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USA Domestic travel around 4th July

USA Domestic travel around 4th July

Old Mar 12, 2017, 5:10 am
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USA Domestic travel around 4th July

We are travelling from Australia to the USA later this year and will also be there for the 4th of July (in Boston) which is on a Tuesday

We will be travelling from DC to Boston on 2nd of July (Sunday). We have been considering train or plane. Plane by far is quickest but train, for us is part of the journey rather than just a "trip" to get from A to B.

What I'm interested in is, I have read a bit about on travelling on "4th of July weekend" being quite nightmarish and certainly much busier as one would expect. Though these accounts, from what I have read have all be where the 4th has fallen on the weekend itself. This year, with it being on a Tuesday, I'm not sure what the preceding Sunday might be like so am just looking for anyone with personal experience or views?

thanks in advance.
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Old Mar 12, 2017, 9:39 am
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I think it's unlikely that Sunday will be a busier than normal travel day. People who are taking a long weekend are more likely to fly Friday night or Saturday morning and again on Tuesday.

Generally speaking, I don't feel as if 4th of July has a reputation for being "nightmarish" in respect to travel. Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's and spring break time all seem to be much worse. (I've flown on all of those and on 4th of July weekend. And every other holiday under the sun.)
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Old Mar 12, 2017, 10:09 am
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Travel on July 4th is likely only "nightmarish" if you are driving. Air/rail will be standard crowded high-season in the northeast. Don't give it a second thought.

While Amtrak is a good alternative to air between WAS-NYC or NYC-BOS, it is a distinctly longer trip WAS-BOS. For the former hops, it is debatable whether air or rail is faster city center to city center, but rail can be more pleasant and more relaxed.

For WAS-BOS, you have multiple air options for what, depending on time of day can be just under or over 60 minutes in the air vs. 8 hours on the train. Typically, B6 will have the best advance fares, although it is always worth doing a search for your specific date & time.
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Old Mar 12, 2017, 4:50 pm
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Thank you both for your responses. It's good to get some local experienced views.

We have travelled the shorter WAS-NYC leg before via Amtrak and enjoyed it. We splurged and took the First Class option on the Acela and really enjoyed it. We saw a bit of countryside we would not have otherwise seen, and got to experiences a nice relaxed trip between the two cities and avoid and airport check-in process as well so it was a bonus for us.

We are doing the reverse trip again this trip, and just thought we would also do WAS-BOS, but when I started looking at the trip duration I started to think twice which is why air travel came back as an option for that leg. This is the way I am leaning as it is so much faster and when compared to the pricing for the First class Amtrak ticket, flights are actually less expensive.
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Old Mar 14, 2017, 3:01 pm
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If you have the time I vote Train too! Unless you fly into DCA and all get window seats on the left side of the plane it's just another plane ride. If you want to save time and money try flying into BWI and taking the red line/ amtrak into DC.
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Old Mar 15, 2017, 11:29 am
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Originally Posted by doczim
We will be travelling from DC to Boston on 2nd of July (Sunday). We have been considering train or plane. Plane by far is quickest but train, for us is part of the journey rather than just a "trip" to get from A to B.
I have both flown and taken Amtrak (the Regional, though, not the higher-speed Acela) and I would strongly recommend flying. This is from someone who always opts for the train from DC to NY and from NY to Boston.

DC to Boston is just a slog on the train. It doesn't help that while NY is more or less equidistant between Boston and DC, the BOS-NYC trip is about an hour longer than the DC-NYC trip. (It's because the train takes a meandering route that limits its speed along the southeast Connecticut shore on tracks built in the 1800s.) When I took it, by the time we got to Rhode Island I was dying to get off the train.

Compared to some other routes in North America, such as the Cascades, the scenery is not awe-inspiring. I guess parts of the Connecticut coastline are nice, but if you're coming from DC you'll likely be a little restless by then. I also wouldn't consider the NE Corridor trains romantic in any sense -- they are very well-patronized and have by far the best passenger rail service in the US, but it's not atmospheric in any sense.

If you do fly, and assuming you're staying in DC, you can improve your experience significantly by choosing to fly out of DCA, which is right across the river from DC in Arlington, VA. It has much better transit links to DC and is a less expensive cab ride.

Travel on July 4th is likely only "nightmarish" if you are driving. Air/rail will be standard crowded high-season in the northeast. Don't give it a second thought.
I agree. Where automobile travel is most likely to jam up over the Fourth of July weekend is on routes from major cities out to beach/natural destinations (and then back at the end of the weekend), such as NYC to the Hamptons, Philadelphia to the Jersey shore, DC to the Chesapeake/Atlantic shore, Boston to Cape Cod, etc.
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Old Mar 16, 2017, 3:44 pm
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If you take Amtrak, be it Acela or the regular trains, you will have to stop and transfer at Penn Station in NYC. That will add quite a bit of time to the trip.

