EWR-6785

I need to get to New Haven, and the US connections to HVN don't work for me.

What is the conventional wisdom these days? Fly into HPN or BDL and rent a car which I don't otherwise need? Or CT LImo or one of the other shuttles from LGA or BDL? It would have been an easy choice if I could get a non-stop to HPN or BDL, but I need to connect to go anywhere other than LGA or EWR.

cordelli

You could fly into Kennedy or Newark, take the Airtrain to the subway, then the subway to Grand Central (one change) then take metronorth to New Haven, that would cost like $20 or $25 depending on time of day.

You could also take the Airtrain from either of those to Penn Station, and board Amtrak for the ride to New Haven. It's a bit more money, but it's a more comfortable ride.

If the times work out, I think flying to Newark and then taking the airtrain/train to Penn Station, then Amtrak to New Haven is a good option.

If not, I would probably rent a car one way overnight and drop it off in New Haven the next day from whichever airport I ended up in.

If you are considering Newark, also consider Providence, they are about the same distance, and you can take a cab to the Providence Train Station and grab a train there too.

fairviewroad

Actually, if you are flying into EWR, it's a one-seat ride on Amtrak from the EWR station all the way to New Haven. Advance purchase fares are $40 one-way.

The PVD option would yield a shorter train ride and a $34 advance purchase ticket but the time and money savings would likely be negated by the cab ride into downtown Providence to catch the train.

violist

Keep studying. Sorry, had to do that.

Have you looked into BDL?

EWR-6785

That is a possibility as well. I was hoping to avoid a rental car so I can work enroute, but that's an option.

I was learning toward flying to EWR, but that flights arrives at 6 pm and the last train leave at 6:55. Not sure if that is enough connection time, particularly that time of day. I guess I could always go into the city and and change to MetroNorth, or take CT Limo as a backup, but if 55 minutes is cutting it close I may was well fly to another airport.

Appreciate the suggestions.

mlassoff

I live in this area-- Your best bet aside from renting a car is:

Fly to LGA. Upon landing take a cab to the 125th Street Metro North station. Buy a ticket for New Haven and hop the next train. The frequency is between one train every 20 minutes and one every hour depending on the time of day. The cab ride is about $20, and the train ride is about $14.

This will bring you right in to Union Station in New Haven and you can take a New Haven taxi anywhere from there.

Don't do the Newark - Amtrak thing. If your flight is late-- you're stuck. The New Haven Line Trains run till past midnight.

cordelli

If your flight is on time you will have no problems making the 6:55, and if you miss that there's another at 8:15 I believe.

If you miss it then taking the train to the city and picking up Amtrak or Metro North from the city is an alternative.

if you don't know, www.mta.info has the metro north schedules to New Haven.

fairviewroad

mlassoff probably has the best solution but keep in mind that if you fly into BDL, then Amtrak's Windsor Locks (WNL) station is less than 3 miles from the airport terminal (i.e. a short cab ride). WNL to New Haven is just $11 and a one hour ride. The downside is that Amtrak's schedule is somewhat limited on that route (6 weekday trains) but it's quite possible that it might work for you.

EWR-6785

Thanks Fairview, but I'm not trying to go the cheapest way possible, but rather just seeking a good value of mix of time in transit, convenience and cost.

tkey75

If it's time and working in transit you're worried about, the train gets you more work done, but it's about three times as long a ride as opposed to driving from BDL (done in ~40 mins).

Also, it's a FAR easier airport than any other mentioned (except for HPN, but that's out of the way for a quick train connection/trip).

Analise

Then I would follow mlassoff's suggestion. ^

cmn.jcs

Trying to go from OKC to Yale University for something late Saturday night on 23 April. I would like to be there by about noon that day, but I don't have to be there by then. Here are the options I've been considering:

SWF ($391, $95)
PVD ($449, $50)
BOS ($471, $60)
BDL ($449, $63)
HVN ($652)
LGA ($348)
EWR ($380)
JFK ($357)

The prices are all for travel 22-24 April, and are the lowest of the current UA and DL offerings (except for HVN, which is only served by US). The second price is the cost of a rental car (excluding gas) picked up Saturday morning and returned early Sunday afternoon.

According to the friend I will be visiting there, the common route is to fly into NYC and take the train up, as mentioned in this thread. If I go that route, how long is the return trip? What would be the earliest I could schedule a flight from NYC?

Also, are there any options I've missed? I think I've hit all the area airports. I currently have $600 in DL certs and $500 in UA certs, plus status on both, and thus I would like best to travel on them.

cordelli

HPN (White Plains) and rent a car is another alternative. It's a very easy drive on the weekends from White Plains to New Haven.

Islip (ISP) is closer than Boston is, and is another alternative.

If you are using one of the New York airports, you can take Amtrak at 12:35 am and get into the city at 2:20 am if you want a very early flight.

The first Metro North Train is at 4:11 and gets into Grand Central at 6:37 am, figure another hour or hour and a half to get to the airport (depends on which airport) for figuring the flight times.

cmn.jcs

Here's what I'm thinking of doing:
Fly into LGA and take a taxi to the Harlem-125th Station and catch the Metro North train. I'm looking at getting into LGA with about 1 hour until peak fares kick in--would I be able to get to the station in about an hour?

Returning, I want to go out of JFK. It looks like Amtrak to Penn Station followed by the subway is an option, or I could take the Metro North train. Thoughts?

cordelli

It depends on time of day if you can do it in an hour or not, but since you say peak fares have not kicked in it's either early morning or early afternoon, so an hour is doable. The difference between peak and off peak is not a ton of money (under $5) so it's not worth going nuts over. Depending on the train you get on, if you board at 125th there could very little chance of a seat, so you may stand for an hour or so till seats open up after the first few stops.


For the return either train works. Amtrak is more expensive, but the seats are more comfortable. Out of New Haven you will pretty much always get a seat on Metro North (since the train is probably starting there) unless you are on a peak train and show up thirty seconds before they close the door.

I would save the money and take Metro North / Subway / Airtrain instead of Amtrak.