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-   -   Midtown hotel to Newark (EWR) (https://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/midtown-hotel-to-newark-ewr-1654245/)

Myer Jun 6th, 2018 07:35 AM

Midtown hotel to Newark (EWR)
 
We're spending a few days in New York (midtown hotel) and then driving north a couple of hours for granddaughter's camp visiting days.
Since our return flight to South Florida is from Newark (EWR) I booked the car to be picked up and dropped off at EWR.
Now we have to get from midtown to EWR at around 9:30 - 10:00 on a Sunday morning.
I doubt we'll want to carry our luggage too many times on and off whatever.
These are things I looked at:
1 - Uber from hotel to EWR. app. $80-100.
2 - change car rental to pickup in midtown and drop off at EWR. $100 more.
3 - Uber or taxi to Express Bus + bus fare. $50.
4 - Super Shuttle (shared) from hotel to EWR. $42.
Unless I'm reading incorrectly, Super Shuttle is not only the least expensive but requires no changes.
Is there an issue with using Super Shuttle in midtown New York?
Any other good suggestions?

RoamsAround Jun 6th, 2018 07:43 AM

It really depends on how you value your time/convenience over money. For me it’s a no brainer. I’d choose Uber or other car service or pay the car rental change fee as those two options take lease amount of time and hassle. Uber will take you from door of hotel to entrance at departure terminal. Rental car will take you from hotel to car rental return station at EWR then it’s a short 3 minute ride on the Sky Train (free and runs every 3 minutes) to terminal.

doug_stallings Jun 6th, 2018 08:35 AM

I'm not a fan of most shared-ride services in NYC. I've had missed pick-ups at my home for early-morning flights, excruciatingly long rides that went to distance additional hotels to pick up more passengers (you are routinely asked to arrange your pick-up 4 hours before a domestic flight), trips to JFK that stopped at LGA to drop off passengers, and so on. It's your choice. I would happily pay double not to have to use a shared-ride service, but if you can't afford that, then there are several shared-ride services to EWR, including Go Airlink, which offers similar service and pricing to SuperShuttle.

I personally share the love of the train and generally prefer it because you can avoid traffic back-ups, which are common, but you do have to navigate stairs to get to your platform, and you have precious little time to do it, and then you have to transfer to the Airtrain at EWR. If you have luggage, that can be an issue.

Just never take a regular taxi, which is far too expensive. A car service should cost you about $80 with all tolls and tip (possibly a little less on a Sunday). If Uber is charging more than that, then it's not a good choice.

Myer Jun 6th, 2018 09:01 AM

Thanks for the replies. Money is always a consideration but convenience is important as well. While I don't want to spend 3 hours getting to EWR 20-30 minutes extra isn't a concern.
I just checked the estimate on the Uber web site.
UberX is between $69 and 84. I assume it makes the estimate for current conditions. Correct? We're going on a Sunday morning so I assume less traffic.
Does Uber have UberX service in midtown?
While we're going to EWR, we're not catching a plane now. It's just to pick up a car and then drive north to our granddaughter's camp visiting day.
We'll drop off the car at EWR 2 days later when we take a 2:50 afternoon flight.

I've never left from EWR. Should I allow any more time than anywhere else to return a car and check in with JetBlue?
If I guess at Uber being about $75 and SuperShuttle $42, I think I'll go with Uber.

RoamsAround Jun 7th, 2018 04:59 AM

Gosh, you are way over thinking this. If you are only going to EWR to rent a car and taking Uber will cost you about $69 to $84 why don’t you just spring for the extra $100 (it’s only about $15 to $30 more than taking Uber) and rent your car in NYC and plan to drop it off at EWR when you fly out a few days later. Why do you want to waste time drivinf from NYC to EWR if you really don’t have to????

You’ll be able to leave your hotel in NYC at whatever time you please, drive north Sunday morning (probably very little traffic at that time of day) to your daughter’s camp. Surely your time and the convenience factor is worth a few extra bucks.

While I can appreciate one’s concern when it comes to spending money I never could understand why anyone intentionally inconveniences themselves to save $20 or $30 - it just doesn’t make much sense to me. You may feel differently, though!

Myer Jun 7th, 2018 02:35 PM

Roams,
The decision to pick up the car at EWR is to keep from driving in New York.
I know EWR isn't exactly north but it's more or less in the same direction as I'm going to my granddaughter's camp.

RoamsAround Jun 8th, 2018 03:35 AM

I understand your concern about driving in NYC, especially if it was during weekdays and/or during rush hours, however, on Sunday mornings there will be very little traffic in the city - no more than you'll find in just about any town or city on Sunday morning. If you pick up a rental car near your hotel in mid-town you can probably get to the Lincoln Tunnel (good if going westward out of the city) or one of the major arteries like the West Side Highway (good if your destination is north of mid-town) in about 10 minutes. Baring an unforeseen accident (which would also affect you if you used Uber) once you are at the tunnel or the WSH it should be smooth sailing for the rest of your trip - just like highway driving back in South Florida.

Just some food for thought. It's your decision - have a great trip.

Myer Jun 8th, 2018 04:01 AM

Roams,
I lust rechecked the difference in price.
A little under $200 with pickup and dropoff at EWR and a little over $400 with pickup in Midtown and drop off at EWR.
So the difference is a little over $200.
I guess it's EWR both ways. I don't mind spending money if there's a good reason but not throwing it away.
Thanks for making me think about options.

RoamsAround Jun 8th, 2018 06:41 AM

Well, new price differential does make pick-up at EWR more sensible.

One of the drawbacks when answering questions on a travel forum is sometimes the OP doesn’t give the complete set of facts so answers/recommendations can change.

Myer Jun 9th, 2018 03:45 AM

Roams,
I checked the price on two different days and as you probably know price can vary greatly from one day to the next.


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