I either drive or use Amtrak when I go to NYC from Northern Virginia. I couldn't consider either option to get to Boston. It's a one-hour flight from either National or Dulles, so for scenery purposes get to Logan, rent a car and head north from there. New England is really nice in the summer.
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Old Mar 16, 2017, 10:23 pm
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Thank you all for your input. really relly appreciate it. We have decided we will fly given the time we will save so rather than using up one of days alloacted to Boston just for travel we will be able to make use of it in Boston itself.

I certainly wasnt aware of needing to transfer at NYC either so that was more good information

Last edited by doczim; Mar 16, 2017 at 10:40 pm
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Old Mar 17, 2017, 10:23 am
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You might stay on the same train at Penn Station, but it's anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes stoppage. Not the usual minute or two at an intermediate station.

From DC Union Station to Boston South Station, its about 6:45 on Acela. It's about 8:00 using the Northeast Regional. The Acela saves a decent amount of time between DC and NYC - about an hour - but maybe a half hour from NYC to Boston.

So yeah, seven to eight hours on bumpy train vs an hour on the plane are the options. Even having to deal with TSA and the airports in general, it's still half the time.
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Old Mar 18, 2017, 9:01 am
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Originally Posted by catocony
If you take Amtrak, be it Acela or the regular trains, you will have to stop and transfer at Penn Station in NYC. That will add quite a bit of time to the trip.
Originally Posted by catocony
You might stay on the same train at Penn Station, but it's anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes stoppage.
This is flat out wrong. There is absolutely no reason one needs to transfer at NYP when traveling WAS-BOS, and although there are some outliers, the typical stop at NYP is 15 minutes or less.

Flying is a lot faster, but WAS-BOS on the train, especially on the Acela, can be quite relaxing and enjoyable.
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Old Mar 18, 2017, 9:03 am
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Originally Posted by doczim
I certainly wasnt aware of needing to transfer at NYC either so that was more good information
As noted in my prior post, you do not need to transfer at NYC. That's an "alternative fact"!
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Old Mar 18, 2017, 3:33 pm
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Originally Posted by Blumie
As noted in my prior post, you do not need to transfer at NYC. That's an "alternative fact"!
It's an alternate fact that it's at least 6:45 on Acela from WAS to BOS? Please alert Amtrak since that's their current posted schedule for Northeast services. Scheduled Acela stops are anywhere from 10 to 18 minutes. Northeast Regional stops are anywhere from 10 minutes on some trains Mon-Fri but some have 42 minute scheduled stops on some weekend routes.

As far as transfer, you do sometime have to switch trains as the train that comes in from WAS does not always continue north. Particularly on weekends.

Regardless, it's a long ride on a train when it's a short flight on a plane.

Last edited by catocony; Mar 18, 2017 at 3:40 pm
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Old Mar 18, 2017, 3:46 pm
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Originally Posted by catocony
It's an alternate fact that it's at least 6:45 on Acela from WAS to BOS? Please alert Amtrak since that's their current posted schedule for Northeast services. Scheduled Acela stops are anywhere from 10 to 18 minutes. Northeast Regional stops are anywhere from 10 minutes on some trains Mon-Fri but some have 42 minute scheduled stops on some weekend routes.

As far as transfer, you do sometime have to switch trains as the train that comes in from WAS does not always continue north. Particularly on weekends.

Regardless, it's a long ride on a train when it's a short flight on a plane.
The information you posted, twice, was just flat out wrong. Yes, there are some trains travel only travel from WAS to NYP, but the vast majority travel WAS-BOS with only a short stop at NYP (albeit not as short as at most stations). And if you're traveling from WAS to BOS, you would never transfer at NYP as you'd just be transfering to a different train that originated at WAS.

I'm not disputing that the train still takes substantially longer than flying, but I'd still prefer that the information on this board be accurate. If you're going to get offended when someone corrects your incorrect posts, you should try to post more accurate information.
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Old Mar 19, 2017, 1:46 pm
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Originally Posted by Blumie
The information you posted, twice, was just flat out wrong. Yes, there are some trains travel only travel from WAS to NYP, but the vast majority travel WAS-BOS with only a short stop at NYP (albeit not as short as at most stations). And if you're traveling from WAS to BOS, you would never transfer at NYP as you'd just be transfering to a different train that originated at WAS.
If you book your WAS-BOS on Amtrak online (as I would imagine the vast majority of people do these days) Amtrak will *never* offer a WAS-BOS trip that requires transferring in New York Penn Station. Every single trip offered will be on a single train that will allow you to stay on the train at NYP.

The only way you'd end up with a WAS-BOS trip requiring you to transfer at NYP is if you deliberately book two different trips, one from BOS to NYP and then another from NYP to WAS. If you search for a BOS-WAS or WAS-BOS trip you will only get single trains.
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Old Mar 23, 2017, 3:43 am
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Thanks again all. We have decided we will fly from DC to Boston.
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