What's the best way to get into to Ithaca from ORD/MDW. I have to go next summer and the airfares are unbelievably ridiculous! Thanks to tiny airport and very limited direct flights, any award bookings are impossible as well.

I have considered flying into several cities nearby (none of which are convenient) however, not like there are too many choices.

ORD/MDW-ALB then drive ~3hrs
ORD-ROC then drive ~2hrs
ORD-SYR then drive ~1hr

ORD-SYR is the most convenient scenario however airfares are little much. I have racked my brain quite a bit and can't really come up with anything.

Any other airport nearby that has direct to ORD/MDW in 1-2hr driving distance?

Syracuse and Binghamton are both a 1-hour drive. Scranton, PA is 2 hours. The drive from Albany is long enough that you might as well just fly to Newark, which will doubtless be a much cheaper flight, although a more expensive rental car.

Also, it's pretty early to be thinking about tickets for next summer. Fares may change a lot by then.

For any other set of dates I would agree with you. However, this weekend also coincides with Cornell university graduation. With AAs and UAs 2 measly direct flights everyday, this is gonna sell out pretty fast.

Just checked fares to Scranton. They are worse! Getting to this podunk little town is becoming a huge PITA.

How about train connectivity from NYC?

No trains to Ithaca. You can take Greyhound, and Megabus or Bolt Bus may serve Ithaca too--I'm not sure. It's been 30 years since I had to take public transit to that town

If it's Cornell graduation weekend then I certainly hope you have your accommodations lined up already. That weekend sells out years in advance. There are far fewer hotel rooms in town than graduating students.

Another alternate airport, closer than EWR - would be to consider flying into SWF in Newburgh, NY on the Hudson (Stewart Airport). A quick glance showing flight options from/to ORD with connections but no "non-stop" - car rentals from Hertz or Budget, and it's about a 3 hour direct going across to Ithaca on I-84 & Rt. 17 via Triple Cities/Binghamton, etc.

Check the airfares & schedule, etc. to see whether that's competitive along with the convenience factors vs. flying into EWR with more flight options - and a longer drive of about 4.5 hours depending on urban traffic in NJ - just a small one-way toll at the Delaware Water Gap.

This is probably a longer answer than you're looking for, but as someone who has cumulatively spent whole days of my life sitting in the little coffee shop in the ITH terminal waiting for fog to clear, here is my take:

I think the primary consideration should be whether you will need or want a car. If you want a car, I'd probably compare the sum of car rental and flight costs for ROC, SYR, ELM, and BGM and make my decision based on that. SYR, ELM, and BGM are each within an hour's drive; ROC is a little further but has more direct flight options.

If you like scenic drives, I'd second Letitride in also considering SWF. It's a beautiful 3 hours of highway driving straight through the Catskills to Ithaca.

If you're not driving and flying into ITH is ruled out, you'll likely arrive by bus from NYC. Unfortunately, scheduled passenger train service to Ithaca was discontinued decades ago. Coach USA/Shortline offers single-coach service from Port Authority approximately every two hours via Binghamton. Total trip duration is about five hours. Fare is about $120 r/t, IIRC - though you could save by buying one of Coach USA's codeshare services with Megabus into Binghamton and buying a second ticket for the last leg into Ithaca. Yes, Megabus has codeshares...

The other option, and probably the one most Flyertalkers would prefer, is the Campus-to-Campus bus service offered by Cornell University. Their prices are higher than Shortline (up to $180 r/t), but the bus is comfortable (snacks, wifi, tray tables, 2-1 seating) and you must reserve tickets in advance online. They leave from the Cornell Club near Grand Central a few times per day. Despite anything you might read elsewhere, you don't need any Cornell affiliation to travel with them.

Obviously, you have to budget for travel time between the airport and the bus stop in Manhattan if you use either of these options.

There is also a company called Ithaca Airport Limo that still provides shared van service to SYR, though I recall their services being overpriced for what it was. I also once flew into BGM, took a taxi to the downtown bus terminal and then caught the end of one of the Shortline bus routes that originated at Port Authority for the last hour into Ithaca - but be forewarned that taxis are expensive in upstate NY and there is still no Uber/Lyft in the region.

OK, so that was a huge brain dump of my accumulated knowledge of Ithaca travel options. You might actually find more info about public transit options on a student forum site like College Confidential if so inclined. Hope this helps!

