# Best way to travel between DC and NY city **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 19, 2014, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-travel-between-dc-and-ny-city/684085 "2014-03-19T15:04:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-travel-between-dc-and-ny-city/684085/21 "2014-03-19T22:10:00Z")
Door to door, Acela is probably faster than flying from the Mall (and therefore anything further from National Airport than the Mall is) to midtown Manhattan (and therefore anything farther from Flushing than midtown Manhattan is). And you don’t have to deal with the pain and suffering that is public transportation or a cab from Laguardia. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-travel-between-dc-and-ny-city/684085/22 "2014-03-19T23:53:16Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I’m not sure anyone has suggested the train yet. I used to go from Princeton/Trenton to DC, and the train is a big winner. While you can get to Reagan in DC on the subway, airports in NY are far away, and the train stations are right downtown. And the trains are very comfortable. > I haven’t looked at a schedule in years, but I wouldn’t be surprised that given the time needed to get to the airport, check in, and security, the train is close to as fast as the plane if not faster. I commuted between the two cities every weekend for two years. If all goes well with flying, it’s faster. 30 minutes from my office to the airport, a half hour at the airport, most of an hour on the plane. Note **“if all goes well”** , however. Bad weather added a minimum of a half hour, sometimes much more. The train was reliably 3:00 or a bit more, plus 15 minutes from my apartment to the train station in NYC, plus 20ish minutes waiting. The buses are about 4 to 4.5 hours - we’ve taken that several times. Traffic issues or bad weather would delay that. On the other hand, it’s 30 bucks apiece one way, versus 90 or more one way. We’ve taken it from the Virginia suburbs, there are others that leave from DC or the Maryland suburbs. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-travel-between-dc-and-ny-city/684085/23 "2014-03-20T00:16:47Z")
Acela is very, very nice. But it costs as much as flying. I usually opt for Megabus, which I somehow manage to get the $5,00 tickets for, or I’ll do Vamoose bus, which departs near my work. The busses aren’t great, but they aren’t miserable and it’s just a few hours of your life. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-travel-between-dc-and-ny-city/684085/24 "2014-03-20T00:34:07Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > I, for one, don’t see a car as being “useless” in NYC. If you want to travel to some of the outlying areas in New Jersey or Long Island, a car is actually much more useful than public transit,in my experience. Also, as I said on here in an earlier posting, I liked to to go to City Island and I found that the fastest way to get there from where I was staying New Jersey was to drive. > > Even in New York City having your vehicle can provide you with a great deal of flexibility as using the Westside Highway/Riverside Drive and the FDR and then driving into the center of Manhattan can be faster than using the subway, bus or even taking a cab. While parking can be difficult and expensive, if you have a vehicle and you are ready to leave, you can do so. Take it from a guy who has had to wait longer for a New Jersey Transit train than it would have taken me to have driven the distance, a car can be a blessing. > > It’s a matter of choice, I suppose. But if you have a car in NYC you’ll find that parking it is a significant expense all on its own. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-travel-between-dc-and-ny-city/684085/25 "2014-03-20T00:39:10Z")
> [@P-man](#): > > I don’t remember train tickets being inexpensive at all. > [@even\_sven](#): > > Acela is very, very nice. But it costs as much as flying. I just checked the prices for one-way tickets from Washington to New York City. Depending on when you travel and what class you’re in, they range from $84 to $164 per person. The Saver tickets are $42 per person. But they have to be purchased at least fourteen days in advance and you can’t get a cash refund for them if you cancel. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-travel-between-dc-and-ny-city/684085/26 "2014-03-20T00:44:25Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > I commuted between the two cities every weekend for two years. > > If all goes well with flying, it’s faster. 30 minutes from my office to the airport, a half hour at the airport, most of an hour on the plane. > > Note **“if all goes well”** , however. Bad weather added a minimum of a half hour, sometimes much more. > > The train was reliably 3:00 or a bit more, plus 15 minutes from my apartment to the train station in NYC, plus 20ish minutes waiting. When was this and where was your office? When I went to college in Boston 40 years ago, I almost always flew home. The MTA from Cambridge to Logan was reasonable, the Eastern shuttle was cheap, there was no security, and I didn’t live all that far from La Guardia. I’d think you’d have to be pretty lucky to get from midtown to La Guardia in half an hour, and way lucky to get through security and to the gate in half an hour in crowded times. The OP will probably have baggage also. And will not be familiar with things. Plus, I suspect that after two years you had cut out any stray wasted second from the trip. Reagan is pretty convenient, but not nearly as convenient as Union Station. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-travel-between-dc-and-ny-city/684085/27 "2014-03-20T00:49:39Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > Even in New York City having your vehicle can provide you with a great deal of flexibility as using the Westside Highway/Riverside Drive and the FDR and then driving into the center of Manhattan can be faster than using the subway, bus or even taking a cab. While parking can be difficult and expensive, if you have a vehicle and you are ready to leave, you can do so. Take it from a guy who has had to wait longer for a New Jersey Transit train than it would have taken me to have driven the distance, a car can be a blessing. > > It’s a matter of choice, I suppose. All I can say is that when we took our daughter from around Princeton to the city for auditions we always drove to Jersey City, parked at the PATH station, and took that in. We only drove in when absolutely necessary - very, very rarely. And I took my road test by the Manhattan Bridge. Once or twice when we stayed in the city we’d drive in and park at the hotel (expensive) but we usually took the train. And once in the city there is absolutely no reason for the average tourist to use a car. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-travel-between-dc-and-ny-city/684085/28 "2014-03-20T13:09:26Z")
