sf7307

Dai, just so you know getting "lost" at Penn Station is a real possibility, I grew up in NY, yet one time my daughter and I were scheduled to take Amtrak to Springfirld, MA. Got on the train - imagine my horror, when after we pulled out of the station, the conductor announced that we were on a train headed to Washington, DC. Wits about me, we got off at Newark Airport and rented a car!

Dai

SF: Thanks for your suggestion, and if I enjoyed getting behind the wheel of an automobile, I'd seriously consider it...but I can not possibly tell you enough just how much I hate driving. I'm in SoCal (born and raised) where driving is a necessity. I don't like city driving, and I despise freeway driving. Driving with my husband is WORSE!

I would much prefer to hire someone to drive us over renting a car. However I'm really looking forward to going with the trains. I have been to Europe several times and used the trains. When we go to Europe, I have managed to get everywhere I intended, and we travel off the beaten path. In my line of work, I have to be good with directions and good with my planning so that I arrive at the locations on time, so I am comfortable with this.

The only place I can think of where I really don't mind driving at all is in Maui, Kauai, and the big island.

Dai

I found out we're staying at, "The Inn at Fox Hollow Hotel" on the Jerico turnpike. They will have shuttles to the venue, so we just need to get ourselves to the hotel. Looking at the map, it seems to me that if we take the LIRR we should still get off at Bethpage and call a cab. Does that seem right?

doug_stallings

Actually, I suspect you get off at Syosset (Port Jefferson Line). I went to a wedding near there last year. It's a pretty easy ride, and there were a couple of taxis that met the train. Just high-tail it off the train and head for the parking lot. The taxis congregate there. If there's not one there, you can call for one, or if there aren't enough taxis, one of the drivers will be happy to call for you.

You should call the hotel and confirm, and they can give you the number of the local taxi company. When you go back to the train station, the hotel will call a taxi for you.

FYI: If you can ride non-peak, buy your round-trip ticket in advance. The office there may not be manned, and you would have to use a machine.

ellenem

I've been to a wedding at the Inn at Fox Hollow. I took the train to Syosset and then took a taxi there--about a 2 mile drive. (Bethpage station is about 6 miles away.)

Dai

Perfect. Thank you Doug and ellenem. Excellent advice all around. I like the idea of getting the taxi number from the hotel. Also it makes a lot of sense to make sure I buy the round trip ticket. Since we're leaving Saturday and returning to Penn on Sunday, we will be traveling off peak hours. Hoping for smooth sailing (training)....

This is going to be great! Thanks again to everyone who contributed.

Dai

Update: we're back and we had a GREAT time. NY'ers are the best!

We flew in on United and decided to take the bus. We boarded the bus, paid our 16 bucks each, and the bus headed straight to the Port Authority. It was super fast considering that it was late (around 10:15 pm) hence there was very little traffic on the freeway, and it is also the last stop of the airport stops before it heads on into Manhattan. A woman seated next to us said that she had boarded about 40 minutes before us because she flew a different airline, then had a couple of stops in the airport before they came to the United terminal to pick up the final group of passengers.

To get to LI for the wedding, we went with LIRR from Penn instead of a service. Carmel limo quoted us $107, Plus tolls, Plus tip to take us from our midtown hotel to our LI hotel. Since it was a Saturday (less of a madhouse at Penn), and since we had to check out by noon from our midtown hotel room, and couldn't check into our LI room until 4 pm, and therefore had all the time in the world, we figured, let's give it a go with the train.

You aren't kidding when it comes to confusion at Penn for the beginner. I am amazed that I bought the tickets, waited to discover which platform, then found our train---all within a 7 minute time span before it left the station! When we got to Syosset there were three cabs waiting. We got a ride to our hotel for $9 plus tip.

We left Syosset easily enough by purchasing the tickets to Penn Station NYC via the kiosk. The tough part for me was understanding how the Penn to EWR journey takes place. After asking enough questions to enough people, we did make it to the monorail at EWR. I then asked if we needed to buy a ticket from the monorail to the terminal, and was told to use my ticket that I got from the train which brought us to the monorail station. It then dawned on me that I was advised on this thread to "keep your ticket handy".

I am so glad that we did this train travel on the weekend. I can't imagine trying to maneuver my way with luggage on a weekday during rush hour. Fortunately, it all worked out really well for us, and we saved at least $250 dollars by using the train that weekend. (If we had used Carmel from our LI hotel to EWR, we would have paid $150 plus tax, tip, and tolls)

I hope this helps other travelers who are questioning travel options via train, limo service, or bus. Thanks again to all who contributed their suggestions and opinions.

sf7307

OMG - I got married at the Fox Hollow Inn! (1973).

Dai

sf7307: Hope it brought back some good memories. The good news is that they have done a thorough remodel since then. ;-) It really is a nice hotel. The rooms are like lovely little studio apartments. Very tastefully done with super comfortable beds and the best bathtubs! As a side note, we had the most delicious grilled vegetable panini in their bar to tide us over until we got to the wedding (which was at a golf resort in Bethpage), and their morning breakfast buffet included with the room offered so many choices to get one's fill-but I would have preferred stronger coffee. I would definitely recommend the hotel in a heartbeat.

nelsonian

Dai my DD and SIL arrived at Newark airport 10.45 pm the other night. They also had no hassles getting to Manhattan but they took the train. They had also taken the train to get to Newark the month earlier.

Gretchen

Just an addendum for anyone else. We have taken the bus and the train. I don't find the train particularly intuitive but we did it. The bus seemed easier and more direct. This is from two seniors who didn't do it often.
I have taken the LIRR many times but long ago--that brought back memories.

Dai

Nelsonian, I think arriving at that late hour is beneficial for the infrequent train traveler. I would absolutely use public transportation instead of a limo service again. The savings are hard to beat. With the money we saved, it represents a couple of theater tickets.

Gretchen, I thought it was so cool that we paid only $15 and change for two tickets (adult & senior), and since it was Sunday the train was virtually empty. Such a deal!

Gretchen

It's been an age since I did the LIRR, but Bethpage isn't that far out.