Finger Lakes Wine Festival
 

I'm currently trying to a plan weekend trip to the Finger Lakes for the festival in July. However, short of the 4.5 hrs drive from Philly, I can't seem to find any other info about how to get to this lovely little place. Can anyone help? I'll take any mode of transportation as long as it isn't too expensive since I anticipate the festival is probably going to suck my bank account dry.

And if anyone has recommendations for reasonably-priced places to stay, I would appreciate that. I anticipate travelling with a friend, and while we're not above spending for a nice hotel room, we really won't be there much and will probably be too tired during our hours at the hotel to pay attention to more than the comfort of the bed and cleanliness of the room.

Thanks in advance for any guidance!

Where is the festival going to be located, will it span all of the Finger Lakes or one of the pretty towns?

The major events will be taking place on the grounds of Watkins Glen International. However, I'm not averse to staying in (or flying into) a different area, say Elmira or Corning since I know there will be shuttles from there to the festival.

You would probably get a cheaper airfare flying into Rochester,then rent a car.

Or fly into Syracuse, which I believe will be a shorter drive to Elmira or Corning. Sorry, I've never stayed anywhere in Elmira or Corning,but I have been through there. I'm from the Syracuse area origianlly.
The whole Finger Lakes area is spectacular.

I've stayed at the Radisson in Corning a number of times and enjoyed it. One of the nice things about the hotel is that you can easily walk to the main st. of Corning to restaurants. Another reason to visit Corning is the wonderful glass museum.

The wine fest is lots of fun and the whole operation is well organized. We've stayed at the Villager Motel in Watkins Glen a few times. It's nothing special at all but the location is perfect for walking around town. But it's been awhile and I'd recommend doing a search for newer lodging. During the wine fest, they run a shuttle from the motels to the race track - it's a terrific service and we've transported cases and cases of wine on the shuttle. You should be able to get shuttle info off the fest website. Not sure how to get you there from Philly - can you fly into Binghamton or Elmira and rent a car?

Thanks for the help, everyone. It looks like I'm going to have to rent a car either way, so I'll probably end up driving to Watkins Glen. Wish me luck on my 4.5 hrs trips!

My husband and I were there 4 years ago for the festival. We had a ball; went both days. Very casual. They had some good food available there as well. We stayed at the Inn at Glenora which was lovely! Great restaurant with views.We spent the days driving around Seneca Lake and one evening heard some music at a street fair in Corning (neat place) You should book NOW as we had trouble finding a room.