The drive from Syracuse is can be extra beautiful IF you have time to go out of your way and drive down the side of Seneca Lake.

All of your options are good, ROC and SYR are the best. While you are there definitely get some Pizza at The Nines

I'd be weary of travel from EWR/NYC/SWF as going up Route 17 during the summer weekends can be a nightmare. I have a cabin in the Catskills and sometimes the ride is ~2 hours but other times it's over 4 hours. I'd focus on flying into ALB/BGM/ROC/SYR/BUF and driving down as they're all under 3 hours.

God, I *hate* Nines pizza. I graduated from Cornell in 1989, having grown up on superlative thin-crust pie in Italian-immigrant-filled suburban NJ. The Nines serves what I'd call a mushy, undercooked loaf of bread with soggy toppings draped on top. And the food service there was as slow as molasses--you could wait an hour for your order to show up, creaking down that little dumbwaiter from the kitchen upstairs.

As it happened, in August 2013 I went back to Ithaca for the first time in 20 years to get together with some of my college friends at the home of the one of us who still lives there. A group of five of us, plus the two teenage sons of one couple, did a campus visit and then decided to go the The Nines for lunch. We got there around 2 PM, there were maybe 8 people in the place, and it STILL took an hour for us to be served a mushy, undercooked loaf of bread with soggy toppings draped over it

letitride/lonelycrowd - thanks for the tips.

Taken hotel in SYR. Bit of a drive but I am probably gonna spend most time around campus.

I'd definitely want to rent a car that's not so gung-ho on public transportation. Now for flights... I definitely would prefer direct flight especially if there is a 1hr-3hr drive to/from airport. Even 1-stop would easily take flight time to 5-6hrs and then driving time.... it totally kills the weekend.

Now car - if I fly into EWR, I can get Silvercar for $65/day. Not a cheap car rental. But atleast it will be a pleasant drive.

Flights again - Most small airports don't have a direct from ORD. I believe it's only SYR, ROC and BUF that have a direct flight. How is the drive between EWR and iTH? One of the big carriers will probably open award inventory at some point which I can't expect to happen for SYR or ROC. Flying into NY takes away few hours but saves several hundred bucks.

Edit - oops! few other posts recommend shying away from NY region airports i guess, SYR is the best option if I have to shell out cash

For flights I believe SouthWest also flies MDW-BUF.

I've noted about the drive from NYC through the Catskills can be rather intense. Northern NJ can also be a cluster of traffic depending on day and time of day. One can also do 80W to 81N to Binghamton then on to Ithaca. I'd suggest flying to one of the norther cities to avoid this.

Greetings from Ithaca!

Come February, BGM and ELM will be served only by DL. (Allegiant has a few flights a week in and out of ELM, but only between ELM and Florida.)

ITH has service on AA (via PHL), DL (via DTW), and UA (via EWR). ITH is a heavy business-travel market, because of the presence of Cornell and, to a lesser extent, Ithaca College. As a result, fares are often higher than to places like SYR and ROC, which are served by additional carriers.

If flying in and out of ITH is too costly or inconvenient because of the connections, I would look to fly in and out of SYR. If you need a car, rent one at SYR; but there is also a daily Trailways bus from SYR Airport to Ithaca (connect at the Syracuse Bus Terminal), and from Ithaca to SYR Airport (through-bus service).

Before I would fly into EWR for travel to Ithaca, I would look at SYR, ROC, and even BUF -- which is a shorter (and prettier) drive to Ithaca than EWR is. I believe that WN flies MDW-BUF; both AA and UA fly ORD-BUF/ROC/SYR.

My two favorite places for pizza in Ithaca are Mark's (a small, upstate chain which will customize the sauce to your taste), and Napoli's (which opened 40 years ago). Sicilian Delight, at the Mall, is not bad, either.

Flying in and out of ITH is expensive and inconvenient. Flying into SYR is expensive as well. Thus looking into alternate options.

WN flies into BUF and ALB however they havent opened their calendar that far out. So can't comment on their fares. Which airport would be recommended for a busy weekend?

Also, WN is not yet selling flights for June, 2017. I would check fares again (on all carriers to all upstate NY destinations) once WN starts selling MDW-BUF flights for June travel.

BUF is about 20 minutes closer to Cornell than ALB is.

ALB and BUF are roughly equidistant to Syracuse -- in case you plan to go to your hotel first.