<p>I’m a westerner needing help with travel on the east coast. Some of you have already helped me with the first part, Princeton, and I’m really grateful. My D and I are also visiting Yale and Brown. So what’s going to be the best method of travel once we get to the east coast? At this point I’m more concerned with time and stress rather than $$, so what’s going to give us the most time to accomplish our “mission” without going crazy? </p>
<p>Thanks in advance for your suggestions. EM</p>
<p>I would not take the bus, especially if youre not too worried about money. The train is pretty low stress, you could take nj transit and then amtrak to new haven and then on to providence. Or, depending on timing, you could take amtrak directly from princeton junction (you’d still stop in nyc, just fewer connections). Driving isnt too bad, as long as you don’t go during rush hour. It may be the quickest, but I’m not sure.</p>
<p>Where will you be landing on the east coast? I absolutely would rent a car. Nothing will be cheaper or more convenient in the end. You can always priceline the car and get a good deal. Both Yale and Brown are convenient to train stations but you still have to get from the station to the school and not not having a car limits your ability to see the areas. Driving, you’ve got 4-5 hours between Princeton and Brown with Yale about halfway between. Getting through NY on I-95 can be a pain, but that’s life.</p>
<p>Amtrak is definitely a viable way to get from Princeton to Yale to Brown, and back to Newark or Philadelphia, or up to Boston. Faster than driving into or out of the NYC area, unless you drive very late at night or on Sunday morning. But the relatively long station stops in NYC (30 minutes or so) take away the time advantage if you are staying on the train. You’ll need cabs etc. (or the Dinky at P) to get from the stations to the campuses. (Unless you visit Penn – that’s walkable from the train station.) You can check Amtrak schedules, but I’m pretty sure there is a train at least every other hour, probably every hour. (Not all of them stop at Princeton Junction, though.) You need reservations for some of them. Acelas are a little faster, a little cooler, and a lot more expensive.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t try to do it with NJ Transit or the commuter line in Connecticut. Cheaper, but nowhere near as nice, much slower, and if you go from P to Y (or Y to P) you would not only have to change trains, you would have to change stations, too, in NYC.</p>
<p>Driving isn’t that bad. Traffic going through NYC is often horrendous, but no more horrendous than traffic going through LA. Without traffic, Princeton to Yale would be about 2-1/4 hours; traffic could make it 3-1/2, but not likely more (or even that much). Yale to Brown is about 1-1/2 hours, plus the awful traffic that sometimes pops up around the Indian casinos on the RI/CT border. Except for a mile or two around the schools, you are driving on I-95 all the way – not tricky at all. Parking isn’t really that difficult at any of them, although especially at Yale (which is a little sprawly) you should be prepared to walk a lot.</p>
<p>If you are used to driving, I would rent a car. It will definitely be cheaper than getting on and off Amtrak, and the stresses you deal with will be familiar ones rather than unfamiliar ones. The trains are great, but getting to the stations on time, negotiating them, dealing with occasional delays . . . all of that can be daunting for a newbie.</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestions! I’m tending towards a car right now, I’m originally from LA and navigated Boston last year so I should be OK 
. We will be leaving P for Y on Sunday afternoon, so hopefully the traffic won’t be too bad going through NYC. And that way I can get motels through hotwire and not worry so much if I’m not right next to the college.</p>
<p>Rent as car. You do not even need to go through New York City. You can get from Princeton to Connecticut by using the same kind of interstate ring roads (triple digits, 287 basically in this area) that connect major highways in any other metro area. Get Triptik from AAA if you are a member and have time, or just look at some “real” maps–don’t depend on Mapquest.</p>
<p>Note, even on a weekend consider using Tappan Zee (or even the scenic but less direct Bear Mountain Bridge) rather than GW to cross Hudson. (Incidentally, if the Yankees have a home game, and I have no idea of their schedule this spring, traffic can get really clogged with Yankee Stadium traffic on the GW.)</p>
<p>Connecting between various trains can be more complex than one would expect–late trains, crowded trains, slow trains, just not worth it for this kind of trip.</p>
<p>Rent a car. Both New Haven and Providence are not difficult to drive in. I would have VERY different advice if you were visiting Harvard (Boston is HORRIBLE for driving) or Columbia (NYC is a much better public transport city than driving one). Your flexibility with a car will be better than with public in both Providence and New Haven, neither of which has an extensive public transport system (unless you love buses).</p>
<p>If you don’t want to drive, the train would work. And be relatively relaxing. Agree you will need cabs. Check the schedules to see what will really work.</p>
<p>But, unless you are highway and bridge phobic (and some people are … especially as involves NYC) driving your route won’t be too horrific. Around NYC, I would stay tuned to the traffic reports (880 AM) for traffic and weather on the 8s. And just so you know, Sunday afternoon going north on the NJ Turnpike and getting over the GW Bridge into NYC can be absolutely horrendous with several mile backups and 1 hr waits to get through the tolls and over the bridge. That’s why we have traffic reports 24/7. Buy a good map! There are ways around the GW bottlenecks … but my H insists that it’s the fastest way to get up to Connecticut … so we are always going over the GW.</p>
<p>I’m already figuring my options on travel to Princeton, Annapolis, and Baltimore for our trips in May.</p>
