Getting to NYC from Hancock MA
 

Hi, we'll be spending 3 nights at the Wyndham Bentley Brook in Hancock MA in April. We want to take a day to go into NYC. What is the best way to get there? Is there a train we can catch nearby or will we have to drive to a train/subway station closer to the city? Which one would be recommended? Thanks.

Your best bet is to drive to Albany, NY and catch Amtrak from there. Your train will arrive at Penn Station in NYC.

Not cheap, but relatively quick.

Schedules here:
www.amtrak.com

Thanks for the suggestion. You're right, it's not cheap and it takes about an hour to get to Albany to begin with. Seems like it would be easier and cheaper to spend that hour driving toward the nearest subway station outside the city and going in from there. I'm going to have to do some more research. Maybe we'd be better off going into NYC from Philly when we stop there.

I guess that might work, except that you can't park at a subway station (or at most subway stations). What you could do is to drive to the nearest Metro North station, but that's going to add more time to your trip since they stop fairly frquently. But you're way over an hour to the nearest Metro North Station (Metro North goes as far as Poughkeepsie ... the Connecticut trains aren't really closer).

Amtrak also stops in Hudson, which is closer to you, but it's just as expensive to get to NYC from there as Albany (but would save you a bit of time).

Sorry, but I didn't read your post carefully enough. If you will be in Philadelphia, it's an infinitely easier daytrip from there into Manhattan. Simply take SEPTA to Trenton and then change to NJ Transit. The trip takes about 2 hours, and the trains are timed so that you can make the connection easily. It's half the price of Amtrak from Philly and not all that much longer if you can get on an express train.

Doug has good ideas, but I'll respond to your idea of finding a subway station outside the City and parking there.

First, all the subway stations are within the city limits of NYC. The stations closest to Hancock, MA are in the Bronx (242/Van Cortlandt Park is one of them) and would take about 2.5 to 3 hours of driving. It's easily 140 miles by the shortest route.

Parking in New York City is difficult at best, expensive at worst. That said, if you are already in Yonkers, you might just consider bypassing the subway altogether and paying the piper for the privilege of parking near your NYC destination.

There will be 4 of us traveling and that ups the Amtrak cost considerably. When I said "subway", I meant something like the Metro where you can park. LoL

Our ultimate goal is Staten Island and whatever else we can do by bus/subway for the day. The only time I visited in the 1980, I took a bus to the 42nd Street Port Authority Bus Terminal from McGuire AFB. From there I walked and used the bus system. That was a piece of cake back then.

I should mention that we will also be spending 3 nights in Newport RI on the Wharf. One day is for Boston and we haven't decided on the other yet. Being retired military, we also have access to Westpoint, if that offers other options.

to get to NYC from Philadelphia, apart from the SEPTA/NJT option that Doug posted, you should also look into BoltBus (and Megabus, I believe). These buses go directly from Philadelphia to NYC and often as cheap as $10 per person or less. It probably is faster than the SEPTA/NJY option, plus you don't need to do the change in Trenton.

With four people in your group, it's a no-brainer to drive into NYC and pay to park at a garage.

With a little bit of planning, you should be able to find one near a subway station. If your ultimate goal is Staten Island, your best part of the trip (and the cheapest) will be the Staten Island Ferry.

You can find competitive parking rates here:

http://nyc.bestparking.com/

You can find subway maps here:

http://www.mta.info/nyct/maps/submap.htm

You can find Metro North maps here:

http://www.mta.info/mnr/html/mnrmap.htm

West Point does not have direct access to the Metro North trains, but you can cross the Hudson River via Ferry and catch the train at Garrison.

Thanks everyone, gives me a lot to research. One way or another we'll get there.

gb944,

It looks like there are a lot of places to catch the Metro, all the way from Poughkeepsie to Beacon, Garrison, Courtlandt, etc. Looks to be just a matter of how far we'd want to drive before catching the Metro. I've done the Metro thing around DC, but not NYC. If you know, I assume we can park at the Metro stations for the day without too much trouble or are the lots full by a certain time, etc.?

