<p>Son is flying home for a weekend visit (first since he started college a month ago!). Trying to book something that won’t break the bank & will fit his class schedule.</p>
<p>We live in NJ, closer to Philly than Newark. But NYC has a lot of flights in/out w/more flexibility on times – just didn’t know how crazy it is to try to get into NYC, pick up/drop off someone from there, etc. It would be 1 1/2 hr drive (min) to get to NYC.</p>
<p>We could save about $80 on a ticket & make the time work, but I’ve been hearing La Guardia is quite the endeavor. If anyone had a thought, would appreciate! Thanks!</p>
<p>I should have added that a limo driver I hire takes the Verrazano Bridge to JFK which is a few miles longer but saves time and you don’t go through Manhattan.</p>
<p>For $80 I wouldn’t do it; if you’re closer to Philly, it will be a drive to LGA. Even if you don’t go through Manhattan (which you shouldn’t), the roads are pretty congested near LGA. It’s only a weekend visit and you don’t want to spend half of it driving to or from the airport. Also, LGA tends to have bad flight delays since the runways are so congested. If PHL is too expensive, have you considered BWI? I’d rather drive 1.5 hrs south from Philly – 95 can be hectic but is still better than NYC traffic.</p>
<p>Consider letting your son come to Philly on his own, via Bolt – the off price bus service. Price from NYC to downtown Philly or Cherry Hill is, I believe, $15 one way. Add in a subway/bus ride each way and its only another $2.25 to get from LGA to midtwon Manhattan where the bus leaves from. Bolt buses are very nice, clean, usally ontime and with WIFI too.</p>
<p>No way I’d do this to save $80. It will take you hours to drive from home to LaGuardia and then back again. Flights to and from LaGuardia are also more likely to experience delays than those at the Philly airport. I also think that for a weekend visit it makes absolutely no sense to have him fly into LaGuardia than go through the hassle of getting into Manhattan to then take a bus to Philly.</p>
<p>Depending on the exact day, and other random factors, you could either breeze right in and pick him up relatively easily, or you could have colossally bad traffic and wind up cursing the day you came up with the idea. NYC traffic is highly unpredictable. Its even worse if you’re not familiar with where you’re going. </p>
<p>I think it might work if there were a connecting bus to Penn station for the Philly-bound trains, but I’m not sure there is one. I know there is one to GrandCentral. Even then the savings probably is gone after bus and train fare. </p>
<p>I think I’d spend the $80 if the flights to Philly work out otherwise for you.</p>
<p>Not for $80. It is ugly to get to LGA or JFK from NJ. It is painless to get to EWR, no traffic. Myself and a friend of mine, on separate occassions have almost missed our flights out of JFK, both of us left 4 hours prior to departure.</p>
<p>Given the timing works for LGA and this is only a weekend visit, I would do the LGA run, save the money, and build in an extra 90 minutes transit relative to PHL.</p>
<p>This summer our flight into LGA left four hours late, due to “congestion issues” at LGA. No one with the airline was surprised - it’s apparantly par for the course for them to be incredibly backed up on weekends, holidays, etc. Four hours in either direction could take a big chunk out of a weekend visit.</p>
<p>Don’t drive to LGA or JFK from New Jersey. Ever. Bad mistake. If there’s a convenient flight to JFK you could have S take the “train to the plane” (AirTrain JFK) from JFK to the Jamaica LIRR station, and from there to Penn Station, approx. 35 minutes (total $13 peak, lower off-peak—e.g., as low as $8.50 on weekends with LIRR’s CityTicket). At Penn Station he can catch a NJ Transit train. Or pick him up at Penn Station if it’s a time when traffic isn’t too bad. The AirTrain/LIRR option is easier than it sounds and usually the quickest way to get between JFK and Midtown; I once missed a JFK flight after my cab got hung up in traffic for 3 hours on a Sunday afternoon. But like others, I’m not sure it’s worth the additional hassle to save $80 on airfare.</p>
<p>it makes no sense for $80-- you’re going to spend nearly that much getting there whether in gas and tolls or in bus + mass transportation. Laguardia is on the other side of NYC from NJ, and not that easy to get to. There aren’t fantastic mass transportation options. newark on the other hand is a possibility, since you can take NJ transit there and it is presumably much closer. I would give much much more than 1.5 hours from anywhere closer to philly than ny</p>
<p>I knew I would get the real scoop from CC folks!!! Thanks so much!! Will take NYC airports off the radar, then. Great to know.</p>
<p>Interesting that BWI would be more manageable. Will consider that for the future. </p>
<p>Awesome tips.</p>
<p>Btw — I have done the Bolt bus for day trips to NYC from S. Jersey & it is really fabulous. Just maybe not for this endeavor. Although, son has a friend at NYU he could see…but that could just as easily wait for Thanksgiving, I think…no guarantee the friend would be free, anyway. </p>
<p>Don’t do it. It will take more than 1.5 hours almost guaranteed. You will need to take at least 2 cross river conveyances (bridge or tunnel) and the tolls are probably 17, then gas, then turnpike or parkway tolls, unless you have super gas mileage it doesn’t make sense. For just a saturday night in NY last month our wait at the Holland tunnel was 45 minutes to pay the toll. If you do go directions:From S. Jersey you can take NJ Turnpike to GW bridge (toll) to cross bronx exp.(traffic if the Yankees are playing) and then you need to take either triborough or whitestone bridges (I haven’t gone in years, but I think Triborough is best to LGA) to Grand Central (bridge tolls both ways). You can also get off NJT at outerbridge crossing (exit 11 I think) and go on outerbridge to SI, then through SI to verrizano br. (10! toll) to BQE to Grand Central - still two tolls. The BQE is a thrill ride.</p>
<p>LGA is great if you live in Nassau, Queens or Manhattan.</p>
<p>^^^ Lol. Um, no, particularly re: traffic tie-ups!</p>
<p>anothermom–that sounds just painful! Glad to hear, so I can avoid.</p>
<p>I will say that (for a leisurely trip to NYC) the Bolt bus got me to downtown Manhattan in 1 1/2 hours from South Jersey. It was awesome. But probably not something that could easily coordinate w/plane arrivals/departures, esp if there are delays.</p>
<p>I’m late to this party, but I will add my advice not to drive all the way to LGA or, worse, JFK. When I was flying back from MI in August, NOT on a weekend or holiday, with S1 and S2, we had a very long delay on the ground in DTW because there was a “hold” on flights coming into LGA. We were at least 5 hours late getting in. As others have said, this is not at all unusual.</p>
<p>My D flies in and out of LaGuardia all the time and so far no problems. But we are in Manhattan and no way would I drive to LGA from NJ. It’s bad enough getting across Manhattan (we’re on the west side) over to the Triboro bridge. </p>
<p>However, if your son ever flies there and wants to go to Manhattan, there is a bus (M60) that goes to the Columbia Univ. neighborhood. From there he can take the subway to other areas easily.</p>