NYC advice
 

We are driving from Pa. to NYC on the day before Thanksgiving for one day of sightseeing. We've been told that the traffic will be horrible that day. Is that true? Should we take alternative transportation as bus, train, or ferry? If so, from where, and how much does it cost? Thanks

The day before Thanksgiving is the busiest travel day of the year.

How would I know where to tell you to take the train, bus, or ferry from if I don't know your orginating town?

You chosen a bad day to come to the NYC. Whether driving or using public transportation, you're in for crowds, crowds, crowds. Definitely don't drive. Sure, a bus or train would be less stressful, but they too will be very, very crowded.

New Hope Pa.

gb are you talking about driving & leaving the car somewhere outside NYC? I think GoTravel (and I) assumed you were thinking of training or busing the whole way.

The day before Thank. is an awful day for traffic. The only worse day might be the day after Thank. I hate to sound negative, but I think it's an awful day to pick for 1 day of sightseeing. Even if you solve the problem of getting into the city, getting around from place to place will be very difficult.

Here are some previous posts on how to park outside the city if you want to pursue that.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34413983

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34451426

If you still want to make the trip, I'd suggest training the whole way or maybe from Phil. but that's not an inexpensive option.

I now see you're coming from New Hope. While I've been there (and love it) many times, I'm not familiar with public transport options. The best thought I have is leave New Hope at 9am after rush hour to arrive around 11am & plan to stay late & leave NYC at 9-9:30pm (before the theater lets out).

I would drive over the Jersey state line to either Princton or Trenton and pick up NJ Transit train to Penn Station.

I would leave early in the morning and come back late at night to get a seat on the train.

It took us 3 hours to take a half hour trip one year on the night before Thanksgiving. We were stuck on the NJTurnpike, going to the Lincoln Tunnel.
Blech~

I would strongly recommend selecting another day for driving, or even "alternate transportion", into NYC for "one day of sightseeing".

The traffic will be horrendous, probably absolutely impossible.

For "one day of sightseeing", surely you could go on any other day, not to mention nicer weather.

Thanks for your help. We are only in Pa. from Tues. leaving Sat. We thought about the train from Princeton. Do you know the cost per person. Might not be worth it because there are four of us. I think we might just skip it.