I see I can make reservations at parking garages, but I'm concerned about getting stuck in traffic to get to them and wasting a lot of time that way. One destination is Rockerfeller Center and there seems to be some parking near there. It's a tad expensive too, but way cheaper than Amtrak.

The schedules I've looked at seem to suggest it's going to take about that same amount of time no matter which option we choose, so the difference is convenience and cost. Obviously, the cheapest is to drive and park, but I woory about traffic. I'm not afraid of traffic or anything, just don't want to get stuck.

I just noticed there is Mega Bus service from Albany to NYC too, so that is another option vs Amtrak. Depending on time of day, tickets are $60-$68 for 4 each way.

I noticed too on the Philly to NYC Bolt Bus you can get $1.00 tickets, but if you want 4, the price for that same time goes up to $35. I assume that's in order to sit together and all get on the same bus. Just found it a bit amusing.

Hi DoubleDaz-

With BoltBus and Megabus, their "deal" is that each bus has a few $1 tickets (not sure how many, perhpas just one). If the $1 ticket is sold, the next ticket price goes up, sometimes it goes up to $2, sometimes it goes up to $6. And there may only be one ticket avail for that price. When that is sold, the next ticket price goes up again, perhaps to $10. So, that's why it's $1 for ONE ticket, but $35 for FOUR tickets. Still a very good deal though.

Is this for a day trip?

From Hancock MA I would simply drive straight into NYC. It's about 150miles - or 2.5 to 3hrs.

You would take the Taconic St. Parkway most of the way.

That would be by far the fastest and cheapest route (since I'm assuming you already have a car). Any train/metro stop you drive to is out of the way and will add time to your drive. By the time you detour off the Taconic to get to Poughkeepsie or Beacon station you would be most of the way to NYC already.

There is no way I'd do this as a day trip though regardless of the transportation method. You'll spend 6+hrs traveling. Philadelphia is much closer to NYC.

If you're planning to stop in NYC on your way from MA to PHL that would make more sense to me - again driving right into NYC.

You ask about traffic. I would have no concerns about traffic getting into NYC. The route I'd suggest is Taconic to Saw Mill River pkwy, crossing the Henry Hudson Bridge and going down the West Side highway.

Unless you leave Hancock MA by 5am you be at the tail end of rush hour, and the bigger NYC commute choke points are the Hudson River crossings (GWB & tunnels). If you hit the Bronx after 9am you'd have pretty smooth sailing. Perhaps some slight delays but nothing like waiting to cross the Hudson.

Park near 50th St or so on the West side, walk to Rockefeller Center, then take subway around the city after that. Getting to/from Staten Island will chew up a lot of time, unless your objective is simply to ride the ferry two ways. If you have friends you plan to visit on SI then fine, but I'd never add it to a day trip itinerary just to go there.

Exiting NYC back north you'd take the same route - If you go right at rush hour you'd sit in traffic that is waiting to cross the GWB, but if you leave later then you'll be fine.

yk - I figured it was something like that. I was just intrigued by it is all. Thanks for the explanation.

J62 - Thanks for the "great" info. Yes, it will be a day-trip and we don't mind the drive. Part of the reasons for the trip and lodging locations are to see some of the areas as we drive through, maybe to go back the next day, etc. We realize we won't have a lot of time in the city, but we just want to see a few things and that's it.

I don't know why I said Staten Island, I meant Ellis Island, duh. But, we might not even go there either because of time and other things we want to do/see more. My wife is the only one who hasn't been there and she doesn't really want to go into the city to begin with. LoL

Anyway, if we get into the city by 10:00 and leave by 6:00, we'll be satisfied. I see what you mean though about going out of the way to get to the Metro stops and the Taconic is the way to go. You've pretty much convinced me to go that and just let things fall where they may. Either way, it will be an adventure.

Thanks again, everyone.