Meneer Guggenheimer

I am travelling to New York with my family from 25/12 till 01/01/18 and I have booked a very sweet deal in the Hilton Penn Station in Newark.

2 kids 11 and 13 years

I am I correct that we just can take the Path train to WTC and then enjoy the city by public transport?

(I can still cancel the hotel)

http://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/new...GHF/index.html

FlyinHawaiian

Yes, you can take the PATH train from NJ Penn to and from the World Trade Center without having to transfer or change trains; it's about 25 minutes in total. The fare is $2.75 per person, per ride. From the World Trade Center, you have connections to the majority of New York City's subway and bus lines, either via underground connections to various subway stations or by short walks above ground. NYC subways are also $2.75, per person, per ride.

The easiest way to pay for the rides is to obtain a MetroCard (disposable plastic card with a magnetic strip) from a kiosk and apply value to it. "Pay-Per-Ride" MetroCards may be used at PATH and NYC Subway turnstiles and bus card readers.

https://www.panynj.gov/path/metrocard.html

At the risk of sounding rude (and apologies if so), please do what you can to avoid taking PATH to NYC during the weekday morning commute (7:30 am to 9 am) and back to Newark in the afternoon (4:30 to 6 pm). The trains, platforms, and stations (especially in the morning) are packed with commuters.

Meneer Guggenheimer

That is not rude yet very practical.

Thanks!

octr202

And you have access to much of the Midtown, Chelsea, the Village, etc. off the 33rd St PATH line. You'd have to change at Journal Square, but it'll keep you within one PATH fare for the trip, versus going to WTC and paying to change to the subway. The 33rd St line has a lot more stops in Manhattan (mostly along 6th Ave).

Do be aware that on weekends, the Journal Square-33rd St trains will run via Hoboken, which adds some time as the crew has to change ends at Hoboken (stub terminal - train has to come back out the way it came in), but probably not much time difference versus changing to the subway at WTC (and again, saves the subway fare if your destination is within walking distance of the 33rd St line).

ijgordon

You *can*, but do you want to? It'll cost an extra $22/day round-trip for the family of 4, on top of whatever NYC public transport costs you incur.
Plus the time wasted making the commute.
I hope the deal you got is *very* sweet!

I'm also not sure exactly how the neighborhood is around Newark Penn, Newark in general is a high-crime city, not somewhere I would normally want to stay. I think it's gotten better in the last couple of years, but the stats tend to move around; in 2013 Newark had the 3rd highest murder rate of US large cities. Others can hopefully chime in with specifics on the area around Penn Station and the hotel. If anything, it probably just means you don't want to walk around there at night.

Lastly, if you're going anywhere north of TriBeCa or Soho, don't take the PATH to WTC; instead transfer at Journal Square to a 33rd St. bound train.

ijgordon

For the week between Xmas and New Years, the PATH is unlikely to be that crowded.

UKtravelbear

Couple of years ago friends stayed in Newark rather than Manhatten and they said it was one of the worst decisions they had ever made with a hotel location.

The hotel (and area) was fine but it was the extra time it took to get to and from it on top of the subway trips to the places they were visiting in Manhatten and they (as adults) just found it draining.

I can't see kids being happy either!

themicah

Definitely keep in mind that the PATH takes a good 25 minutes from Newark to WTC and only runs once every 10-20 minutes at most times of day (so figure 30-45 minutes each way just to get to Manhattan). Plus you're unlikely to spend much time in the WTC area, and between wait time and transit time, it usually takes another 30+ minutes to get from the WTC area to Midtown or other places you might want to go. So you can easily end up spending 2.5-3 hours a day commuting if you stay in Newark.

If it means saving a ton on your hotel bill, it may very well be worth spending some time commuting. But I think it's definitely worth some extra cash (and/or getting smaller/crappier rooms) to have a hotel in the middle of where you want to be, instead of an hour away.

Yoshi212

If you can move to Hoboken, Jersey City, Brooklyn (the Hampton Inn on Flatbush ext is down the block from me and right at the entrance to the Manhattan bridge and near several subway lines), Queens you should. You don't want to burn an hour each day riding a subway to and from your hotel. The added cost per day for your family of 4 may make the cash/points value you're getting from Hilton less appealing.

BearX220

But he's probably saving $200 / night on the hotel, so for many people that is more than a worthwhile tradeoff.

If cost is a factor, another possibility for OP to consider is Long Island City / Queensboro Plaza. Some nice hotels there at a significant discount from Manhattan rates, and it's only 7 to 10 minutes to Midtown on the regular subway (not PATH).

ijgordon

Well, he should look harder than in Manhattan then

Agreed, while still probably more than the $140 flexible rate I see at the Hilton Newark Penn Station, there should be plenty in Bk/Qns/JC/Hob, with probably a preference going to Bk/Qns for transport reasons.

nerd

I'm confused. During rush hour, take a cab or drive instead?

BearX220

When I'm on a real budget I go out to Flushing and stay in one of the Asian hotels near the 7 terminus. Probably not OP's cup of tea, but you can score fine rooms in the $110-$130 range.

Yoshi212

I think he is giving OP a nudge to schedule not traveling during peak times as it won't be a pleasant experience for the OP & just adds more people to already packed systems.

FlyinHawaiian

As @Yoshi212 surmised, I'm suggesting that anyone with discretion on when to travel via mass transit should consider differing their travel to avoid peak commuting times. As someone who reverse commutes via the PATH to NJ in the morning, I get a good look at how crowded the inbound trains and platforms are.