Advice Required for Upcoming Holiday

[Claude_Dreyfus]

In a couple of weeks time Mrs Dreyfus and I will be travelling to the US for the first time. We have booked a week in New York, however it is very much a self-planned trip; we have the flights and the hotel sorted and that's about it.

 

I have a couple of questions though... Firstly can anyone recommend the best way to get to Central NY from JFK? I could well be wrong, but there does not seem to be a direct rail-link as with say Tokyo or London...

 

Secondly; I would like at least one day out from NYC, preferably travelling by train. Boston is a possibility, although my company is based in Phili, and many of my colleagues say this is a very interesting city; albeit a little further away. Washington is quite a bit further (I don't want to fly anywhere), and I have been warned it is a bit of a mosquito-pit this time of year.

 

Again, any recommendations?

 

TIA...

[Nick_Burman]

Claude, I understand you'll won't be driving, right? From JFK to Central NY you can take the AirTrain  to Jamaica LIRR station, then a LIRR train to Penn Station. Alternatively, AirTrain to Howard Beach NYCTA station, then "A" train to Manhattan. However this depends a lot on where your hotel is, how laden you are (it involves quite a few changes en route) and if the missus is willing to face the trek, especially if you opt for the "A" train - the underground run across Queens is fun seen from the front window of the train as motormen run right up to the speed limit and the tunnel makes it feel as if you were going much faster than the 45mph (80Km/h) NYCTA allows on its lines; however it does take time. If luggage and the missus are an issue, take a "Limo" (shared taxi) or a Gray Line bus, the Limo leaves you right at you hotel door, the Gray Line calls at the main hotels.

 

Philly is indeed fun - Franklin Institute (pay your respects to Baldwin #60000), trolley cars, the Liberty Bell, huge sandwiches at the Jewellers quarter, the Museum of Art (run up the front stairway!). Halfway down from NY you've got Princeton and the university and if you could hire a car for the day Scranton and Steamtown are easy to get at. Were you visiting in autumn a run up the Hudson River valley on a Amtrak or Metro-North train would also be advisable just to see the Autumn foliage.

 

Cheers NB

[KenS]

It's a bit of a trip, but I'll suggest the B&O Museum in Baltimore, MD. Not a very large museum, but well worth a look if early railroading excites you, and it's within a (long) walk of the harbor area (which has a great Aquarium, as well as lots of touristy stuff).  Not sure how easy it is to get there from the Amtrak station (I drove the one time I was there), but Baltimore does have public transit.

[Eisenbahn]

1. There is a handy pdf metro map of NY at www.mta.info.

 

2. At night I have used an airport bus from JFK to the Port Authority Bus Terminal and then a limo to the hotel. By day I have used the AirTrain to Jamacia and then either (a) the LIRR  ( a privately owned surface train) to Penn Station or (b) the E subway into a convenient stop in Manhattan.

 

3.As an occasional visitor to the US, I found a train trip up to Boston gave me a good look at the New England countryside and Boston itself was a very friendly engaging place geared to show off its history to tourists.

 

cheers.....Fred

[Nick_Burman]

Getting from Baltimore Penn Station to the B&O Museum is very easy - light rail to the intersection of Pratt & Howard Streets, then walk west about 10 blocks to the museum on Pratt. Light rail cars leave from a platform just west of Baltimore Penn Station.

 

 

Cheers NB

[Bernard]

Claude - You've gotten excellent advice from members. One thing, though what time and day will you be landing at JFK? I'm asking because there are certain times in NYC that are "rush" hour, you don't want to be taking a subway with luggage during the week either in the morning when people are going to work or in the evening when they are leaving for home.

[Claude_Dreyfus]

Thanks all for the comments and suggestions...certainly I will be taking these into consideration when planning intineraries etc.

 

Bernard; arrival probably isn't an issue...20:10 on a saturday evening...leaving however may well be more of a challenge...we're catching the 19:00 flight from JFK to following Friday...