go to NYC from there.

To the best of my knowledge, the only Amtrak train station in New York City is at Pennsylvania Station, which is at 7th Ave and 34th Street (it runs for several blocks basically east to west between 7th and 8th Aves and north to south between 34th to 31st Streets). So your hotel is either someplace close to this, or someone has misinformed you as to the location of the Amtrak station. If your hotel is at 77th Street, this is well north of Penn Station.

I agree with Dukey that to get to your Amtrak train in MD, with kids and luggage it would be easiest to take a taxi from College Park to the New Carrollton Amtrak station and take the train from there. The other suggestion is to take the Washington subway (the “Metro”) from the College Park Metro station to the New Carrollton Metro station (which is also the Amtrak station). However, this will require that you go all the way into downtown DC to change lines, and with luggage and kids could be a pain. If you are going to do that, then just take the Metro to Union Station in downtown DC and catch the Amtrak train from Union Station. But really, unless cost is a big issue, IMO a taxi from College Park to the New Carrollton Amtrak station is going to be faster and easier. For a map of the Washington Metro, go to http://www.wmata.com/metrorail/systemmap.cfm. Do watch rush hour on the roads there, it is awful. Try to take a train that will not require you to be on the road to the train station during morning or afternoon rush hours if you can help it.

Once in NYC, I again agree that a taxi would be the easiest. Will not be the cheapest, and if you have a lot of luggage and with 4 people you may have to go into 2 taxis, but it is convenient. There is a taxi stand on 7th Avenue, follow signs for “Taxi” from inside the station. The “1 and 9 trains” referred to above is a reference to the subway, which is another option. You can access these trains from the basement levels in Penn Station, look for signs and little red circles with “1” and “9” inside them. With luggage, negotiating the subway can be a pain, especially the stairs and if cars are crowded. For a map of the NYC subway, go to http://www.wmata.com/metrorail/systemmap.cfm

For what to do in NYC, read the myriad of posts here. Hopefully you have made plans already or you would not be planning a trip there....

Follow Cicerone's advice. ;)

Amtrak trains let you out closer to 8th Avenue in NY's Penn Station. Follow signs to 8th Avenue where you will find another taxi stand and you will also be headed uptown--the correct direction for your hotel on 77th St.

Amtrak stops only at Penn Station (7th/8th Ave and 33rd to 31 sts).

Perhaps someone meant that your hotel is near the subway from Penn Station. (There's a stop at B'way & 79th).

But I wouldn't take the subway with luggage - too many long passageways and stairs to deal with unless all you have is a carry-on you can put on your shoulder. Take a cab from Penn Sta to the hotel -it will be about $12 or so.

Given the hassle & cost of the subway for 4 people ($8), a cab from Penn is the obvious choice.