If the flight is from Dulles and you don’t have Global Entry that let’s you bypass the security lines, you really need to budget 40min for getting though security at a minimum and if you are going to Dulles during rush hour, double any driving time. The train or bus is the way to go. ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-travel-between-dc-and-ny-city/684085/29 "2014-03-20T13:20:55Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > But if you have a car in NYC you’ll find that parking it is a significant expense all on its own. Yes…I mentioned that. ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-travel-between-dc-and-ny-city/684085/30 "2014-03-20T13:30:12Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > All I can say is that when we took our daughter from around Princeton to the city for auditions we always drove to Jersey City, parked at the PATH station, and took that in. We only drove in when absolutely necessary - very, very rarely. And I took my road test by the Manhattan Bridge. > Once or twice when we stayed in the city we’d drive in and park at the hotel (expensive) but we usually took the train. And once in the city there is absolutely no reason for the average tourist to use a car. What’s an “average” tourist? If you found that waiting for and riding on public transportation in New York City to be easier, then might be better to simply say that. Not everybody has had that experience or shared that sentiment. In fact, most people would probably drive into New York if they owned a car or could afford one. Riding in a packed train with crazy or homeless people (or both) isn’t most people’s idea of a “vacation experience.” And given that using public transit in NYC adds to the time that it takes for you to travel around the city, you actually lose time by waiting for trains or bus to arrive and transport you where you need to go. While I didn’t always take public transit into the city (especially if I planned on drinking) I did use it and it did (on occasions) have its benefits. However, since I also wanted to travel to outlying areas in Queens, Long Island and even Westchester County, it was often far faster to simply get in my car , drive there and park. I could then leave when I was ready to do so and I had a place to store items if I didn’t feel like carrying them around. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-travel-between-dc-and-ny-city/684085/31 "2014-03-20T13:42:24Z")
I’ve taken the train - Very comfortable if a little solw sometimes. Don’t be surprised it the trains stops for a few hours for some crazy reason. My wife’s train hit a car and had to wait for 4 hours to clear it up. I was on a train recently that stopped for 5 hours because a freight train broke down on the track. Neither of these was the DC/NY trip though. I’ve driven a couple of time - Tolls were something like $40 each way. Parking was another $30-40 per day. Plus gas. It would probably be cheaper to rent a car there than to bring your own, if you need it. We will be trying out the bus next time. There are a dozen services in DC that do this at varous times. A lot depends on where you are. If you are staying near Dulles, for example, it might be easier to go ahead and fly. If you are staying in DC near the Cappital - get on the train. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-travel-between-dc-and-ny-city/684085/32 "2014-03-20T14:21:57Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > What’s an “average” tourist? > > If you found that waiting for and riding on public transportation in New York City to be easier, then might be better to simply say that. Not everybody has had that experience or shared that sentiment. **In fact, most people would probably drive into New York if they owned a car or could afford one.** > > Riding in a packed train with crazy or homeless people (or both) isn’t most people’s idea of a “vacation experience.” And given that using public transit in NYC adds to the time that it takes for you to travel around the city, **you actually lose time by waiting for trains or bus to arrive and transport you where you need to go.** > > While I didn’t always take public transit into the city ( **especially if I planned on drinking** ) I did use it and it did (on occasions) have its benefits. However, since I also wanted to **travel to outlying areas in Queens, Long Island and even Westchester County, it was often far faster to simply get in my car** , drive there and park. I could then leave when I was ready to do so and I had a place to store items if I didn’t feel like carrying them around. Bolded 1 - Nobody actively chooses to drive over mass transit in NYC to get around. That’s lunacy. Hell, nobody does that in any major city. Bolded 2 - Absolutely not, especially if you’ve got multiple stops planned. Giving up a parking spot to go to a museum, find parking, then leave for a restaurant, find parking, then go back to where you’re staying and trying to hunt for parking? That’ll take you a week. Pretty much anyone who can’t afford a personal valet takes the metro. Depending on where you’re trying to go and time of day, it’s faster than a cab. The only faster mode of transportation would be to bike it yourself. Bolded 3 - You use eschew mass transit _especially_ if you’ve been drinking? Bolded the 4th - Well yeah. If you’re going to LEAVE New York, a car’s better. I’ll even grant you that going to Queens is inconvenient but I don’t think that’s the trip that the OP, or the “average tourist” has in mind since most of the typical attractions are on Manhattan. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-travel-between-dc-and-ny-city/684085/33 "2014-03-20T14:38:23Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > What’s an “average” tourist? Not I, certainly. I, like everyone else, am significantly above average. For this trip renting a car is out, for many reasons. At this point the train is winning (in part because I’ve never taken Amtrak). The bus is still an option, though. Thanks for the input, everyone! ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-travel-between-dc-and-ny-city/684085/34 "2014-03-20T15:10:25Z")
