I have followed the advice in the wiki before and even saved some money both ways for two people. But every time I did it the train was sooo slow from EWR. Every time the train would stop for 15 minutes or more and wait before crossing over into Mahattan which was very frustrating since TOTAL time is suppose to be like 30 minutes.

Here are the specifics - what should I do?
1) 4 Adults and one child - 4 years old.
2) Arriving at EWR at 5 pm on Thurs before a holiday.
3) Terminal A-1 which seems to take 15 minutes by AirTrain just to get to the EWR train station.
4) Need to get to Grand Central between 6 - 6:30 pm.

Options:
1) Train - If I can get on the 5:35 pm train (Child is free on the train) I can be to Penn Station by 6:04 pm (or 5:44 - 6:09 pm) and take a taxi to Grand Central. (NYC Taxi drivers must allow 4 adults & 1 child - I keep trying to walk it to G.C.S. - never again)
2) Car Hire - I could request car service and hope that the tunnel is not backed up for more then 1 hour. May cost less than the train.
3) Bus - While it would take me directly to Grand Central I am not sure it is worth the cost 14 X 4 = $56 (Schedule says 5:30 pm from Termial A - 6:20 pm G.C.)

I am thinking car service because the amount of people and luggage and needing to go beyond Penn Station.

I have followed the advice in the wiki before and even saved some money both ways for two people. But every time I did it the train was sooo slow from EWR. Every time the train would stop for 15 minutes or more and wait before crossing over into Mahattan which was very frustrating since TOTAL time is suppose to be like 30 minutes.

Here are the specifics - what should I do?
1) 4 Adults and one child - 4 years old.
2) Arriving at EWR at 5 pm on Thurs before a holiday.
3) Terminal A-1 which seems to take 15 minutes by AirTrain just to get to the EWR train station.
4) Need to get to Grand Central between 6 - 6:30 pm.

Options:
1) Train - If I can get on the 5:35 pm train (Child is free on the train) I can be to Penn Station by 6:04 pm (or 5:44 - 6:09 pm) and take a taxi to Grand Central. (NYC Taxi drivers must allow 4 adults & 1 child - I keep trying to walk it to G.C.S. - never again)
2) Car Hire - I could request car service and hope that the tunnel is not backed up for more then 1 hour. May cost less than the train.
3) Bus - While it would take me directly to Grand Central I am not sure it is worth the cost 14 X 4 = $56 (Schedule says 5:30 pm from Termial A - 6:20 pm G.C.)

I am thinking car service because the amount of people and luggage and needing to go beyond Penn Station.

You're cutting it way too close, no matter which method you choose. How often is the flight you are booked on late into EWR?

The bus, at $56, will probably be about equal in cost to the train, after you add in the cost of a taxi from Penn Station to Grand Central during rush hour. But I would not count on a bus (or a car service) making it from EWR to Grand Central in 50 minutes on a weekday afternoon. That said, the car service, if it shows up at EWR when you do, will certainly be faster than the bus, as the car leaves as soon as you are in it, and does not stop at Terminals B and C.

Are you trying to catch a train out of Grand Central to the northern suburbs?

Does anyone know if the bus can take advantage of the bus lane in the afternoon? I know that in the AM rush hour, buses jump the queue at the Lincoln Tunnel and can get right up to the tolls - but I'm not sure if that's the case in the PM rush. If not, the bus schedule is a crap shoot. (Though I have taken that bus before from Grand Central to EWR and it was great - right on time according to their schedule).

Keep in mind that the inbound (i.e. into Manhattan) traffic in the afternoon at the tunnels can be worse than the outbound. So I would be weary of a car service because of that. You could be sitting in traffic for 45+ minutes and pulling your hair out.

One idea - if you took the train option into Penn, what about the subway from Penn Station to Grand Central? It would be crowded, but at that hour and especially given your time constraints, it would be efficient. That leg shouldn't take more than 10 minutes.

At that time of day, rail might be your most predictable mode.

I have followed the advice in the wiki before and even saved some money both ways for two people. But every time I did it the train was sooo slow from EWR. Every time the train would stop for 15 minutes or more and wait before crossing over into Mahattan which was very frustrating since TOTAL time is suppose to be like 30 minutes.

Here are the specifics - what should I do?
1) 4 Adults and one child - 4 years old.
2) Arriving at EWR at 5 pm on Thurs before a holiday.
3) Terminal A-1 which seems to take 15 minutes by AirTrain just to get to the EWR train station.
4) Need to get to Grand Central between 6 - 6:30 pm.

