I’ve got a conference late June in Toronto, so I thought it would be fun to drive town to Levittown, PA, where my sister has recently moved. 500 miles isn’t a bad distance, and it would not only satisfy the road trip jones my wife and I have been harboring, but I’ll get to see my new niece in the bargain.
Problem. The rental car companies I checked either (a) don’t let you pick-up in one country and drop-off in another, or (b) charge an obscene amount of money to do so (Hertz quoted $1000CAN!!!).
Our alternative is the train, but Amtrak only goes to PA via NY, and would be dropping us off in Philly at 1am after 16+ hours(which means rental car companies are often closed and/or I’ll be waking up my sister at some ungodly hour). We were planning on going to NY anyway (here’s why) and we could resequence our trip according to Amtrak’s schedule, but we were hoping to spend the 4th of July near Philadelphia.
Any suggestions on how to easily get from Toronto to Philly via car (maybe an agency I didn’t check) or some other alternative route that’s amenable for a get-away vacation (I think that rules Greyhound out)? Or is Philly not worth visiting on the 4th and should we just reschedule things so we hit NY first and Philly last? Anything special to do in NY on the 4th that my wife and I can do on our own?
Um, keep in mind that Independence Day, July 4th, celebrates the signing of the Declaration of Independence…in Philadelphia…birthplace of a nation. Get ye to Philly.
I’m a Philly native…and if you give me a coupla days, I can check w/ some friends who have been to Toronto and back to see the Blue Jays. All I got was a nifty Hockey Hall of Fame t-shirt.
I figured Philly did something on the 4th, but wasn’t sure what and if it was worth the extra effort (and of course, that’s still not accounting for the very real possibility that my sister won’t be interested in making the trip to Philly for all that “historical stuff”; not with 3 kids in tow at least).
Are you not able to find one-way airline tickets from Toronto? You could also try leaving out of Buffalo, JetBlue goes to JFK and I think United goes to Philly. Also, I’ve done the Buffalo->New York route on both Greyhound and Amtrak, the bus is a little more crowded but actually more reliable.
I would not, under any circumstances, take the bus from Buffalo to NYC. The bus is crowded and cramped and that is a loooong, unpleasant ride. The train would be much more comfortable (but also very long). A car would be your best bet. Aren’t there some companies that hook you up with people who want to move cars, and you drive it and buy the gas, but the cost is greatly reduced? I can’t think of the name of one of those companies at the moment, and I can’t vouch for one, but it might be worth looking into…
As far as the 4th goes, there’s awesome stuff to do in either city. Let me know if NY is the plan and I can give you some ideas!
This is a great idea , but the Amtrak site keeps telling me “Sorry, we cannot find train service matching your request. Please try alternate stations/cities.” Although I have to admit that the Amtrak site in general has been a PITA the last couple days.
It’s 440 miles from NF to Ltn but that would still make a shorter day than our other options (unless there’s something about the 80E/476S/276E I should know about).
A-ha! Amtrak only goes to NF, NY (I have to take Canadian rail to go to NF, ON), so in some ways that makes it easier. The bad thing, of course, is that I’m not starting a 440 mile road trip until 1pm, but I’m sure we can hit a TravelLodge or Motel 6 near Levittown and arrive at my sister’s early on the 3rd.
Thanks!
Yeah, but my wife’s a little burned out on airports and we’ve been looking for a good excuse to hit the road or rail, and this seemed like a good one.
That would indeed be great; we’ll have to see what the JTS schedule allows (not to mention my conference-widow those days), but when the time comes closer, I’m certainly open to a get-together, especially since we’ll be spending Canada Day in Toronto and don’t know the first thing about the city. I’ll keep you posted.
One bit of advance warning-it is now construction season in PA. PennDOT and their subcontractors work in close cooperation to ensure that you can’t go more than a mile and a half in any direction without encountering a lane closure, detour, temporary barriers, or some mix of the three. Not that any road improvement is actually taking place, mind you.
At least along the turnpike you can typically find one or more motels within a mile of most interchanges.
Enjoy your trip. What section is sister in? I was in Junewood for ~ 15 years.
But that train should be a joint VIA-Amtrak consist. Canadian crews handle the train in Canada; American crews take over for the USA leg of the trip. Certainly, VIA timetables show through travel from Toronto to NY at this link. At any rate, I’ve seen Amtrak trains at Toronto’s Union station in the past; I would be surprised if there was no longer service (on VIA or Amtrak) to New York.
That is true, with some caveats: The loop or horseshoe around each section is called the Drive, as in Quincy Hollow Drive. The streets within each section end with either Lane or Road (and an occasional Turn).
Levittown, PA is comprised of acreage in four different municipalities: Bristol, Falls, and Middletown Townships, and the Borough of Tullytown. If the street name ends in Road, then the section is one which lies west of Woodbourne Road. Street names ending in Lane are on the east side.
Not a real big deal except to us emergency responders-I’d automatically know that Vulcan Road was in Violetwood, Bristol Township, my first due, as opposed to Viking Lane, which is in Vermillion Hills, Falls Township, and they’d have to set the block on fire before I’d be called. Thankfully, there are only a handful of alpha duplicates in Levittown, PA. Your sister is in Middletown, on the northwest corner of what locals call “Five Points”, the confluence of New Falls (short for Newportville-Fallsington) Road, Emilie, Woodbourne, and Edgely Roads.
From an emergency services standpoint, she’s very close to Levittown #2 Fire Company, and Levittown-Fairless Hills Rescue Squad. I hope she never needs the services of either.
By coincidence I saw the train in Spoons schedule this morning. It was an Amtrak train (not VIA).
I have to say that it is more than a little confusing. Both schedules indicate train 64, but the times are off by a half hour between Buffalo and Albany (two different trains?). It may be moot at that point since you would be getting off at NF, NY to pick up the rental car anyway…
If you are worried about a long drive starting at 2PM, why not pick up the car then go back to NF, ON to stay for the night? Leave in the morning and you should get there by supper. You may be able to find some decent packages like this.
Another option, albeit more expensive, is to just take a car service/limo/airport shuttle to Niagara Falls. Toronto is a sorta 2nd airport for Buffalo/Niagara, its not an uncommon route (why I asked about it above). Just google “toronto buffalo airport”, you’ll see what I mean.
When I took AmTrak in the 90s, this particular train was notorious for delays at the boarder. I never did it myself, but I would pick up this train in Buffalo (Albany-bound), and it was often late. But maybe its gotten better, if anyone knows do speak up.
Although I have to admit that the Amtrak site in general has been a PITA the last couple days.