lucci

We will be traveling from Maine to New Haven, Conn then on to visit a cousin in Hammonton, New Jersy then flying out of Philadelphia. I have no idea where the airport is and where to stay fairly near it.

Any suggestions??? Thanks so much.

mjs

Have done the Maine to New Haven trip many times but not recently. Length of trip very dependent upon where you are going in Maine. Its a rather lengthy state by east coast standards.
Many hotels around PHL. The Marriott is a decent 3 star hotel that is connected to the terminal and is usually quite reasonable. The airport is right off of 95 south of the city of Philadelphia.

PaulRabe

Kayak.com allows you to specify a search for a hotel within a certain distance from a landmark, such as an airport. As noted by NJS, the Philly airport ('PHL') is right on Interstate 95, and there are several lodging choices along this expressway. Like all airport lodging, they are big on business travel amenities (wi-fi, shuttles) and devoid of charm or location (except being close to PHL, of course).

lucci

Thanks for your advice..

We leave Camden, Me after breakfast and plan to find a place to stay North of Boston on rt. to New Haven, Conn. We though that if we, as seniors, poked around Kennebunkport or that area. the drive to New Haven would be too much for us. So we are trying to figure that stay out as well as the Philly airport..meeting with a cousin in Hammonton stay. ugggggg. My head is spinning like Linda Blair's!

Cyanna

The airport is SW of the city on the river. There is a necklace of motels nearby but not THAT nearby in that you'll need a shuttle from any of them - all chains with the usual range of chain-quality. There is a brand-new Marriott, however, IN the airport.

Also, depending on your margin of time and flight-time, you might consider that it's right on a train line from downtown. A little cumbersome with luggage, but you get to see something of the city.

Travel estimates: New Haven to Phila. figure 4 hrs., a little more with rush hour (try to get around NYC between 10 am and 3 pm); Boston to Phila., more like 6 1/2 (or 7 from the north of Boston) - and ditto negotiating NYC. My standard recommendation is to go via I-84 and Tappan Zee Bridge if at all possible (even from New Haven). Going through or even near Manhattan will mess you up unless it's 3 am Sunday morning. YMMV.

lucci

Cyanna,

Where is the Tappan Zee bridge. I would love to avoid NYC with a car at all costs..even though we leave New Haven after breakfast on Sunday.

Cyanna

Lucci, I'm afraid you can't avoid looking at a map before you make some plans, but I apologize for calling the bridge by its name, since on many maps that name isn't actually spelled out.

If you look on a map, you'll see that you can take route 34 out of New Haven up toward Danbury and eventually it will connect with Interstate 84. You'll stay on I-84 toward Brewster until I-684 splits off and you'll go SOUTH toward White Plains. Near White Plains, you'll be at a junction with I-287, which crosses the Hudson from Tarrytown NY to Newburgh, NJ, Jersey on the Tappan Zee Bridge. The signs on I-287 will generally direct you to the Tappan Zee.

Once you cross the bridge, head south on the Garden State (I-87) toward Phila.

I implore you to go through these directions ahead of time (e.g., now?) with a map or two in hand - it does get hairy knowing which route to take north of NYC, in Westchester County.

Sunday afternoons, esp. in the summer, can be VERY congested on all these highways, I'm sorry to say.

KatieR

Hi lucci,

Cyanna is quite right about looking at a map as well as the level of congestion in the area around NY. Try to avoid Sundays, the traffic heading back into the city on summer weekends can be at a stand still from early afternoon on. If you don't have GPS, get a good atlas or state maps to take with you in the car. If you've never used Google maps before, it's a great way to look at different routes. Here's the link to get started: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

If you are very concerned about staying well out of NYC and decide to connect with I-84 in the Danbury area, you might consider following I-84 into NY and crossing the Hudson River over the Beacon-Newburgh bridge. I-84 connects directly with the NY Thruway & from there you can head south toward NYC and pick up the Garden State Parkway on the west side of the river.

The Marriott at the Philadelphia airport is fine and has a decent breakfast. We stayed there in February. Also stayed at one of the chain motels on the nearby expressway after being bumped from a flight, forget which chain but I do remember horrible food and a marginal room - thanks to US Airways.

Enjoy your trip!

lucci

Thanks so much for the routing, You are correct in saying that my map didn't name the Tappan Zee, so giving me more info is beyond helpful

Cyanna

Woops, I mis-reported the two end points of the Tappan Zee bridge, which will only confuse things further. SORRY!!!

The Newburgh-Beacon bridge (on I-84) is quite a bit further north up the Hudson from the Tappan Zee, which connects Tarrytown NY with Nyack NY via I-287.

Again SORRY!

mjs

I realize that I have not lived in the area for years but i have been back several times lately and the route described above does not strike me as the route I used to use from New Haven to Philadelphia. 84 does not go through New Haven. I would take 95S or 15 to to the 287 to the TZ bridge to the Garden State to the NJ turnpike to the Pennsylvania turnpike than south on 95.
I should also note that we used to do weekends from New Haven to Kennebunkport so the trip is not that bad. Traffic around Boston and New York have to be considered in your travel.

Cyanna

As I noted, you take 34 from New Haven to Danbury to connect with I-84. I generally avoid I-95, esp. on weekends; but it might indeed make alternative sense to get to I-287 via the Wilbur Cross/Merritt Parkways (= Rt. 15).

Cyanna

PS The Wilbur Cross/Merritt route might, however, still have more traffic than going altogether north through Danbury.

NatureGirl19317

hey lucci! recently stayed at aloft and really liked it (right by the airport):

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/alofth...ropertyID=3181

Have a safe trip!