Philly as a homebase?
 

Message: My husband and I are thinking about taking our 3 teens (16, 15, 13) to the historial east coast this summer. Crowds and NYC traffic would be no vacation, yet if we broke things down to just the highlights between DC , NYC & Philly, it may be manageable. We're thinking about flying to Philly....driving to DC for 3-4 days....NYC...2...and Philly the rest. How far of a drive is it to those locations? We need to fly in and out of the same location. Also, any ideas for family-type suites for lodging?

Any suggestions will be most appreciated!

I drive these areas for work all the time. NYC to Philly is approx. 2.5 hours depending on time of day and week. Philly to DC is approx. 2 - 2.5 hrs. depending on time of day and week. Summer is busy and hot in these areas. I would not try to cram. You can spend easily that amount of time in DC or NYC. Philly, you have less but it is historic. If you are looking to spend time looking for "history" I would take it easy and visit either NYC OR DC with an overnight to Philly, but all three in these busy cities will be nerve racking. Been there, done that

Hi, you don't say exactly how long you have to spend for your entire trip, so that might help us advise you on itineraries. If you want to do all three, it is certainly do-able, especially with 7-10 days. If you fly into Philly, you may want to then drive directly to NYC (approximately 2 hr drive)....I always have more energy at the beginning of a trip, so all that travel at the beginning might not be so bad. You may also want to consider taking the train between locations, because Amtrak in the Northeast corridor (between Boston & DC, basically) is relatively frequent & reliable....though on second thought, it might not be the most economical way to travel with a family of 5...though it would be fun & avoid the parking costs. Also, it's quicker (Philly to NYC alone is 1.5 hrs), and eliminates the difficulties you will face with traffic on the I-95 corridor!

For New York (which I currently live just across the river from) you may want to consider staying at the Sheraton Suites in Weehawken, NJ, just across the river. It is an all-suite hotel, a bit more affordable than NYC, and with a ferry to midtown Manhattan literally outside the front entrance. They also have an indoor pool. I've stayed here before & enjoyed it. You can also park here (if you have a rental car) for free if you're staying here. If you take the train, you could go all the way into NYC and ferry back, or get off in Newark and take a cab here.

After NYC, I would go all the way to DC (approximately 3 hour train or 3.5-4 hr drive, I've done it several times), and here try to stay in center city. Here I've stayed in several hotels, but no all-suite hotels - for location, the JW Marriott on Pennsylvania ave is great (and cheap via priceline.com - we got it for $70/nt just prior to july 4th weekend last summer). Parking will be of cost at any city hotel. Use the metro to get around the city - it's the cheapest & easiest way.

I would then head up to Philly, where you should probably stay in center city, near old city if possible...not sure of suite hotels, but I know the Sheraton Society Hill is nearby old city & nice, as is the Hyatt Penns Landing (stayed at both).

Good luck!

Let's be realistic, you can manage to do all cities but you will be better served to let's say do one or two. These are large large cities with alot to offer and you cannot realistic have an enjoyable time if you are bouncing around (7 days is not long). Plus, since the "corrider" between NYC and DC is heavily congested, you will need to take heavy medication with alchol after this trip just to calm down.

You can do all three places in a week. No big deal. However, you also don't need a homebase, and really doesn't matter where you fly into. You're still going to travel among the three cities.

But using Philly as a homebase, as your title describes, makes no sense. You don't really have a "home" in Philly, right? In that case, why you have to stop back in Philly between DC and NYC? [The New Jersey Turnpike doesn't even pass through Philly; if you're driving.] No reason to check in to a hotel in Philly 2 or 3 times. [Not saying you can't fly into Philly. Yes, you can. But you can also fly into NYC or DC.]

From what I'm reading, you only have a week or so. You don't need to break things down. Do 1st city, then the 2nd, then the 3rd, return to 1st city and fly home. That's it.

What I'd really think about is car rental rate and parking situation. Parking a car in NYC is very expensive, but renting a car from NYC can also cost more. You should investigate on that.

I know that there are 5 of you, so travelling totally on train isn't cheap either. But maybe you can fly into NYC and visit. Then perhaps travel out to New Jersey before picking up car, and drive to Philly and DC, and then return car back in New Jersey before flying out. Or something like that.

Sure you can do all three in a week, or for that matter, all three in a day, but if you are making a special trip, call it vacation, choose carefully and don't give yourself a headache. That's all I am going to say.