May is still early in the season and UA has been running $160 rt e-fare specials for Sat-Mon but that is a risk as they're only available the week of. I am going up in 2 weeks now for a birthday party but will be driving as I have access to a car. There are a few ZipCar locations at the North and South UB campuses so that could be an option for an explore day instead of having a car for the entire trip. Megabus and Amtrak take about 8 hours each way but have departures that could allow you to sleep and arrive refreshed for under $100 rt.
Originally Posted by
M60_to_LGA
Thanks, everyone, for your thoughts! I just got some brochures from the extremely efficient people at the Buffalo tourist office, and the package included very detailed maps for several self-guided walking tours. It really does look like the city is a gem.
If I do go up, I'll probably fly up sometime around the end of May. I expect I'd want to stay somewhere downtown. I'd plan to not rent a car (I'm a city boy - the thought of renting a car in a city just seems so bizarre to me...) and just spend my time walking around, or perhaps taking a bus/train if need be. The fact that Buffalo has a subway, as limited as it may be, is pretty cool to me.
One thing I was surprised by is the cost of a flight up there. It looks like the cost to fly from NYC to Buffalo is about if not more than the cost of flying to SFO. Very surprising.