May_30

Hello all!
Is this "utopic" idea/ trip doable in 1 day (early morning 6am depart from Brooklyn, late evening 12pm come back)? My idea is to do a quick sightseeing car tour with just short photo stops at couple of attractions in Philadelphia and Atlantic City? I guess not ... ?
Just for info, we are staying in NY for 10 days from 24th August to Sept 4th and I was hoping to do a 1 day trip.
Thanx in advance!

IMDonehere

Is this stream of consciousness?

Assuming there is very little traffic, you will spending about 7 hours in the car.

May_30

Ok, Got it, thank you ;-) ... what about only NY-Philadelphia

nytraveler

You can easily do NYC - Philly as a day trip on Amtrak. the trains run very frequently and you can see by buying tickets in advance.

IMHO you are not missing anything by not getting to Atlantic City.

IMDonehere

The problem with NY-Philly is the NJ Turnpike, the most heavily used road in America. The traffic can be quite heavy. If you are going from Brooklyn, go over the Verrazano through Staten Island to the Outerbridge, which is actually named after a human, to the NJ Turnpike.

It is between 90-100 miles depending on where in Brooklyn you are starting.

doug_stallings

A day-trip to Philadelphia is easy, and if you do it by train (NJ Transit to Trenton, SEPTA to Philadelphia) the trip is usually cheaper than the cost of gas and parking if it's just two people, and considering tolls and expensive gas, it may be cheaper than 4 (Amtrak is faster but a LOT more expensive). But don't drive. Just get yourself to Penn Station.

If you want to do a day-trip to the beach, you can take a ferry from Lower Manhattan (easy to reach from most parts of Brooklyn) to the Jersey Shore.

ellenem

Or for the beach, head in the other direction from Brooklyn and go to Jones Beach or Robert Moses State Park.

IMDonehere

BTW, if you want to visit Atlantic City, you'd better go now before all the casinos disappear.

May_30

well, regarding the beach we will probably do the Coney Island/Brighton beach for a couple of hours

LucyStanmore

I also suggest taking the train to Philadelphia. It is cheaper, more enjoyable and less stressful. It will also allow you to see the beautiful Penn Station.

ellenem

"the beautiful Penn Station"

The beautiful Penn Station was razed in the 1960s. The current station is a lackluster, confusing maze. (Unless Lucy was kidding about Penn Station being beautiful . . .)

I suspect Lucy is thinking of Grand Central Terminal, which is indeed beautiful, but the trains for Philadelphia do not go there.