Options:

1) Train - If I can get on the 5:35 pm train (Child is free on the train) I can be to Penn Station by 6:04 pm (or 5:44 - 6:09 pm) and take a taxi to Grand Central. (NYC Taxi drivers must allow 4 adults & 1 child - I keep trying to walk it to G.C.S. - never again)
2) Car Hire - I could request car service and hope that the tunnel is not backed up for more then 1 hour. May cost less than the train.
3) Bus - While it would take me directly to Grand Central I am not sure it is worth the cost 14 X 4 = $56 (Schedule says 5:30 pm from Termial A - 6:20 pm G.C.)

I am thinking car service because the amount of people and luggage and needing to go beyond Penn Station.

The Olympia Bus does NOT stop at Grand Central due to the recent steam pipe explosion. The final stop is now Bryant Park (42nd St. & 5th Ave)

Also the rt adult fare is now $25.00.

fwiw, Going TO EWR the Bryant Park bus stop is NOT where the Olympia Bus website says it is. The EWR bound bus stop is now on the SOUTH side of 42nd St just west of 5th Ave.

This appears counterintuitive as traffic on the South side of 42nd goes East, however, the bus turns down 5th and then turns West to return to Port Authority and then on to EWR.

::note I tried to edit the Wiki but couldn't manage to log in - do i need a different login/pwd?::

Given that you are arriving at EWR on a Thursday, you should seriously consider the 1 way EWR-> Manhattan car rental specials offered by Hertz, and National.

National http://www.nationalcar.com/index.do?action=/hotDealsTemplate&msg=ZL_Newark_NYC_OneWay

Hertz: http://tinyurl.com/2rus7o

I thought Avis had it but A quick look at the Avis site only shows an Avis. O/W TO EWR.


good luck and hth

Does anyone know if the bus can take advantage of the bus lane in the afternoon? Nope.

Keep in mind that the inbound (i.e. into Manhattan) traffic in the afternoon at the tunnels can be worse than the outbound. Absolutely. This is a terrible time to drive into the city, through the Lincoln tunnel anyway. Maybe 1/9 to the Holland would be a better choice?

One idea - if you took the train option into Penn, what about the subway from Penn Station to Grand Central? There is no subway direct from Penn to Grand Central. You'd have to change and it's a bit of a pain. The good news is that there are elevators at Penn Station, the 42nd St. Times Square station (transfer) and I presume Grand Central. You may still need to do a few steps to go from the 1/2/3 to the Shuttle, but the elevators will be a big help.

Westcoastman, keep in mind that taxis can be very difficult to get on Thursday evenings. Might be easier at the train station where they are dropping folks off, but in general Thursdays are bad. I also think you'll have tough time making the 5:35pm train even if the flight pulls up to the jetway at 5pm on the dot, unless you're in row 1. So don't count on that.

So with a 6:09 arrival into Penn Station, you MAY be able to make it to GCT by 6:30. It will not be comfortable though if you have a lot of luggage. Normally I would unequivocally recommend a car service, but the timing is more of a crapshoot. (Although it's possible the car services wouldn't do 4 adults and a child in a regular sedan).

You can save money by taking the path train from Newark Penn to NYC and walk over to grand central... *I think**

FYI The Holland is horrible during the rush hour... Your best bet is Lincoln Tunnel

Your best bet is to tell us where you're actually going, and why you're in a rush. Needing to be at GCT implies you have a Metronorth to catch to somewhere in Westchester/Fairfield counties. Depending on where this is, a) the trains run *very* frequently at that time so you have no need to be so much in a rush to get to GCT, and b) if it's in lower/western Westchester county, you may very well be better off just paying for a car service to get you there. Divided four ways, it may not be much more expensive than NJTx4+Taxi+MN, or Busx4+MN. I'd really do it that way. But, first, tell us where you're going.

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You can save money by taking the path train from Newark Penn to NYC and walk over to grand central... *I think**

FYI The Holland is horrible during the rush hour... Your best bet is Lincoln Tunnel

If the OP won't walk from Penn Station to GCT, then he won't walk from PATH (33rd and 6th) to GCT. And getting from Newark to 33rd and 6th via PATH takes a while.

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Here's one more idea: If any of the taxis at EWR will accommodate 4 adults and a child (and I leave it to frequent EWR taxi users to answer that one), then just take a taxi from Terminal A to Newark Penn Station in downtown Newark, where you can catch a train to Penn Station New York. The money you save on 4 AirTrain fares should cover the taxi cost, more or less, and you MIGHT be able to catch an earlier train this way, depending on the traffic from EWR to downtown Newark. When you arrive in Manhattan, if you don't want to take the subway or a taxi, you can all get on the M4 or Q32 bus on 32nd Street, just east of Penn Station's 7th Avenue exit. Both of these buses travel across 32nd Street to Madison Avenue, and then travel north on Madison Avenue, stopping at 43rd Street for Grand Central. If you opt for this approach, make sure to purchase a Metrocard before you leave Penn Station (unless you happen to be carrying $8.00 in coin for the bus).

