Best way to get from Rochester to NYC?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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Mrs. Pash and I will be in Rochester, NY for a wedding in the middle of December, and just found out we might have the use of a friends appartment in Manhattan for a few days after the wedding. I guess we could rent a car and drive to NYC (it looks like about a 6 hour drive according to yahoo maps), or we could pay to fly, but are there any other options (train, bus)? Right now I’m trying to figure out if the non-round trip ticket prices are going to kill us anyway. Can any of you NY State types help this Texas boy out?

Thanks,
Pash

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Amtrak does go between Rochester and NYC; it’s about seven hours and costs around $75-95 one way. Nicer than driving, and if you go through Albany (I think they do), the ride between Albany and NYC is very pretty (it’s right along the Hudson River).

There should be bus service, but it’ll probably take longer than a car and will be less comfortable than a train (where you can get up and walk around a little during the trip).

Flights are probably expensive. The cheap carriers don’t fly to NYC. My parents discovered it was cheaper to fly to London than from NYC to Albany.

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I reccomend the Amtrak service. It’s fairly cheap if you book ahead of time, and the view along the Hudson is not to be missed.

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And Amtrak will get you right into Penn Station so you are in Manhattan rather than out at the airport and you don’t have to try and drive through the Bronx or (shudder) NJ.

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And what’s wrong with driving through da Bronx? :mad: :wink:

Anyway, I second Amtrak. They need the dough and besides, while driving is possible, there’s a lot of hills and the roads curve a lot and it always takes a lot lot longer than you think it will. You’ve missed the peak foliage season so you might as well see the scenery at a decent speed, which you will usually get on the train and not the NYS Thruway.

Yes, I just drove a 140-mile roundtrip on the Taconic and NYS Thruway today, thanks for asking!

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One thing that mgiht be better than Amtrak to NYC is Amtrak to Poughkeepsie then take the commuter train to NYC. I did a quick search, and a tocket from Rochester to Poughkeepsie is $65, and to NYC is $75. I think a commuter ticket from Poughkeepsie is only $8, but I might be wrong. Of course, now that I just looked at the prices, saving a whopping $2 really isn’t worth it, unless your a big cheap-ass. :stuck_out_tongue:

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The problem that I have with Amtrak leaving Rochester is that the times, last time I looked, were at such convenient hours as 3 AM or the like. That was several years ago, so YMMV. Not much opportunity to see the scenery. OTOH, the bus going from Rochester to NYC (Port Authority Bus Station) is comparably priced and leaves anywhere from 8-10 times a day. Personally I prefer Trailways family buses to Greyhound, they’re slightly larger, and usually in better condition. The trip is a little longer than what’s listed by other posters for Amtrak - about 8-10 hours, but same approximate price.

Of course the advantage to taking a rental car is that you have complete control over your travel, and can take an opportunity to stop where ever the whim might take you.

Anyways, a bit of quick research here for you:

Air fare (booked ahead of time for at least one month in advance (Dates used for comparison Dec 10 to Dec 15 - YMMV)) ROC to NYC roundtrip:

[ul]
[li]US Airways ROC to LGA $121 per person (from Travelocity - taxes and fees extra)[/li][li]United ROC to JFK or LGA $127 per person (from Travelocity - taxes and fees extra)[/li][li]Continental ROC to EWR from $141 per person (from Travelocity - taxes and fees extra)[/li][li]JetBlue ROC to JFK at $170.20 (From JetBlue’s website total: all fees for two adults - you and your wife)[/li][/ul]

If you’ve never heard of JetBlue, they’re a high quality small ‘value’ carrier. No one I’ve known who’s flown on them has been uspet with the planes. And IIRC, unlike the other carriers you’ll be on a jet, I think an Airbus, but I don’t remember exactly.

There is another carrier flying out of ROC at this time: AirTran, but my quick look at their website showed no flights available on the test dates I was using.

I’m afraid Amtrak isn’t letting me check, now. (Mutter mutter) Though by what I can read of the schedule they’ve got more stops now in Rochester, even some while the sun is shining. Wow. What a concept. :wally

Buses:

Greyhound - 276 for two adults???? **!#@#!%** What the Hell are they smoking?

Trailways - $135 per person, round trip.

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D’oh! I missed you were planning on flying home from NYC. :smack:

I don’t have the one-way fares at the moment, but IIRC JetBlue was about $80-90 for two adults one-way.

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JetBlue is an excellent option, my brother took them from Roch to NYC over the summer, it’s a good airline. Of course, he had me there to pick him up and drop him off, you will have to pay for a cab, $50 each way, I think?

I looked up Amtrak, it’ll be about $250 round trip for 2 adults, each ride is approx. 7 hours.

Driving is probably not worth it, not if you’re going to a Manhattan apartment. The drive isn’t so bad, I’ve done it dozens of times, but it’s hard to park in Manhattan, and those parking tickets add up.

Overall, I think JetBlue is the best option, it’s a good price and a faster trip, especially if you can fit all your stuff in your carry-on bag. Amtrak is OK, the trip is long, but it puts you in Penn Station rather than JFK airport.

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Actually, let me add one more comment/bit of advice: If you manage to keep your luggage limited to carry-on on the plane there’s no reason to take a cab once you get to NYC - the NYC public transit system is very efficient, and fairly cheap. And while I was living in the area, I never had any hassles while using it. (Of course, I should confess I am a white male, weighing about 260 lbs, then, and had a rather stubborn* look to my face very often.)

I hope that you enjoy your trip, whatever you and your wife end up doing. If you don’t end up spending time in NYC, you could email me for suggestions that you could look into in the Rochester area, too.

*Well, I’ve also been told I can look perpetually pissed off, constipated, and annoyed. I prefer stubborn.

11

Thanks for the advice, everybody! Turns out, we are not going to have use of the NYC apartment. :frowning: Plan B is to head to **Toronto ** for a few days after the wedding. We’re going to borrow a car and drive from Rochester (stopping briefly at Niagra Falls), then drive back after a few days and fly out of Rochester. We’ve never been to Toronto, so any advice you might have about making the drive or what area of Toronto to look for hotels, it would be appreciated. OtakuLoki, are there any other “must see” stops to make on the drive out of Rochester (or in Rochester, for that matter)?

Thanks again, all.

Pash

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Wow, I must know more about America than I though - after reading the first two posts I was all set to point out that JetBlue did this route :wally

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Pashnish, unfortunately, you’ve chosen one of the worse times to come to Rochester. With winter coming on, well… you’ll likely get a first hand lesson on what the term ‘Lake Effect’ means. <evil grin> Because of that I intend to focus on things in and around Rochester, itself. Just in case you find your travel plans scuttled by the weather.

Alas, you’ve missed the U of R’s exhibition of some of the collection of the Frederick Douglass museum people. We’re working on building one, but it’s going to be a while, yet.

However, the Susan B. Anthony House is alive, well, and open to the public.

Also, while you’re in Rochester make sure you hit the George Eastman House. Not only is his house on East Avenue worth seeing in its own right, but it is also a museum of film and photography, and the attached conservation being done there for old time films is greatly fascinating.

Also, going in the opposite direction from Buffalo there is the Seneca Falls National Historic Site, where SBA and her cohorts can be said to have started the US women’s rights movement. And the Women’s Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, too.

In better weather I’d try to tell you to go to Letchworth State Park, perhaps the falls there aren’t as famous or as powerful as those at Niagara, but you’ll also have far less crowding to deal with, and no urban blight, such as you’ll see in the American Niagara Falls. While you’re at the falls spend as much time on the Canadian side as possible.

I hope you enjoy your trip!