factoring in tolls, scenery, speed, and traffic, what is the best way to get from DC to Long Island (i’m going far… like hamptons far).
Leaving friday around noon or 1pm.
Returning monday around noon or 1pm.
glancing at maps there it seems like most just go up 95/jersey tollbooth, hop onto the southern state parkway and end with the sunrise highway.
route 1? ways to skip the turnpike? do long island expressway? googlemaps/mapquest can’t be the end-all be-all right?
I95/NJ Turnpike is pretty decent. When I’ve gone up the I95 corridor, I’ve frequently seen lots of backup northbound into Delaware, so that is a negative. I’ve been on bits of pieces of Route 1, and I don’t really recommend it unless you like going in and out of cities and hitting hundreds of stop lights. It would certainly be a picturesque trip.
Someone whose been to NYC or Long Island more often can answer the specifics of getting from mid/north NJ to your destination.
The hard part is getting from the NJT/I-95 to the Belt Parkway/Southern State Parkway. The obvious way is to get off the Turnpike at Exit 13 and take I-278 across the Goethals Bridge, stay on I-278 across Staten Island, take the Verrazano Bridge to Brooklyn, get on the Belt Parkway East, and then finally the Southern State Parkway.
I’ve had better luck getting off the Turnpike at Exit 10, taking 440 across the the Outer Bridge Crossing to Staten Island, continuing on 440 (West Shore Expressway), and then getting on I-278. You then continue as above.
The traffic on I-278 and all of the bridges can be awful. But there really aren’t many other options.
Definitely go through Staten Island, over the Verrazano, to the Belt eastward and from there to the Southern State. Both routes through Staten Island, as the man said, can suck eggs. You’ve got about seven hours of driving, more with traffic.
thanks for the staten island tip. also, do people DRIVE to coney island?
If you take the Belt, you’re going to.
Coney Island hasn’t been an island since about 1910, not long after this map was made (when it was barely an island).
Back to the OP…I’ll “third” the Verrazzano-to-Belt-to-Southern State idea. Coming up 95, once you get past New Brunswick, turn on 1010 WINS-AM – about once every ten minutes, they’ll give you a quick synopsis of bad traffic spots, and you can decide which of the two bridges to take from NJ to Staten Island.
Since all the other suggestions end up on with you on Long Island, I’ll suggest the best way would be in a car that won’t make it past Philadelphia.
The problem with this question is that you included “scenery” in this equation, and we don’t know what kind of scenery you like.
Speed and traffic are the same thing. We can save you on tolls, but that will cost you in gas, so that too is irrelevant. Scenery is the big x-factor.
The first question you need to ask is where you’re going to cross the Hudson River. Once you’re decided that, crossing PA/NJ and crossing Long Island will be mostly a no-brainer. Here are your options:[ul]
[li]Tappan Zee Bridge - great scenery, but it is by far the longest route[/li][li]George Wash. Bridge, Lincoln Tunnel, Holland Tunnel - any of these would be fine if you consider Manhattan to be nice scenery. To us locals, that’s pretty :rolleyes: but maybe you like it.[/li][li]Verrazano Bridge - nice view. I like the view from the Belt Parkway too.[/li][/ul]On your way home, however, I strongly recommend, in all seriousness, taking the Long Island Expressway into the Queens Midtown Tunnel. There is a spot on the final approach where you’re headed uphill, and you see just a little bit of Queens in the foreground, and all of Midtown Manhattan in the background. and to me it is just breathtaking, even at night but especially during the day. It never fails to remind me of The Wizard of Oz, when they can finally see the Emerald City.
Unless the traffic reports indicate major tie-ups at the George Washington Bridge and Holland Tunnel and nothing at the Lincoln Tunnel, do NOT take the Lincoln Tunnel. There is nothing at all to be gained. Trying to go cross-town in midtown Manhattan is way, way more frustrating than trying to do so downtown (Holland) or at the northern tip (GWB).
But I’ll add my voice to the “Staten Island” chorus, at least for going to Long Island. At least coming in that direction, there’s no toll on the Verrazano. If you want to avoid the toll which is only charged in the other direction (from Brooklyn into Staten Island), I’d recommend taking the LIE to the BQE to the Williamsburg Bridge, across lower Manhattan to the Holland, and from there pick up the NJ Turnpike south back to DC.
Edited to add: And you get that view of Manhattan that Keeve mentioned for the Queens Midtown tunnel just as nicely using the BQE-Williamsburg Bridge route, but you skip the tunnel toll and the frustration of trying to drive across midtown.
JMHO, but I have made better time doing an end-run around I-95, by first heading west, then north, then east – 70 W - 15 E - 78E – even though it is much further in distance. It’s a pleasant drive that passes close to Gettysburg and there is nowhere on the route that regularly has any traffic. 78 will join 278 and plop you on the Verazanno. You drive through NJ the short way, so it is possible to gas up near the PA/NJ border and not need to stop for gas until you are through New Jersey.
I have never known a single foot of I-95 between DC and NYC to not be completely fucked of a weekday. It’s a hell drive and ugly too.
And Tripolar has a very good point. If it is possible for you to do so, picking up NJ Transit in Trenton, and connecting to Long Island Railroad – while not without its own pitfalls – is what I would do unless I absolutely HAD to drive. Service goes all the way to Montauk Point, and the two commuter rails meet in Penn Station.
In case you were wondering about the LIE - the State Parkways (Nothern and Southern) are better because no trucks are permitted (commercial trucks physically cannot pass under the low bridges) The LIE is thus choked with trucks, and it doesn’t go all the way out there anyway, so you would have to cut south on a cross-island highway (not THE Cross-Island Parkway!) and eventually join the SS, to Sunrise Hwy route.
The best way is to fly from BWI to Islip on Southwest. If you book in advance or catch a fare sale, flights can be very cheap.
But the LIE goes all the way to Riverhead, which neither parkway gets near. Get off at exit 70 (CR 111) south to 27 East.
The LIE isn’t too bad after rush hour once you’re past the bulk of Nassau county, plus if you’re on it after 10AM you can slip into the HOV lane regardless of the number of people in the car. (You’ll need a passenger during the rush hours.)
By my calculations, the OP will leave DC around 1, and arrive on the LIE between 4:30 and 5:30 on a friday. Does that strike you as a great idea? Really? Every highway on Long Island will be a pile of shit at that hour – there certainly won’t be any time savings in the LIE over the SSP or vice versa – but at least there’s no trucks on the parkways.
BTW OP, although it’s only 22 miles between Hampton Bays and East Hampton, don’t be surprised if it takes an hour or more to clear it.
You could also head east on US 50 and go to Lewes, DE, then catch the ferry to Cape May, NJ, pick up some salt water taffy for me, then go up the Garden State Parkway.