<p>When you’re in the NYC area, tune your radio to 1010AM, WINS. They have excellent traffic reports just after the hour and half-hour that will tell you which crossings to avoid (and I agree with mattmom that the Tappan Zee is often better than the GW). When we’re driving to New Haven, we avoid a large stretch of I-95 in CT by taking the Merritt Parkway: it’s very beautiful, in addition to usually being faster. But again, check the radio, as you never know where tie-ups may occur. And never, ever get on the Cross-Bronx Expressway!</p>
<p>Rent a car. </p>
<p>I grew up in Connecticut and lived for 20 years in New Jersey, and I would never want to do the trip you’re contemplating by public transit, even though the trains serve all three college communities. Too much waiting around in the stations, and not enough opportunities to check out the communities surrounding the colleges. (Make sure your kid sees the rather gritty area around Yale, which is quite different from the upscale suburban surroundings of Princeton or the urban but rather attractive area near Brown. For some kids, the surrounding area plays an important role in decision making.)</p>
<p>I also recommend the Tappan Zee Bridge rather than the George Washington Bridge. And allow some extra time for traveling on the Connecticut Turnpike (I-95) to New Haven. It’s a grossly inadequate road that tends to be clogged with traffic, especially going through Stamford and Norwalk.</p>
<p>If you can manage Boston, you can do Princeton/Yale/Brown easily. In fact, I envy your skill. (My daughter and I got lost in the Boston area for more than three hours trying to follow the Mapquest directions to Tufts.)</p>
<p>Rent a car. I live near Boston and have family in NJ. I second the Tappan Zee suggestion - either the Garden State Parkway or the NJ Turnpike can take you to the access road. Once you’re over the TZ, it’s very easy to get back onto 95 up to New Haven.</p>
<p>Princeton to Yale is actually a nice train ride, especially if you plan to stop in NYC for a while–go see a play (matinee) or go shopping–but the train from Yale to Brown is not so nice–ugly scenery and it just takes too long. Personally, I would train from Princeton to Yale and then rent a car for the trip to Providence. (I am assuming you travel light. If you’re a million-suitcases person, forget it and rent the car.)</p>
<p>Caveat: I really like trains, routinely took the train from Boston to Phila or DC when I was in college, and don’t like driving on the east coast (and I lived in Boston for years and know how to drive “eastern style”).</p>
<p>I live on the route, and I would never drive it. You can use NJTransit to one of the Amtrak stations, switch to catch express train. The trains are easy and very convenient. Acela Express stops at Newark, Metropark, NYPenn, all of which are also on NJTransit line. Good luck. Lorelei</p>
<p>Thank you all so much. I think in the end I will rent a car even though it is chokingly expensive for a one-way drop off (neither priceline or hotwire do one ways). I drove Boston a couple of years ago and yes, it was awful. I will be leaving from Providence to fly back home and my D will go on to Boston by herself and fly back from there. Any thoughts on if the train or bus is better for Providence to Boston?</p>
<p>I appreciate all of the driving tips and will definitely use them. Wish us luck!</p>
<p>Rent a small car - do not allow them to upgrade you for free. When you are trying to park you in New Haven and Providence will be very happy you rented a small car.</p>
<p>As to rental cars, for business I use Hertz (being a Platinum Special Deluxe Ultimate frequent renter means it is ultra-low hassle), but when I spend my own money I usually rent from Thrifty. If you sign up for their frequent-renter program (sort of like an airline miles program) they will send you periodic e-mails with “last minute discounts.” I’ve made a reservation with Thrifty months in advance, then cancelled and re-booked under one of their discount programs two days before the trip. It’s worth looking into.</p>
<p>As for public transit, I find that my most valuable resource when traveling is time. With a few exceptions (staying in New York or London, for example) I find having my own car saves me time. In most places you have to have extensive knowledge of how the mass transit works to get anywhere, and that adds complexity and wastes time. I remember landing in Dusseldorf and standing in front of the German-language automated kiosk to buy tickets for their excellent rail system. After 15 minutes of staring at the route map and finding out that my high school German didn’t include practical vocabulary for this, I walked outside, got into an old diesel Mercedes cab and was at my hotel in 15 minutes – and I didn’t have to schlep my luggage on and off subway cars. Just because cars have weaknesses as transportation doesn’t mean they don’t also have advantages…</p>
<p>I’m a huge public transit fan - I grew up in NYC, and travel there from Philadelphia regularly, always on Amtrak (I hate to drive). But I agree with Washdad - if you’re not familiar with the ins and outs of Amtrak, NJ Transit, etc., negotiating all the connections required from Princeton could be confusing, and these days most Amtrak trains require reserved tickets. For a non-east coaster who has survived driving in Boston (kudos to you, entomom!) I think a car is the best way to go. As for your D, I would take Amtrak from Providence to Boston.</p>
<p>You’ll have to check, but I believe my son took a commuter train of some kind from Boston to Providence and back a year or so ago. It was not very expensive…so I seriously doubt it was Amtrak. But the train is the way to go…bus no.</p>
<p>Agreed; don’t take the bus - it gets stuck in traffic. Out of Providence you can take either Amtrak or the commuter rail - <a href=“http://www.mbta.com%5B/url%5D”>www.mbta.com</a>. You’ll see the Providence/Attleboro line. It is much cheaper than Amtrak.</p>
<p>Where does she need to go in Boston? She can get out at the Back Bay station, which gets her to the Pru, Copley Square, Newberry Street, etc. Or she can go to South Station, which takes her into the financial district and the waterfront.</p>
<p>She’s going to Harvard, which station would be the best for it? Thanks for the info and the link, I’ll have her do the communter rail.</p>