I think I’d prefer a train for the DC to NYC leg. Less creepy passengers than a bus, for one thing. A car can be a nuisance in NYC. I was stationed on Governor’s Island for 2+ years. The only times I took my car into the city were when I purchased a guitar amplifier, taking someone to the airport, or leaving the city to go upstate or to Ohio. And if you’re taking a car into NYC, you also have to take into account you’re going to get lost. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-travel-between-dc-and-ny-city/684085/35 "2014-03-20T15:30:48Z")
The buses that run between DC and NYC are not your typical Greyhound buses; they’re mostly filled with young professionals commuting or going on a short weekend. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-travel-between-dc-and-ny-city/684085/36 "2014-03-20T16:57:06Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > The buses that run between DC and NYC are not your typical Greyhound buses; they’re mostly filled with young professionals commuting or going on a short weekend. This. If you think 25 year old office workers playing on their iPhones are creepy, the bus probably isn’t for you. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-travel-between-dc-and-ny-city/684085/37 "2014-03-20T17:20:06Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > What’s an “average” tourist? > > If you found that waiting for and riding on public transportation in New York City to be easier, then might be better to simply say that. Not everybody has had that experience or shared that sentiment. In fact, most people would probably drive into New York if they owned a car or could afford one. It’s not what I would do. Personally, I’d rather walk, and often walked from the UN to Astor Place. That isn’t a reasonable thing to do as a tourist, though. Given the very low rate of car ownership in Manhattan, I don’t agree with your assertion. A lot more people have cars in San Francisco, and parking is a lot easier > [@](#): > > Riding in a packed train with crazy or homeless people (or both) isn’t most people’s idea of a “vacation experience.” And given that using public transit in NYC adds to the time that it takes for you to travel around the city, you actually lose time by waiting for trains or bus to arrive and transport you where you need to go. Trains are not all that packed during the middle of the day, and David Dinkins is no longer mayor. I suspect walking from a garage you can find space in to your destination would take a lot longer than the few minutes spent waiting for a subway. If you really need a car a cab would be a lot better, since you don’t have to figure out where to park it. > [@](#): > > While I didn’t always take public transit into the city (especially if I planned on drinking) I did use it and it did (on occasions) have its benefits. However, since I also wanted to travel to outlying areas in Queens, Long Island and even Westchester County, it was often far faster to simply get in my car , drive there and park. I could then leave when I was ready to do so and I had a place to store items if I didn’t feel like carrying them around. I’m not sure what a tourist would want to do in Westchester. I grew up in an outlying area of Queens. Cars were the thing there, but even when I got a car I’d never even think about taking it into the city. The bus to Main Street Flushing was far simpler. My father did drive to work, but that was because he was in a carpool and had a spot in the UN garage, and could get to it without going on any city streets. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-travel-between-dc-and-ny-city/684085/38 "2014-03-20T17:24:42Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > This. If you think 25 year old office workers playing on their iPhones are creepy, the bus probably isn’t for you. You mean, it’s not like the Greyhound that connects Little Rock & Beaumont? (The one that makes local stops–not the Express.) I used the train for the same trip, years ago. The bus sounds like a decent alternative. Forget driving… ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-travel-between-dc-and-ny-city/684085/39 "2014-03-20T17:41:10Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > Not I, certainly. I, like everyone else, am significantly above average. > > For this trip renting a car is out, for many reasons. At this point the train is winning (in part because I’ve never taken Amtrak). The bus is still an option, though. > > Thanks for the input, everyone! The scenery is better on the train. Unless you count the northern Jersey Turnpike as scenery. But I’d think a bus is a viable option depending on how important time and cost is to you. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-travel-between-dc-and-ny-city/684085/40 "2014-03-20T18:26:30Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > You mean, it’s not like the Greyhound that connects Little Rock & Beaumont? (The one that makes local stops–not the Express.) > > I used the train for the same trip, years ago. The bus sounds like a decent alternative. Forget driving… No, these are buses that just shuttle back and forth between DC and NYC, often between Chinatowns. In the summer, they also run between DC and the beach towns. They’re mostly filled with young professionals. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-travel-between-dc-and-ny-city/684085.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-travel-between-dc-and-ny-city/684085.md?page=3)