just take a taxi from Terminal A to Newark Penn Station in downtown Newark, where you can catch a train to Penn Station New York.Maybe saves a bit of money but not worth the struggle I think. The trains from EWR are quite frequent at that hour (every 15 minutes) but it is their consistent stopping before crossing into Manhattan that is the problem. It WOULD be worth it if we could take a train to GCT from Newark Station

When you arrive in Manhattan, if you don't want to take the subway or a taxi, you can all get on the M4 or Q32 bus on 32nd StreetBuses will not be an option for all of us and luggage. We would rather take a taxi but we know it is very hard to get at that hour. We would even take the subway if it was easier to get to the "S"

Your best bet is to tell us where you're actually going, and why you're in a rush.Yes sorry about that. You are probably going to kill me but I have pressure to get us to the Hyatt and check-in by 6:30 pm because of the Regency Club Hors d’oeuvers. The in-laws are coming with us and if anything does not work right getting in I will take the heat for "not doing my research."

Might be easier at the train station where they are dropping folks off, but in general Thursdays are bad. I also think you'll have tough time making the 5:35pm train even if the flight pulls up to the jetway at 5pm on the dot, unless you're in row 1. So don't count on that.
Thanks for that info about Thursdays. I agree it will be hard to make the 5:35 pm since it seems to take like 15 minutes on the AirTrain alone and those airport employees at the AirTrain stations seem to create more interference than helpfulness.

Given that you are arriving at EWR on a Thursday, you should seriously consider the 1 way EWR-> Manhattan car rental specials offered by Hertz, and National.
WOW! Thanks for that! We are doing Avis from Manhattan to EWR on Monday’s Holiday I am was almost tempted to do it till I read: “This is a terrible time to drive into the city, through the Lincoln tunnel anyway.”

Still have not decided. In-laws and kid would like to take train since they rarely get to ride the train. The car hire would also be one of their top choices if I could get something nice but you know how airport “limos” are and what you request and what actually end up getting. But I am very sacred about sitting in traffic pulling my hair out.
We would be willing to do the subway if it was just the “S” but it is still quite a walk with luggage from Penn to Times Square’s “S” station.

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Although it's iffy, I think your best chance of making it in time is to take the train, either from EWR or from downtown Newark, hope that the train is not delayed, and then try to get a cab large enough to accommodate you at the Penn Station taxi stand near the 7th Avenue exit. By the way, if your inlaws are 62 or older and you go via AirTrain, buy their train tickets on board the train; otherwise, you will pay more for their fares than necessary. When you arrive at the EWR AirTrain station, just purchase two $5.50 AirTrain passage tickets for then so they can pass through the turnstiles. (Read more about the senior citizen fare issue at the FF Wiki .)

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By the way, the only way to get from EWR or Newark Penn Station to GCT entirely by rail (not counting the subway as "rail") is to connect at NRO (New Rochelle) or some more distant station, and then backtrack to GCT on Metro North RR.

I'd splurge and take a car service and not sweat the traffic via the Lincoln tunnel. Anything else seems to me to be too much of a hassle for 4 adults and a kid with bags.

You sound like you are running the Amazing Race to make happy hour. ;)

You sound like you are running the Amazing Race to make happy hour. ;)That explains my trips exactly. Unfortunately, I prefer redeye flights because it gives the whole day but only Jet Blue has such a flight from SEA. One short airline delay and I am done. I am still trying to decide between train and car.

It seems that the car would be more hassle-free given the number of people in your party plus bags. However, have you factored the time to get a car rental? This also includes an AirTrain ride, plus waiting in line, etc.

It seems the train offers more reliability in terms of time. The trains at that hour are frequent and, despite the occasional delay on the trains, the Lincoln Tunnel option offers zero reliability. It could take 20 minutes to get into Manhattan, or it could take 1-1/2 hours by car/bus. Add to this the time to return the rental car in Manhattan - this might be a hassle (and time consuming process) as well.

So decide what's more important - comfort or reliability - and hope for best! :)

By the way, you mentioned in one of your previous postings the long walk between Penn Station and the S subway line b/w Times Square and Grand Central. If you take the 1, 2, 3, or 9 subway lines from Penn to Times Square, the walk is relatively short to the S line. You probably know this, but it might be worth mentioning.

It seems that the car would be more hassle-free given the number of people in your party plus bags. However, have you factored the time to get a car rental? This also includes an AirTrain ride, plus waiting in line, etc...By the way, you mentioned in one of your previous postings the long walk between Penn Station and the S subway line b/w Times Square and Grand Central. If you take the 1, 2, 3, or 9 subway lines from Penn to Times Square, the walk is relatively short to the S line. You probably know this, but it might be worth mentioning.I did not know exactly what trains but with 5 people I can't imagine it be wort the hassle to try and get the subway to Grand Central.

When I refer to car I mean hiring someone to drive but I have not even checked into how much more that may be for 5 people.