Mimi

How much will a cab cost to Union Square? Or do I take a train?

Also, can I take a train to Philadelphia from New York? And then rent a car there? How much are train tickets?

I have to be in Philly for a few days and will probably need a car. But, I don't want to rent one for the whole time. I have a feeeling it would be cheaper to do the train.

Any advice or insight?

John

Mimi:

Sounds like you need to take a breath!...ok thats better..now
Forget the cab, take the bus that goes to the Port Authority at 42nd street, or take the train to Penn Station at 34 street will be closer to Union Square. The monorail will take you to meet the train to Manhattan. I think it will cost around $10.00. Catch a cab at Penn Station to UnionSquare.

Amtrack has quick trains to Philly every hour at that same Penn Station Lets you off in downtown Philly.
Good Luck!
John

Duane

John pretty much summed it up. If you are going into Manhattan you can take the monorail from the airport to the train that will take you into Penn Station at 34th St. Check out the website here: http://www.portnynj.com/airtrainnewark/

From Penn Station, take the N or R subway line to Union Sq (14th St).

If you are going directly to Philly (not sure from your post), you can take the monorail to the train to Newark Penn Station and hop on an Amtrak train south. Check out Amtrak's site for more details and schedules.

Owen O'Neill

If it's at a time of day or night when traffic is light the shuttle bus to Port Authority would be okay at around $13. Try the SkyTrain (or AirTrain - can't remember what they're calling it) at $11.25. Follow signs in Newarl terminal - it puts you on monorail and then take NJ transit train to NYC. Make sure you go all the way to Penn Station in NY - the station in Newark is also called Penn! Good tip if getting cab from Penn to Union Square - walk out back side of station to 8th Ave facing post office and get a cab there. Ther linses ta cab stand on 7th Ave at front of Penn Station can be very long. If there's an event letting out at the Garden it doesn't matter - cabs are tough to get everywhere. Cab to Union Square is about $5 with tip. If really ambitious and traveling light, walk one block east to 34th and Broadway at Herald Square and get the N/R to Union Square for $1.50.

Amtrak to Philly RT is easier and cheaper than rental car and just as fast. Cheaper still but longer is NJ Transit train to Trenton and then SEPTA to Philly.

David

Mimi; The following website lists the different options for transportation from Newark International Airport into The City. A cab from Newark into Manhattan will cost about $35 or $40

http://www.panynj.gov/aviation.html


From New York to Philadelphia you can take Amtrak from Penn Station at 8th Ave. and 34th St. directly to Philadelphia 30th St. Station. The cost is about $80 each way if you have a AAA discount. Without the discount it will be $90. The ride takes about 1.5 hrs. A less expensive alternative that Owen mentioned would be to take a New Jersey Transit Train from Penn Station to Trenton and then transferring to the SEPTA R7 train to Philadelphia. The downtown stations for the R7 train are Market East, Suburban, and 30th Street. The NJ transit/SEPTA R7 alternative will take an hour longer than the Amtrak. The one way far is $18 including both the NJ Transit and SEPTA R7 fare.

Go to www.amtrak.com www.njtransit.com and www.septa.org for more information.

David

Mimi; Oops, the Amtrak fare from New York to Philadelphia is $80 roundtrip, not each way. For comparison, the roundtrip fare for the NJ Transit/SEPTA R7 trip is about $36.

r-travels

If you are a veteran, and join Veteran's Advantage (~$23), you can get 50% off Amtrak coach fare until 12/13/2002. Detail on www.amtrak.com homepage. You'll more than break even on this one trip.

Susan

I also plan to take the Airtrain from Newark airport to the train station, and then a train to Penn Station in NY. Thanks for the tips! It looks like the Airtrain goes to all the terminals in Newark Airport. True? Also, do I buy a ticket for the train at the airport or when I get to the train station? Is the NJ Transit train the best/only option or should I also look at Amtrak schedules into Manhattan? Thanks!

suzanne

Susan- Yes the Airtrain (monorail) stops at all terminals. I've taken it many times, but can't remember where you buy the ticket...but you won't miss it - it's well-marked, and I believe it's right before a set of turnstiles. I believe it's after you get OFF the monorail, at the train station.

I don't think there is a difference in price between Amtrak and NJ transit trains from the airport to NY Penn. Just take whichever one stops there first. Whatever you do, do NOT get off at the first stop, which is Newark Penn Station, not to be confused with Penn Station in NYC (the 2nd stop)!

David

Susan, The most economical way to get into the City is with the New Jersey Transit train. The fare for Amtrak is $26.50 each way while that for NJ Transit is $11.55. You can buy the NJ Transit train ticket at any of the Air Train Newark stations in the airport terminals or at the Newark International Airport train station.

Susan

Thanks Suzanne and David! I feel very confident now about getting from the airport to midtown. I found good info on the Continental Airlines website as well, I guess Newark is one of their hubs. Unfortunately the Newark Airport website isn't as informative. Looks like if I catch it just right I can be in midtown less than 40 minutes after my plane arrives, for only $11.25. Good deal!

Ruth

Susan: yes, you "can" be in Midtown so quickly, but when I took it in Oct it took about an hour. The monorail is frequent (and stops at all 3 terminals), and when we arrived at the Newark International Station there was meant to be a train in 7 min, but suddenly this train disappeared from the board, and we had to wait over 20 min for the next one. I'd still recommend it (if you don't have too much luggage), but the train was crowded and we didn't get a seat till Newark Penn Station. NY Penn Station had lots of stairs, but maybe if we had known the layout better we might have found an elevator.

It's $11.55, but the machine at the airport gave change.

Ruth

Meant to say - going back we took the bus shuttle from near Grand Central, this cost $12 one way (round trip would be 9.50 each way), and only took an hour, despite being during a week-day rush hour (5pm) with a long wait to enter the Lincoln tunnel. So there was not much to choose between the bus and the train, but for us, the bus was a much more comfortable journey.

Owen O'Neill

I've never taken the bus but I suspect the one hour time mentioned previously is close to worst case scenario for the shuttle bus and it is convenient.

Don't know where the elevators are at Penn Station but there are escalators in the back leading to 8th Ave and should be some on the front side to 7th Ave as well.